A message from our CEO 

Happy New Year everyone. I am sure you are looking forward to a brighter year for 2021. Whilst we managed to wade through the complexities of last year, we were still able to grow and develop in many ways. I am looking forward to seeing how some of our initiatives can further progress this
year.

Thankfully little held us back in 2020 and we again finished the year by providing a memorable Christmas for those in our care. I want to thank you all for the time you gave to the children, young people, adults, and families we care for. Christmas should be a time for celebration, and it makes such a difference when you are all so committed and willing to share your time on this special occasion. I look forward to hearing more positive stories from the holidays so please do not hesitate to share these around.

Thankfully little held us back in 2020 and we again finished the year by providing a memorable Christmas for those in our care. I want to thank you all for the time you gave to the children, young people, adults, and families we care for. Christmas should be a time for celebration, and it makes such a difference when you are all so committed and willing to share your time on this special occasion. I look forward to hearing more positive stories from the holidays so please do not hesitate to share these around. We were once again supported by many businesses and organisations in the lead up to Christmas, directly impacting our ability to provide gifts and food to those we care for. BIG W Hunter stores again stepped up and promoted our Christmas Appeal, supporting the donation of many toys, books,
clothing, and other items ready to go when they are needed throughout the year. Our partnership with BIG W is integral in facilitating valuable community support and we cannot thank them enough for their willingness to unite with us each Christmas.

Along with BIG W, many other businesses and groups hosted giving trees, rallied donations or held fundraisers to support us this Christmas. These included Creer Property Charlestown, Telstra Newcastle, Gair Legal, The Junction Public School, Wallsend Seventh-day Adventist Church, Maitland
Tennis Centre, Bentleys Newcastle, and the Tocal College Social Club. In addition, several individuals connected to Allambi supported us with donations or their time to help. Thank you to everyone for your contribution to what was a very successful Christmas for 2020.

One thing I enjoyed hearing and passing on to our Board of Directors last year were the stories of success that came from our programs. You all never fail to go above and beyond to help those we care for meet their goals, or even surpass them. You are all so good at looking outside the box and
creating new ways to support change, growth, and innovation. This is also evident in our programs that are not operational, where creative evolution is constant. There is so much good happening across our organisation and I look forward to sharing these in this newsletter moving forward.

I wish you all a less restrictive, healthy, and happy 2021 and look forward to continuing to work together to create hope and build positive futures throughout the year.

Best wishes,

Simon Walsh
CEO

New Brand Campaign

We are currently working with the awesome crew at Headjam on our new brand campaign. We are VERY EXCITED about this project, and can't wait for everyone to see the campaign, which will feature at Charlestown Square shopping centre and on buses across Newcastle.

The campaign will focus on the young people Allambi Care has been supporting since the 80s. It will be a celebration of the work our organisation has been doing for disadvantaged young people over the years and a reminder of Allambi's aim to continue supporting  young people in the years to come. 

It was a fun shoot that made us all (well, at least the grown-ups) feel a bit nostalgic.

Here are some behind the scene photos that can give you an idea of the style and mood of the campaign:

Rushfields

We have have been working on a strategic pathway to establishing a practical, logical and responsible way to work towards becoming self-sustainable.

The result is the development of Rushfields, a lifestyle sports training facility for the community. Located in Warners Bay, this is a pioneering project for a community services organisation.

Rushfields or follow us on Instagram.

Education and Training 

Education

2020 has been a big year in education for our staff. With 44 students graduating with a Bachelor of Human Services (BHS) and 90 graduating with a Diploma of Community Services.

Megan Taylor, who is part of our second cohort of BHS students said:

“The families that we work with often have complex needs and this degree offered me the ability to understand those complexities and the different systems and how to navigate them. The most enjoyable part of the degree has been expanding my knowledge on the human services field and doing so with my colleagues who all want the same thing. We took on this opportunity to learn, grow and expand on our practice.”

Daniel Morningstar, a graduate of the Diploma who has enrolled in the BHS in 2021 said:

“The most valuable aspect of the program was to learn from and utilise the support of people who understand the work that we do every day. It was a fantastic pathway to develop my skillset and I’d really recommend it for anyone who gets the opportunity”

Training

Breathe Meditation Sessions Presented by Sunet Russouw

The first session will be on 22 February at 8:30am in the Mezzanine. Due to COVID-19 staff will need to book as the numbers will be limited to 15 people. We will run a live zoom session for those interested in joining from other areas in the building or from home.  

Online training portal

On December 1^st, 2020 we sent you an email about our Online Learning Portal

What is it? Over the years we have been asked to look at online learning. Last year was a challenge in so many ways- one of them was not being able to provide face to face Ongoing training and we know how important it is to be supported throughout your Foster Care journey with access to training. That’s why we’ve created an online learning platform for Carers.

The platform is a resource that will keep growing with time, with lots of content for you to access for free, from the comfort of your own home.

There will be a module released every month and the subject will be detailed in the monthly newsletter.

The first module presented by Ben Jones, TACT Training & Development Co-ordinator, was a brief look at Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Families or, TCIF.

Each training module will consist of multiple short courses, which will include a video covering an important area related to caring for a young person. These courses include handout that will help you reflect on the content.

You can complete the content at your own pace, without having to leave your home, which is quite handy in these COVID-19 times!

The courses have been developed as a resource tailored for specific needs. They’re not designed to test you but rather to further your knowledge and give consideration to certain areas that are key when caring for a young person.

Once you have completed the module, you’ll be prompted to complete 5-question quiz if you want to test your knowledge learned!

To access the online portal click HERE.

You will need to log in using your email address. Left Click on ‘Sign In’ and verify.

Circle of Security Training

Presented by Sunet Russouw

To be released soon via our Online Learning Portal.

Upcoming My Forever Family Training

FEB 1 – 7pm to 10pm - Online: Sarah Dillon presents - Tentacles of Trauma (Effects of Trauma)

This course will help participants to understand why children with a history of trauma and neglect behave in the way they do. They will gain a further understanding of how historical trauma is recreated in the present. The trainer will give insight into the internal survival world of such children.

FEB 9 – 10am Webinar: Understanding Emotional Regulation

Assisted regulation allows children to learn how to effectively self-regulate independently.

FEB 12 – 9.30am Online: Children in care and sexualised behaviours

This training aims to equip carers to recognise and respond as necessary to sexualised behaviours.

FEB 16 – 10am Webinar: Understanding children who’ve been exposed to violence

Understanding how the exposure to domestic and family violence has impacted a child can assist in identifying behaviours and strategies to assist the child’s development.

FEB 23 – 10am Webinar: Managing bullying

Children with experiences of trauma are particularly vulnerable to bullying, so what can we do to better support them? This 1-hour webinar aims to develop an awareness of bullying, its impacts and strategies we can use to support our children.

For MFF membership and to participate in these events go to:

Celebrating Successes 

Congratulations Mark!

We are extremely proud of Mark Harrison, who today won the “Residential Leadership Award” at 2020 Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare Awards.

The judging panel determined that Mark had “demonstrated outstanding achievement and innovation in his leadership role, which has had a significant impact on residential care systems and outcomes for children and young people.”

Mark’s ability as a leader and his belief in Allambi Care’s Needs Based Restorative Framework have been a key factor in building the confidence and quality of staff that Allambi Care have required to successfully establish its residential program in Victoria over the past 12 months. Not only has Mark been responsible for establishing a program, but he has also been a vocal advocate for change in the sector to create stability for young people entering our residential program to achieve positive outcomes. Mark leans on his extensive experience working closely with children and youth, many with disabilities, to advocate for best practice and child-centred approaches to case planning.

Mark’s leadership in the management of COVID-19 has been vital. Not only has he been able to maintain staff morale and enthusiasm in such a difficult time, but his supervision has ensured that Allambi Care have not suffered one COVID-19 outbreak within their residential placements.

Lyn Hartigan 10 years with Allambi

A huge congratulations and thank you to Lyn Hartigan for ticking over 10 years as a carer with Allambi. We asked our Foster Care Manager, Tegan James, for some words about Lyn. Tegan has known Lyn for a number of years.

“How do I sum up Lyn in a few sentences? Patient! Lyn is one of the most patient and kind ladies that I have ever worked with. Her years of knowledge and experience has been passed on to so many of our lucky young people and their families, as well as fellow carers and the case work teams that have had the privilege of working alongside her! Thank you Lyn, for your invaluable investment in the lives of our young people! I look forward to working with you for another 10 years!”

Outreach

Our Outreach department worked incredibly hard throughout December to make sure the families we support were not forgotten during the Christmas period.

We were very lucky to have around 150 gifts donated by Wallsend Seventh-day Adventist Church for children and teens from struggling families. This incredible act of generosity made things a little easier for many local families. A huge thank you to those involved.

Allambi Christmas Appeal

BIG W came onboard again for the Allambi Care Christmas Appeal. People donated gifts for struggling families at local BIG W stores all across the Hunter and Central Coast.

Thanks to all the donors and BIG W for their support.

The Carer's Way

Reconnecting to Family Roots

It's fantastic when we can support our participants achieve life goals.

Only recently we've been able to experience that when a young girl who joined our services last September was reconnected with her biological father's family.

When she joined our service, she had absolutely no connection to her biological father’s culture and family. She had lost this contact when she was 2 years of age.

From the age of nine she had been expressing to The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) that she would love to meet her father and his other children. For 5-6 years both DCJ and Allambi Care tried to locate her father and his family but unfortunately had no success. 

This all changed recently when she received a Facebook message from her long-lost brother. Following this she and her biological sister met with their brother and learnt all about their family history, where their family had come from and the challenging experiences they all faced moving to Australia.

She is now looking forward to the future, enjoying learning more about who she is and getting to meet her four other siblings… which she didn’t even know existed.

Creating Resilient Families

Young children need consistency and predictability. This allows them to feel sure of you. After a while though, a bit of unpredictability can go a long way. To many children, most parents are about as predictable as a washing machine cycle. It is important to have structure and consistency, but it is also useful to act in ways that your children wouldn’t expect. This keeps them interested in learning from you or at least wondering what you are up to.

Perhaps the most important feature of parents in healthy families is that they realise that all of the above is desirable but not always possible and so they look at how to promote good functioning while not wasting energy on blaming themselves for the times when things don’t quite work out as they had planned.

Family Fun

Scavenger Hunt Printables

Have a Family Day Out and discover Newcastle with the FREE Family Scavenger Hunt Printables created by Newy with Kids and the City of Newcastle. 

Download the self-directed scavenger hunt then visit the location. Your group will need to find different points of interest and answer questions to solve the mystery phrase. It’s the ‘Where’s Wally’ of Newcastle! There are five locations to choose from

1. Blackbutt Reserve
2. Civic Park and Honeysuckle
3. Foreshore Park
4. Stockton
5. Wallsend Brickworks
6. Newcastle Museum (coming soon)
   
   

The scavenger hunts are suitable for kids aged 4-16. If you don’t have a printer you can download the scavenger hunt to your phone or a tablet. Instructions are on the website.

Click on the link below for more informationhttps://newywithkids.com.au/newcastle-scavenger-hunts/

Do you need a new uniform?
To place your order click HERE