A rebranding has occurred! Pulse is now Heartbeat. I will be Pulsing no more. But I will Heartbeat instead!! Or should that be Heartbeating?! I can see it now – ‘as I Heartbeated a couple of weeks ago!’ Nothing quite like inventing new words!!
Category Archives: General
In My Perfect Servants World ……………..
In my perfect Servants world we would not see the mental and physical health of our resos collapse. In my perfect Servants world I would never. Ever. House somebody inappropriately – causing distress to other resos and staff. In my perfect Servants world everyone we house would value the opportunities that is given them by definition of calling a Servants house a Home. In my perfect Servants world all levels of Government would throw money at us to establish more housing, recognizing that we not only house people brilliantly but that we save the wider community hundreds of thousands of dollars annually as a result of our model. In my perfect Servants world the community would embrace and welcome the diversity that our resos bring to Hawthorn and Kew. In my perfect Servants world those who benefit from housing people in misery would be thrown in jail with the keys thrown away. In my perfect Servants world more people would look to us to see what community can really look like.
Until such a time as this utopian pipedream occurs I encourage us all – Committee, Housekeepers, Staff, Volunteers, Donors, Members, Friends – to keep fighting the good fight – bringing the respect and the dignity and the hope to those folks we have the privilege of housing, getting alongside and supporting.
Ivy Grange
It appears that after many years of running a pathetic excuse of a rooming house that the owners of Ivy Grange in Kew are finally starting to get their act together. Recent meetings with Boroondara Police and other interested parties (including Servants at the first meeting which was a waste of time) have led the owner’s son, who by all accounts is marginally more humane than his father, to decide to run it properly – whatever that means.
I have been approached by Council to see f I would be prepared to meet with the new manager to discuss best practice and to potentially help him/her establish some protocols etc. I am very happy to help.
I apologize for how negatively this Pulse entry reads – I guess it reflects my anger that scum of the earth owners like Joe can get fat and rich off the human misery he has allowed to develop at his house.
Watch this space ………………………..
Special
Yesterday a Carrical reso began some volunteer work in the gardens at Romana – under the watchful eye of one of the more capable Romana resos. It was very special seeing this arrangement come together. Just one of the very many lovely relational things we continue to see in the houses.
Conference Day 3
Communities in Control conference concluded yesterday. The highlight of the day, indeed the conference, was hearing from the incomparable Hugh Mackay on his thoughts re community and his fears for its gradual removal from our society. It was also inspiring to hear from Dan Mori, the lawyer who represented David Hicks.
I was happy with the networking I did throughout the 3 days.
There was of course plenty of dross too. The lowlight of this being an economist whom I swear had attended the wrong conference!
I have made it one of my goals for 2016 to speak at this conference. Watch this space!!
Reflections: The Mansion on the Hill
The Scotch College/Servants theatre production will be showing at Scotch on 4th October at 4.00pm and 5th, 6th, 7th October at 7.00pm.
Entry is by gold coin donation.
The venue is The Cramond Studio at Scotch – the same venue where Voices: The Carrical Project first showed – and was instrumental in Servants being who we are today.
The background to this piece is that Scotch approached me asking for a theme/idea for their theatre piece – I was happy to oblige! Just for the record, this is eating up very little of my time!!
This theatre piece is not even close to the scale of our previous productions.
Conference Day 2
Communities in Control Conference today was, overall, terrific. Some wonderful talks and presentations. More good networking. All in all a pretty inspiring day.
Conference
Today, Sunday, I attended Day 1 of the Communities in Control Conference at Moonee Valley racecourse. It was a good day with a whopping 75% of the content being of value to me! The highlight of the day was bumping into 2 Williamson 2013 participants who both said that their evening at Carrical/Servants in 2013 was the highlight of their Williamson year. One of them went on to say that it was after this visit that she decided she needed to do far more with her life and ‘get her hands dirty’ making a difference in the world. The conversations will doubtless continue over Monday and Tuesday at the racecourse.
Psychosis. Court. Reso movements. Walking. Budget.
We have been dealing with a resident at Romana who, very sadly, became psychotic in the early hours of Wednesday morning. I am pleased to say he is now receiving appropriate treatment in hospital.
Amanda and I spent what felt like a 1000 hours in Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday with a Carrical reso we have been supporting as he faces up to some issues in his life. We get to do it all again in 2 months time following an adjournment of his hearing.
There has been a little resident activity to report this week – one resident accepted our offer of housing today at Carrical and his tenancy commences next Monday. our newest female reso at Hamer has not worked out well and her tenancy ends this Sunday.
It has been a slow build buy today we had 4 Carrical resos join a group of 3 Xavier students for a walk as the resos start to prepare for Run Melbourne. The Xavier lads are terrific and are enjoying the talks and walks with the resos. Cross-pollination of different communities working wonderfully!
Isaac and I have been chipping away at the 2015/16 budget in the latter stages of this week in readiness for presenting to the Risk sub-committee on Monday evening.
Bar Ristretto clip
This was put together for some online advertising for Ristretto.
We get a mention and one of us can be seen inside and out!
Essence
The Essence of Servants project commenced this evening with Andre spending a couple of hours with 7 cooks and Housekeepers. Over the next few weeks Andre will be looking to spend time with as many folks as possible who are connected to Servants as he aims to help us to understand ourselves still better.
Sacred Heart
Some of you may have seen the recently published articles about the Journey To Social Inclusion program being operated by Sacred Heart Mission. I have included just one of the articles below for your perusal and edification.
Their model is based around intensive and individually tailored support and rapid access to permanent housing; therapeutic services to address the trauma that is both a cause and a consequence of long term homelessness and a skills building program that equips participants with life skills, assisting them to reconnect with the mainstream community and build social networks outside of the homeless subculture.
They conservatively estimate that for each person who is successfully housed by them for a period of 12 months equates to a cost saving to the community in the vicinity of $30,000 – $35,000.
And why should Servants be interested in this? Because what they do is not a million miles away from what we do and because the cost savings that we bring to the wider community are doubtless just as significant. I suggest that when find we have a few spare minutes to draw breath that we should very seriously consider beginning to understand the community benefit, in terms of dollars, that our services provide. This would provide us with further compelling evidence moving forward to argue strongly for our unique model of housing.
30 APRIL 2015
MEDIA RELEASE Home-grown solution key to solving long-term homelessness
• Study shows 75% of participants remain in stable housing after four years
• 80% decline in the need for health services
• Study delivered savings to Government up to $32,080 per participant
The report, released today, shows sustained positive outcomes were still being seen one year after services, with 75% still in stable housing, in comparison with only 58% of a control group receiving existing homelessness services. Another significant outcome of the study was the 80% decline in the need for health services amongst J2SI participants, versus a 21% increase in the need for these services amongst the control group. The 48 month report, independently evaluated by RMIT and Melbourne University, is the first of its kind to undertake an longitudinal, randomised control trial over four years, that measured a pilot group of 40 J2SI participants receiving intensive services from case workers against a control group of 43 participants receiving existing services.
Further analysis by Sacred Heart Mission has shown that when we set aside the control group and compare the cost to Government of servicing J2SI participants at the start of the study, with that same cost at the 48-month mark, the benefit for government is assessed as $70,365 per participant ($17,591 per year).
“Long-term and chronic homelessness presents quite a different challenge to short-term homelessness,” said CEO of Sacred Heart Mission in St Kilda, Cathy Humphrey. “The effects on the individual, society and economy are costly and complex, with the cycle being harder to break the longer the person has been in that situation. J2SI found that developing a sustained trusting relationship between a case worker and a participant, addressing the trauma that causes a person to fall into the cycle of homelessness is critical, alongside rapid access to safe affordable housing. “However, as every person is different, there is no one size fits all model to solving homelessness, so the solution must be individualised. These people are entrenched in a systemic cycle of disadvantage and require significant support to unpack the effects of a life time of disadvantage, and to rebuild a future. “Our study shows that with the right investment, significant breakthroughs can be delivered and measured in order to address the bigger picture issue of homelessness across Australia. The program’s holistic approach has resulted in a significant reduction in the use of costly, emergency health services, placing less strain on public services and government.”
MP Martin Foley, Minister for Housing Disability and Ageing, who is officially launching the report on April 30 at the Royal College of Australian Surgeons, said, “The Andrews Labor Government strongly believes in working with community organisations like Sacred Heart to develop strategies that break the cycle of homelessness and improve support to homeless people.” “As both the member for Albert Park and Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, I am proud of the outstanding work done locally by Sacred Heart Mission with the many homeless people in my local area. I am also proud to have such world-leading research on such an important social issue produced in my local community.
“The work being done by Sacred Heart Mission through the Journey to Social Inclusion program is providing invaluable information as we look at tackling the problem of long-term homelessness and entrenched generational disadvantage.”
Having established the evidence base for a promising new service model, Sacred Heart Mission is now seeking assistance to raise $4 million in funding to roll out J2SI Mark II, a refined pilot intended to improve outcomes, and demonstrate the capacity to deliver the program at scale. The longer term goal is to roll out the program nationally with community sector partners and State and Federal governments.
In order to achieve this objective, a sustainable and diversified funding base will be required, incorporating Government, corporate and philanthropic partners working in partnership with the Mission.
An online version of the report is available at www.sacredheartmission.org
• At the conclusion of a three-year Pilot, 85% of J2SI participants were in independent housing, with 75% remaining in housing a year after support services ceased
• Participants’ use of emergency health services declined by over 80% (an outcome that has been sustained since the Pilot’s cessation)
• J2SI participants’ average use of emergency hospital services declined by 80%, from 1.5 instances in the preceding six months at the start of the study, to 0.3 instances at the 48 month mark o In comparison, the control group experienced a 21% increase in the need for emergency hospital services at the 48 month mark
• J2SI participants’ average use of emergency psychiatric assistance declined from 1.5 instances in the preceding six months at baseline, to 0.1 at the 48 month mark o In comparison, there was no material change amongst the control group
• A continued decline in the number of days J2SI participants were incarcerated
• An increased use of employment services and willingness to work during the program’s duration
• A consistent improvement in perceived social support and acceptance; the two key indicators used to measure social inclusion
For interviews please contact:
Jessica.mangan@redagency.com.au 03 9426 5341/ 0416 544 855 Mia.cochrane@redagency.com.au 03 9426 5348/ 0401 962 623
Romana Anniversary
The one year birthday party at Romana on Sunday was a really nice occasion. Many people popped in for lunch/arvo tea – including a few surprises from the broader Servants family. The sun shone, the food was terrific and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Big thanks to Brian and Pat for all their work behind the scenes organizing such a good day.
CHP
The Council to Homeless Persons have just released a book entitled ‘Homelessness in Australia.’
I suggest that this would be a terrific book for all committee members to at least spend a few minutes exploring. I will bring it to the June committee meeting – however, if you are desperate to devour all 300 pages beforehand please let me know and I will get my copy to you.
The back cover reads:
The first book to explore the current complexities of homelessness in Australia and future policies to address it.
What is homelessness? Who counts as homeless? Whose responsibility is homelessness? In Homelessness in Australia, leading experts offer timely insights into the history, causes and extent of homelessness in this country – and the future policy directions most likely to have a positive impact. Chapters cover issues such as gender, Indigenous homelessness, family violence, young people, older people, the effects of trauma and reforming the service system.
AA & Anthology
At the gym on Saturday I bumped into Anthony Antoniadis – one of the 2 Scotch College boys who worked so hard on Anthology waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 2010/11. It was the first time I had seen him since the memorable Anthology launch in the middle of 2011. He was just as lovely as when I last saw him!! His family have stayed supporters of Servants in the intervening years and Anthony is keen to become involved once more. He had seen the Narrative book and loved it and was pretty excited to hear that his and Jeremy’s book (the other author) has now had 2 print runs of 5000 copies each.
Talking of Anthology – we are now down to under 1500 copies of the second print run. I am planning on running this total down close to zero via the show bags we will be distributing at Run Melbourne in July. At some point we will need to make a decision as to whether we desire to print more copies. For what it’s worth, my opinion is that it makes absolute sense to do so. Somewhat surprisingly to me there are people who prefer Anthology to Narrative – and not just Anthony’s folks!!
Hamer Trivia.
A group of folks from St Hilary’s Church in Kew hosted a BBQ and Trivia Night at Hamer on Saturday night. It was just terrific. Residents, guests and management alike had a great time.
Social Work Practice in Mental Health book
This Pulse is possibly more for Amanda, me and the Housekeepers – although good for all us to know. I received today the 2nd edition of Social Work Practice in Mental Health. It is excellent! Appreciating that we are NOT social workers there is a lot of great stuff in this book that should be of benefit to us in dealing with complex resos. There are terrific case studies – and even the briefest of glimpses into the book should be of great encouragement to us all. Please let me know if you would like to have a look. If we all find it a useful publication we could easily put a copy into each of the houses for reference.
Wood. Trees.
Sometimes all on the front line of our work are so busy with the day to day happenings of keeping the show on the road that we don’t take enough time to value the very special things we all witness on a day to day basis.
Sure, housing people well and ensuring people are well cared for is a wonderful thing in itself – but it’s the acts of kindness and generosity that we constantly see from residents that is just so very special to witness. I often talk about the ‘rare air’ that is breathed by all involved with Servants – and oft times this refers to some of the painful, the crazy and the quite frankly mind-bending things we witness and cope with.
Therefore, this is a post of encouragement to remind us all – committee members, those in the engine room of accounts, staff, Housekeepers and Amanda and me – all of us – our work, energies and passion are fundamental in allowing relationships and friendships to form, to provide people with a healthy framework in which they can recover from trauma and addictions, to be able to face looking themselves in the mirror once more, to have family relationships restored. What we do matters. It really does. Let’s not forget this.
Matt.
AFL
I successfully applied to the AFL for 30 free tickets to an upcoming match at the MCG – Richmond versus someone I forget. 10 free tickets for each house. I am glad the Housekeepers will be sorting out who these tickets go to!!
Hamer Trivia
There will be a BBQ at 5.30pm this Saturday at Hamer followed by a Trivia evening.
All welcome!!