Empowering Independence – Travel Training Program for NDIS Participants

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Our individualised capacity building travel training program is designed to empower NDIS participants to be more independent, confident, and safe when traveling on their own. By building their skills to use public transport, they can save their NDIS funding for other capacity-building services to further enhance their independence.

About the Program

Twice a week, participants are empowered to building their skills and confidence. They will receive individualised support to travel as a team from the city of Adelaide to destination hubs in the north, south, east, and west of metropolitan Adelaide. Over 13 weeks, group members are supported to build their skills to work together to plan fun and interesting locations across Adelaide to visit to build their travel training skills. During each session the group reflects on their learning in a cafe setting, the cost of which is covered by the program. In a supportive and social small-group environment, participants will:

• Plan Trips Independently: Learn how to organise a trip to any part of metropolitan Adelaide using buses, trains, and trams;
• Prepare for Travel: Understand when to pack which essential items for different weather conditions and travel lengths such as food, drinks, clothing, house keys, chargers, etc;
• Ensure Safety: Develop strategies to stay safe, including what to do in emergencies;
• Manage Metro Cards: Learn to purchase, use, and recharge Adelaide Metro cards;
• Navigate Destinations: Gain skills and confidence to walk around unfamiliar places without getting lost;
• Create Personal Maps: Build a personalised map of locations they have visited for future reference.

NDIS Plan Savings

Our program empowers participants to not only travel independently but can also achieve significant savings to NDIS plans. By reducing the need for paid transport services, participants can redirect their NDIS funds towards other capacity-building supports to achieve further independence.

Collectively, our 8 graduates to date have currently saved more than $120,000 a year.*

This is equivalent to 1750 hours of extra capacity building services per year.**

*Approximately based on individualised allocated NDIS funding. **Based on current 1:1 capacity building NDIS rates.

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Explore your interest in information technology through an individualised learning program from your mentor.

Design a program around your interests in the following:

• Learn how to design and make a project on our filament 3D printers including using design software, selecting suitable;
• filament types, and printer settings;
• Learn how to use our design software and heat press to print your own t-shirt,
• How to code in python;
• Photo editing;
• How to build and maintain a computer as a possible retail employment pathway in information technology.

Build up your employability skills through working with others including project management through fun and interesting individual and group based projects.

Funded by

• CB Increased Social and Community Participation;
• CB Finding and Keeping A Job;
• School Leaver Employment Support (SLES);
• Improved Daily Living 15_037_0117_1_3;
• Core assistance with social, economic, and community participation.

Download the ‘Information Technology Skills’ Flyer

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Explore you interest in MIG welding, (with exposure to TIG, ARC) from through an individualised capacity building program.

Build your technical welding skills in metal preparation; measurement, tack, fillet, and butt joins; cutting and grinding, and work health and safety. Once your skills are at a minimum level develop a individual small project to demonstrate your capability. Develop your confidence and employability skills in a small group setting as a pathway to employment preparedness.

Funded by

• CB Increased Social and Community Participation;
• CB Finding and Keeping A Job;
• School Leaver Employment Support (SLES);
• Improved Daily Living 15_037_0117_1_3;
• Core assistance with social, economic, and community participation.

Download the ‘Welding’ Flyer

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The barista program offers mentee’s a hands-on experience of working on commercial coffee machines from a professional barista. Each mentee receives individualised support to learn the following within a support very small social group environment.

Mentees will be empowered to build their technical skills and employability skills in:

• Food health and safety specific to barista work;
• Espresso theory;
• Milk texturing and pouring;
• Making coffees including building speed and accuracy;
• Coffee machine maintenance;
• Team work and customer service within a simulated work environment.

After learning the essential skills for coffee making, mentee’s will be empowered to develop their employability skills as a pathway to employment within a simulated work environment that represents barista industry expectations.

Funded by:

• CB Increased Social and Community Participation;
• CB Finding and Keeping A Job;
• School Leaver Employment Support (SLES);
• Improved Daily Living 15_037_0117_1_3;
• Core assistance with social, economic, and community participation.

Download the ‘Barista’ Flyer

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The resilience program aims to build the capacity of mentees to make more productive decisions, more frequently, that empower them to progress more consistently and quickly on their pathway towards achieving their NDIS goals.

This is within the context that fundamentally, stretch goals are generally not achieved because not enough time is spent consistently working towards them. This is typically because of reactions to external situations in terms of thoughts and feelings that result in a decision to cease working towards them. While these thoughts and feelings are valid and are understandable, this can result in achievable goals not being reached.

Resilience in this context, involves their empowerment to build their skills to more consistently stay on the pathway to their goals. This includes reflecting on events that have deflected them from their pathway and anticipating possible future events that may distract them from their pathway and the capacity to make difference choices to continue on their pathway despite these. Participants learn and apply the resilience concepts through an individualised and very small group setting in a dynamic and non-clinical setting that is directly relevant to building their capacity to achieve their NDIS goals as they relate to increased community and social participation and employment.

The concepts are underpinned by core concepts and evidence bases in: neurochemistry as it relates to neuroplasticity for learning and motivation, positive psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance commitment therapy, and behavioural change, within a framework of reward based learning.

The resilience program empowers participants to become more:

• Aware of what choices are within their influence that will enable them to progress towards their goals;
• Aware of daily habits that are helping and those that are making it harder for them to achieve their goals;
• Accepting of the behavioural change process to actively what they have learnt to progress on their pathway to achieve their goals;
• Self-motivated;
• Positive in their outlook of their goals and the pathway to achieve them;
• Able to manage the fear response in the context of triggers and setting events;
• Able to set relevant and tangible goals including reflecting on outcomes of their choices to work towards them;
• Confident to use supports and networks in their home, community, and future work environments to help them achieve their goals.

Funded by

• CB Increased Social and Community Participation;
• CB Finding and Keeping A Job;
• School Leaver Employment Support (SLES);
• Improved Daily Living 15_037_0117_1_3;
• Core assistance with social, economic, and community participation.

Download the ‘Resilience’ Flyer

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Explore your interest in cooking and eating great tasting food through our individualised cooking skills program. If you are wanting to learn how to cook better for you and your family at home, or interested to explore an employment pathway into hospitality in a simulated work setting, then this program is for you.

Learn from a cooking mentor experienced in hospitality who will create an individualised and fun cooking program with you based on the foods you like to eat and to explore new recipes and ingredients.

You’ll learn in a fun and small social group learning environment, how to:

• Plan a weekly food menu;
• Budget;
• Set up a food storage system;
• Be safe when cooking and storing food;
• Bake, grill, fry, steam, and blanche foods and many more cooking techniques;
• Read a nutrition information panel;
• Use the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating;
• Access emergency food relief if needed.

If you are interested in exploring your interest in food as a possible pathway into employment in hospitality, you’ll also learn about cooking workplace workflows, employer expectations and more.

Funded by:

• CB Increased Social and Community Participation;
• CB Finding and Keeping A Job;
• School Leaver Employment Support (SLES);
• Improved Daily Living 15_037_0117_1_3;
• Core assistance with social, economic, and community participation.

Download the ‘Cooking Skills’ Flyer

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Explore your interest in gardening, garden design and landscaping through our industry-based garden squad. Through our partnership with the City of Adelaide Horticulture team, you will learn how to design, install and maintain garden verges across the Adelaide CBD. With our connections to local community gardens you’ll further build your gardening skills and experience.

If you are want to explore your interest in gardening, build your practical skills towards a career in horticulture in a simulated work setting with authentic industry connections, or grow your confidence in a nurturing outdoor team environment, then this is program is for you!

In a small based learning environment, you’ll learn how to:

• WHS including safe operating procedures for gardening equipment;

• Plan and design a garden;

• Plant selection;

• Irrigation, soil preparation, and planting;

• Garden maintenance including pruning, weeding and spraying

Youth Options Garden Squad Wins Local Australia Day Award

The Youth Options Garden Squad were officially recognised for their exemplary contribution, collaboration and impact on local green spaces and residents within the CBD. They achieved this through the completion of 33 projects over 18 months in partnership with the City of Adelaide horticulture team. For their dedication, the mentees won the City of Adelaide 2024 Australia Day Award in the active citizen category.