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Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Personal Helpers and Mentors Program Demonstration Teams Round 1 - Western Australia

Demonstration Site: Albany
Organisation: Community First Inc

Community First Inc (CFI) is a not-for-profit training and employment provider offering a broad suite of services to people who have personal difficulties, mental health issues and barriers to community engagement. Its programmes include Personal Support Programme (PSP), Intensive Case Management (Job Network) and Ability Arts.

CFI operates across a geographically widespread area and has extensive experience in the delivery of services to rural and remote communities. It has both permanent and outreach services in the Peel, South West and Great Southern regions. Its permanent services are located in Mandurah, Bunbury, Albany, Pinjarra and Katanning and it provides outreach services to Kojonup, Boddington, Denmark, Mt Barker and other sites as far afield as Bremer Bay and Walpole.

CFI's programmes are wellness-oriented, recovery-focused, integrated and provide whole-of-life support. Each client's needs are assessed and an individual action plan developed which identifies the barriers to progress and the strategies and supports needed to overcome those barriers. Clients are referred to other services as needed to ensure each client receives the appropriate range of care and support to move forward.

CFI has a strong emphasis on referral to ensure clients receive the specialised support to meet their needs. It collaborates closely with Great Southern Health Service, Disability Services Albany, Great Southern Personnel, Great Southern Regional College, TAFE Disability Support Services, Alcohol and Drug Authority, Association of Mental Health Consumers (WA), Community Youth Services, PCYC Albany, Silver Chain, Care Options, Centrelink, Homes West as well as the women's refuge.

CFI also works regularly with more than 40 community-based organisations providing drug and alcohol, nutrition, domestic violence, sexual health, training and education, disability, relationship, counselling, financial and multicultural support.

CFI has extensive experience in delivering services for culturally diverse communities. A significant proportion of CFI's Job Network clients are highly disadvantaged and Indigenous. The CFI Mandurah service has achieved the highest performance rating (5 stars). It also delivers a number of multi-cultural programmes - Bilyidar, Multicultural Empowerment Programme, Changing Seasons Project - and works closely with Great Southern Aboriginal Health Services, Southern Aboriginal Corporation, National Multicultural Advisory Council, and the Adult Migrant Education Service.

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Demonstration Site: Armadale
Organisation: Daughters of Charity Services (WA), Trading as Ruah Community Services

Daughters of Charity Services (WA) has operated in Perth since 1956. In 2001, Daughters of Charity Services (WA) adopted Ruah Community Services as its working name.

Ruah is an ancient Hebrew word meaning 'wind', 'breath', 'Spirit of Life'. The name was chosen to express the spiritual tradition of the agency and to reflect a future that engenders an 'inclusive spirituality' in its mission.

Ruah Community Services is the Non-Government Organisation that delivers the largest quantity and range of services for people living with mental illness in Western Australia. It has the only specialised job placement service in Western Australia specifically for people living with mental illness.

During the 1990's, Ruah Community Services focused on the development of a professional psychosocial support model across the organisation. It sought an approach beyond baseline welfare assistance models, in order to be able to better address the complexities in people's lives.
Ruah Community Services created a new word 'inreach' to describe the service model they operate. Inreach works with people in their home environment, community setting or location of choice. The inreach notion captures the client centred intent of the service rather than 'outreach' which focuses on where the worker comes from.

Ruah Community Services has been operating in the Armadale region as a mental health service provider since 1995. It delivers a psychosocial recovery focused service that works with people's strengths to help people living with a mental illness to achieve a sense of meaningful participation in society. They have three service program teams operating in the Armadale region. These are:
Ruah's mental health service delivery approach now incorporates consumer and peer led components such as Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and HealthRight.

Ruah Community Services is currently undertaking a mental health research project which commenced in January 2005 and is anticipated to conclude in 2010. It involves a longitudinal study of 270 participants. The research project aims to identify pathways to obtaining, sustaining and regaining community connections.
In 2004 and 2006 Ruah Community Services received the Office of Mental Health Good Outcomes Award for a Non-Government Organisation, in recognition of a significant contribution to the field of Mental Health.

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Demonstration Site: Peel, Rockingham and Kwinana
Organisation: Community First Inc

Community First Inc (CFI) is a not-for-profit training and employment provider offering a broad suite of services to people who have personal difficulties, mental health issues and barriers to community engagement. Its programmes include Personal Support Programme (PSP), Intensive Case Management (Job Network) and Ability Arts.

CFI operates across a geographically widespread area and has extensive experience in the delivery of services to rural and remote communities. It has both permanent and outreach services in the Peel, South West and Great Southern regions. Its permanent services are located in Mandurah, Bunbury, Albany, Pinjarra and Katanning and it provides outreach services to Kojonup, Boddington, Denmark, Mt Barker and other sites as far afield as Bremer Bay and Walpole.

CFI's programmes are wellness-oriented, recovery-focused, integrated and provide whole-of-life support. Each client's needs are assessed and an individual action plan developed which identifies the barriers to progress and the strategies and supports needed to overcome those barriers. Clients are referred to other services as needed to ensure each client receives the appropriate range of care and support to move forward.

CFI has a strong emphasis on referral to ensure clients receive the specialised support to meet their needs. It collaborates closely with Great Southern Health Service, Disability Services Albany, Great Southern Personnel, Great Southern Regional College, TAFE Disability Support Services, Alcohol and Drug Authority, Association of Mental Health Consumers (WA), Community Youth Services, PCYC Albany, Silver Chain, Care Options, Centrelink, Homes West as well as the women's refuge.

CFI also works regularly with more than 40 community-based organisations providing drug and alcohol, nutrition, domestic violence, sexual health, training and education, disability, relationship, counselling, financial and multicultural support.

CFI has extensive experience in delivering services for culturally diverse communities. A significant proportion of CFI's Job Network clients are highly disadvantaged and Indigenous. The CFI Mandurah service has achieved the highest performance rating (5 stars). It also delivers a number of multi-cultural programmes - Bilyidar, Multicultural Empowerment Programme, Changing Seasons Project - and works closely with Great Southern Aboriginal Health Services, Southern Aboriginal Corporation, National Multicultural Advisory Council, and the Adult Migrant Education Service.

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