CHRISTMAS WRAP-UP

What’s inside ?
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Vicki’s comment
Year of the Dragon
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Accommodation
NDIS
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Youth & Family
Services Katherine
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Christmas Photo’s
Page 9 - Sponsors
Page 10 - Single
Parents
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Training and
development
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Staff profile
Contact us
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February 2012
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Australia Day
Christmas Grants
CHRISTMAS WRAP-UP
C
hristmas Carols
Somerville’s Christmas Carols
have been a part of Darwin’s
culture for more than 30 years.
This year Somerville and the
community celebrated Christmas
with the Sing Song Sign Choir and
the superb voices of the Darwin
Chorale, Darwin Youth Choir and
local band Half Skarlett.
Special mention to the Honourable
Jane Aagaard, MLA, who kindly
hosted the event once again at
Parliament house.
Congratulations
to
Debbie
Bampton and Stacey Powell for
coordinating this special event.
We’re on the web
www.somerville.
org.au
O
peration Santa
Thank you to the many people
who donated to the 2011
Christmas Gift Giving Appeal
at Target Stores in Palmerston,
Katherine and Alice Springs. This
year we distributed 1,023 gifts to
Territorians.
Also a big thank you to various
businesses, the ‘Luscious Ladies
Club’ and numerous individuals
who donated gifts.
The Essington School Darwin
also set up their own Christmas
tree in the school library and
teachers, parents and students
provided gifts to Somerville for
distribution to disadvantaged
Territorians.
There were many stories of
kindness, confirming once again
that people in the Northern
Territory are amongst the most
generous in the country.
G
ift Wrapping
The annual Christmas Gift
Wrapping service was a great
success thanks to our many
volunteers and staff. We extend
a heartfelt thank you to you all,
as without your help we would
be unable to manage this major
fundraising event.
Our thanks also to the thousands
of customers who used our
service and much appreciation to
the Casuarina Shopping Square,
Palmerston Shopping Centre and
Mitchell Centre for allowing us to
undertake this fundraising event
on their premises.
Thank you to the AMP Foundation
who are our major financial
supporter of this event.
Congratulations to Daphne Read,
Liza Metcalfe, Carolyn Cendo, and
Terri-Anne Dureau, our successful
leaders of this service.
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Comment by
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Vicki O’Halloran
SOM
I
am writing this editorial whilst
in tropical Bali, it has been
raining and monsoonal for 3
days now I am hoping for some
sunshine.
This year they donated $10,000,
making the total money raised
a magnificent $55,841. All of
this is possible due to the many
volunteer wrappers, thank you.
Before I move into 2012 thanks
to Daphne Read, Liza Metcalfe,
Carolyn Cendo and TerriAnne Dureau, we have had
another successful Christmas
giftwrapping fundraiser in the
lead up to Christmas.
May 2012 be challenging and
fulfilling on many fronts for us
all.
It is always exciting to think
about the year ahead and all that
will take place at Somerville
Each year AMP, a long-time
supporter of Somerville, provide
a very generous $1 for $1
donation up to a specific amount.
There will be many unscheduled
events and occurrences this year
and many planned but none
more important than Margaret
Somerville’s 100th birthday
which we look forward to
celebrating in September.
Goong Hee Fatt Choy
Vicki
VICKI, THE DRAGON!!!
Somerville’s CEO Vicki O’Halloran was born in the year of the Dragon (1964). Somerville Celebrates
Chinese New Year as well as many other cultural events throughout the year, embracing diversity in the
work place. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Somerville employees originate from non-English speaking
countries including mainland China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
“Dragon contains Earth, Water and
Wood. It’s a source of Water and
it is also called the Water Dam in
Chinese Astrology. Since Water of
2012 comes with the Dragon, it
implied Water from the sky makes
a dam overflow. Therefore 2012 is a
strong Water year.
Dragon is a legendary animal and it
is a symbol of the emperor in China.
Since the Dragon is coated with
mysterious color, Chinese consider
that the dragon is unpredictable,
untouchable and people cannot see
its head and tail at the same time.
Therefore, we might see something
unexpected happening in 2012?
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SOMERV
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AUSTRALIA DAY
Australia Day has become the
country's biggest annual day
of celebration and each year,
the day before the big event,
Somerville hosts a barbeque
lunch with staff and friends.
This year we were fortunately
treated to lovely weather, unlike
Australia Day, where Darwin
had some very wild weather and
many public events had to be
cancelled.
Vince Yuen manned the
barbeque and staff were treated
to traditional Australia Day food
followed by a good old Australia
day quiz.
Those
present
included
Disability
Support
Worker
Dharma Adhikari who was about
to become an Australian citizen
by joining other Territorians in
the Australia Day citizenship
ceremony.
Somerville staff celebrated Australia Day with an Aussie
barbeque and an Australia Day quiz.
In Darwin, a total of 47 people
from 17 countries, including
Sudan, Uganda, Nepal, South
Africa and India became
Australian citizens on Australia
day.
Congratulations to Dharma and
the other 46 new Australians.
Somerville Manager Debbie Bampton congratulating
Disability Support Worker Darma Adhikari upon becoming
an Australian citizen.
WELFARE GRANTS SPREAD CHRISTMAS CHEER
In early December 2011,
Treasurer
Delia
Lawrie
announced a Christmas gift of
$175,000 in grants to seven
welfare organisations in the
Northern Territory.
Somerville Community Services
along with CatholicCare NT,
Mission Australia, Red Cross,
Anglicare, St Vincent de Paul
and the Salvation Army each
received $25,000.
This was the fourth year that
the welfare grants have been
provided by the Territory
Government.
Ms Lawrie said that “These
grants go a long way to
helping Territorians, who may
be struggling, have a merry
Christmas,”.
Somerville used this grant to
bring joy to children and families
who were doing it tough.
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Delia Lawrie
TREASURER
The money was used to buy toys,
clothing and food for hampers.
A big thank you to our Treasurer
and the Northern Territory
Government.
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FAMILY SERVICES
Supported Accommodation
Program
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omerville’s Family Services
Supported Accommodation
Program offers medium term
accommodation to homeless
families and provides ongoing
support including access to
financial and general counselling.
The demand for accommodation
continues to exceed supply. With
private rentals for a 3 bedroom
house at $450 plus a week, the
ever increasing costs of private
rentals continues to place many
properties completely out of the
range of low income families and
Centrelink recipients.
Territorians continue to sleep
rough or rely on friends and
relatives, sheds, cars or tents for
shelter.
Last year Somerville placed
an additional house into our
Supported
Accommodation
Program and initiated discussions
with Territory Housing to lease
or acquire additional units of
accommodation in Darwin,
Palmerston and outlying regions
to try and address our growing
wait list.
The Supported Accommodation
Program is coordinated by Leticia
Perry and Leanne Butler. Leticia
and Leanne can be contacted
at our Palmerston Office on
8935 1500.
NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME (NDIS)
E
very Australian Counts
campaign was re-launched
on Australia Day.
For the first time in living
memory the disability sector is
revolutionising the way people
with a disability, their families
and carers are supported in this
country.
A major step towards an NDIS
has been the release of the
Productivity Commission report
into disability care and support.
Productivity Commission
Report - Background
In 2010, the Commonwealth
Government
asked
the
Productivity Commission to
examine reform of disability
support services because the
system was not delivering
the kind of care and support
Australians expect for people
with disability.
The main recommendations of
the Productivity Commissions
report were:
■■ A
National
Disability
Insurance Scheme should
be created to provide all
Australians with insurance
for the costs of support if they
or a family member acquire
a disability. The scheme
will provide individually
tailored care and support to
around 410,000 people with
significant disabilities.
■■ A National Injury Insurance
Scheme should be created to
provide no fault insurance
for anyone who suffers a
catastrophic injury.
Following release of the Report
in 2011, the Commonwealth
Government commenced work
with states and territories
on measures to build the
foundations for a National
Disability Insurance Scheme.
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This included the establishment
of an Advisory Group, led by
Dr. Jeff Harmer, to provide
expert advice on delivering the
foundations for reform.
Northern Territory
Somerville’s role is to ‘champion’
the NDIS in the NT and turn the
political goodwill into reality.
More information on ’Every
Australian Counts Campaign’ is
available at:
www.everyaustraliancounts.com.
au.
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YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES KATHERINE
A big hello to everyone from
Katherine town, where the Wet
Season is well and truly in full
swing!
Since the last newsletter we have
gone ahead in leaps and bounds
and we are looking forward
to developing many new and
exciting projects this year, as well
as keeping all the old irons in the
fire. How we plan to achieve all
this involves a whole lot more
work, work, work!
Past Events
As usual our team was kept
busy with whatever was going
on in our town. Over the last
few months this has involved
continuing on with our ‘tucker
time’ commitment, a program
which has gone from strength to
strength.
Emergency Relief Funding
assistance and No Interest Loans
(NILS) loans kept our financial
counsellors on their toes.
The Christmas period was also a
time when Katherine staff were
kept extremely busy making the
UnitingCare/Target Operation
Santa Gift Giving Appeal a
success. With much help from
Target staff in our local store
we managed to make Christmas
a merry time for many families.
Also with the help of the
Salvo’s we were able to present
generous and much needed
hampers to families in need in
the Katherine area. A big thank
you to Lee-Anne Stubbs and our
Katherine disability team for
helping to deliver the presents
to the families around town. The
community of Katherine showed
the Christmas spirit with a
fantastic response donating the
highest number of presents for
many years.
Year Ahead
So, now that the festive season
is over and done with we are
looking towards 2012 with
excitement, due to everyone in
the office being motivated in
all directions, with all sorts of
different goals, striving to forge
new paths off into the future! All
I have to do is work out how to
harness all that enthusiasm and
point it in the right direction!
Wish me luck!!!!
Now that school has started for
the year we will of course be
getting involved in all aspects of
student life, which will involve
reprising our role as school
guest program presenters. We
will again be delivering sessions
focusing on life choices and the
long term consequences of these
choices.
We have found our time in the
classrooms to be extremely
rewarding and we are very
pleased to be given the
opportunity to continue working
so closely with the students.
We have visited all the primary
schools in Katherine handing
out Somerville water bottles and
promoting programs that we can
provide in the upcoming year to
students. We are receiving lots
of interest in the mentoring
to students program that
Somerville provides.
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Ben Campbell and the team are
busy working on designing the
next edition of “THE CRAZE”
magazine, always a big (but
enjoyable) job! If anyone out
there has any suggestions or
comments about the magazine
we would love to hear from you.
The magazine is widely read and
enjoyed by the youth of our town.
Looking to the near future we are
starting to make arrangements
for our annual Katherine
Community sector morning tea
as well as our annual Youth Week
event, the “Cinema Nite”. I will
be sure to share the highlights of
both of these events in the next
newsletter.
So for now we bid you farewell
and wish you well, and hope
that your year is shaping up to
be as exciting and challenging as
ours seems to be! And as we say
in the city of Katherine, Darwin
is our closest suburb so come
down and say HI to our team.
David Forder
Coordinator
Youth and Family Services
Katherine
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CHRISTMAS CAROLS
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CHRISTMAS GIFT WRAPPING
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CHRISTMAS PARTY
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The Somerville Staff Christmas Party is a between staff. The Administration and Finance
major event to thank staff for all of their hard team won the prize for the ‘best skit’ but they
work and extra effort throughout the year.
were up against stiff competition from the
Highlights of the night included presentations Family Services ‘Meditation Team’ and the
to staff for years of service, a drum rendition DS Coordinators ‘Birthing Presentation’. Two
by Callum Bateman and a ‘skit’ competition of the funniest skits were the Maintenance
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team doing ‘synchronised swimming’ and
the Disability office team doing a rendition of
“Chers’ ‘turn back time’ complete with mock
cannon and matching outfits.
A big thank you to Murray Oakley - our
major sponsor.
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SPONSORS
S
omerville was extremely fortunate
throughout 2011 to continue to
receive support from a host of businesses,
government departments and individuals.
Some of this support was monetary, some
“in kind” and some by way of discounts on
purchases.
Thank you to People’s Choice Credit
Union and the AMP who continue
to regularly and generously sponsor
Somerville.
Also a big thank you to Paspaley Pearls
for the donation of a spectacular Pearl for
Somerville’s Christmas Raffle.
We would like to acknowledge those
businesses
and
individuals
who
specifically donated to the Somerville Staff
Christmas Party by the donation of goods
to raffle or cash to put towards prizes.
The Somerville Staff Christmas Party is a
major event to thank staff for all of their
hard work and extra effort throughout the
year. Holding raffles with donated prizes
is our way of raising funds to pay for this
event. A big thank you to the following
generous sponsors -
40 Winks
Amcal Pharmacy
Athletes Foot
Betta Electrical Palmerston
Bonnie Solly
Calvi Boutique
Cam Interiors
Coates Hire
Colliers International
Corporate Express
Cricket and Football Shop
Crocodylus Park
Curtains on Cavenagh
Darwin Honda
Darwin Life Magazine
Darwin Lock & Key
Darwin Petroleum Services
Elaine Castles
Finlays Stonemasonry
Hogs Breath Darwin
Holiday Inn
J & I Electrical
Malukas Bistro Palmerston
Murry Oakley
Parap Fine Foods
Phil Kerr
Q Framing
Savvas Shoes
Shamrock Chemicals
Skycity
Stomp Shoes
Stuart Park Pharmacy
The Big Mower
The Bookshop The Mall
The Butcher Shop Hibiscus
The House of Pearls
Tracy Attewell
Trower Road Day & Night
Pharmacy
United Pharmacy
Ursula White
Woolworths
Somerville is fortunate
to have a number of
long term sponsors and
supporters (acknowledged
each year in our Annual
report). One of these
sponsors is the The Duke
of Edinburgh’s Award NT
Division.
Left: Ally Pettifor from
the Duke of Edinburgh’s
Northern Territory office
kindly handing over a
cheque to Somerville.
SOMERVILLE IS PROUDLY
SUPPORTED BY
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Family Services
SOME
children of single parent
families are more likely to be
impoverished, to do poorly in
school and have emotional and
behavioural problems.
SINGLE PARENT
FAMILIES
‘Single-parents represent a high proportion of Somerville’s Family Service clients’
C
ompared with other family
types, single-parent families
are considered to be at higher
risk of disadvantage (income,
housing, employment, social
participation).
25% of all households in the
Northern Territory are singleparent families (the highest
proportion in Australia ABS report May 2011). The
percentage varies significantly
between towns and suburbs.
For example, Fannie Bay has
one of the highest single-parent
households at 35%.
Financial Hardship
Life events such as loss of a partner
through death or separation can
affect all members of a family.
In
particular,
single-parent
families frequently face financial
hardship following separation.
This can continue for many
years and less income or low
income has consistently been
shown to result in poor family
outcomes.
Stress
Custody and access stemming
from separation or divorce can be
particularly stressful for parents.
With the demands of a household
now falling on the shoulders of
one parent instead of two, the
single-parent is often subject to
ongoing high levels of stress.
Stress is correlated with
less
positive
interactions,
less nurturing, and poorer
communications
between
parents and children.
Isolation
Single-parents may also find
themselves
isolated
from
support, particularly in daily
living,
especially
if
they
previously relied on the other
partner to care for their children
whilst the other parent was at
work.
Employment
Employment prospects as well
as employment capacity, changes
in the structure of the family, loss
of a second household income
and mental health wellbeing, all
contribute to single-household
families being disadvantaged in
regards to long-term outcomes.
Children
Research on the consequences of
single-parent families suggests
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In addition, these negative effects
are often not short-term but
carry into adulthood and may
manifest themselves in problems
in relationships and occupation.
Gender
Both genders are equally
affected by changes in the family
structure, including access to
children. Men as well as women
want to have the privilege to
spend time with their children.
Single parenting has evolved
to include male parents and
acknowledge a father’s role in a
single-parent household.
Somerville
Somerville’s Family Services
Programs offers free counselling
and support to families and
individuals.
When women and men can access
support and information that is
relevant to their own experience,
they are often able to transform
their lives.
To meet with a Somerville
counsellor or family support
worker, please contact either:
• Darwin Office 8920 4100
• Palmerston Office 8935 1500
• Katherine office 8972 5100.
Christine Karageorgiou
Family Counsellor/ Family
Support Worker
SOMERV
Disability Services
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Training and Development
L-R: Disabily Services Project Officer Stacey Powell and
Education Officer Diana Smith conducting a fire safety
training session with the “BullEx Fire Training System’.
T
he
Disability
services
program were out of the
starting blocks this year with
training
and
professional
development. For the first 6
weeks of the training program,
‘Fire Safety’ has been the
emphasis to ensure that all of
Somerville’s 184 employees will
have an understanding of:
• Simple fire science
• The principles and methods
of fire extinguishment
• The classes of fire and
extinguishing agents/ methods
available
• The use of fire equipment
• Safe fire response
Somerville
has
purchased
specialist
fire
training
equipment including digital
fire extinguisher tools that use
advanced laser technology to
simulate the discharge of a dry-
L-R: Disabilty Support Workers Azmi Marshall and Melissa
Tebag using fire equipment during a recent fire safety
training session.
chemical or CO2 extinguisher
for a completely clean, safe and
effective training experience.
Feedback from the most recent
training
session
included
comments such as:
‘This is really helpful. Somerville
has cool gadgets. It looked just
like the real thing. I love it”.
The training was extremely
helpful and reduced my fear of
using a fire extinguisher or a fire
blanket.
To address other training needs,
internal training sessions have
increased from fortnightly to
weekly, enabling more training
sessions and greater staff access
to professional development.
Somerville has been working on
the development of a night staff
training program. Somerville
has permanent night staff who
find it difficult to attend training
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held during business working
hours. A night staff training
program will commence in
mid February and continue
throughout 2012. The inclusion
of ‘on shift’ training for night
staff ensures that all Somerville
staff have access to training and
meet core competencies.
Somerville has also opened up
their internal training program
to other service providers thus
enabling greater sharing of
resources across the sector.
For more information on
Somerville Training Programs
please contact Debbie Bampton
on 89294100.
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PROFILE
Leanne Butler
Family Support Worker
I was born in Geraldton WA and
since then have lived all over the
country from Bolgart WA to Moree
NSW.
My father worked for ICI as a sales
rep and consequently moved every
2 years or so, which meant that I
lost count of how many schools I
attended or how many friends I’ve
made and lost over the years.
At the insistence of my mother
I attended secretarial college
(Groan). I wanted to be a cartoonist
and work for Disney or an Air
hostess (I thought it would be so
glamorous), however I was too tall
so I succumbed to being a Secretary
for a while before deciding to buy
a bus ticket and working around
Australia for a few years. (I could sell
you a mean set of encyclopaedias!).
I later married and then divorced
after only a few years due to DV.
However I did manage to have two
beautiful kids, Joshua and Jessica
now 20 and 18 respectively. Joshua
was about 4yrs and Jessica was not
quite 2 when I was launched head
first into single motherhood.
An agency of the
Uniting Church in Australia
successful as the previous fella, so
after the usual relationship issues
i.e. affair (not by me readers!), I
packed the kids into my Sigma,
loaded what I could in a trailer and
left on what would be an incredible
adventure. Little did I know at the
time but it was good grounding
for what I do now - helping people
escaping DV and seeking crisis
accomodation.
This continued for about six
months, we lived in a tent, we had
the most amazing experiences and
I eventually met the man of my
dreams at a rodeo! I need to write a
book one day.
Fast forward several years. The kids
had grown up and needed a mother
less and less and therefore I was
able to get back to studies where I
completed a Cert 3 in Aged Care and
a Cert 4 in Community Services.
Fast forward again. Then one day
I was lucky enough to get a job at
Somerville and work alongside the
I later moved to a small homeless and those who need a
country town and began a new helping hand. This really is the most
relationship, purchased a home rewarding thing I have ever done.
and a Cafe/Restaurant. That was as
SOMERVILLE NEWS
Somerville News is the quarterly
journal of Somerville Community
Services Inc. Further information
about our organisation and its
work is available from the CEO
on 8920 4100. Articles may be
reproduced freely but we request
acknowledgement.
DARWIN OFFICE
147 Lee Point Road, WAGAMAN, NT 0810
Ph: (08) 8920 4100
Fax: (08) 8920 4101
PO Box 42644
CASUARINA, NT 0811
Email: scs@somerville.org.au
PALMERSTON
3 Victoria Drive, GRAY NT 0830
Ph: (08) 8935 1500 Fax: (08) 8935 1501
Email: scspalm@somerville.org.au
PALMERSTON (Financial Management
Centre)
3 Bonson Terrace, MOULDEN NT 0830
Ph: (08) 8931 6200
Fax: (08) 8931 6201
Email: scspalm@somerville.org.au
KATHERINE OFFICE
30 First Street, KATHERINE NT 0850
Ph: (08) 8972 5100 - Fax: (08) 8972 5101
Email: scskath@somerville.org.au
Leanne
OUR MISSION
“To impact positively on the dignity
and quality of life of people who
are affected by social and economic
disadvantage.”
OUR VISION
“People are able to gain
improvement in their quality of life
by achieving the highest attainable
standard of social and economic
outcomes.”
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OUR VALUES
• Recognition of the intrinsic worth
of every human being
• Generosity from the heart
• Service to the community
• Justice within our society