A Word from Wendy
The past 12 months will go on record as the most challenging year of our lives . COVID-19 has brought to the forefront the impact of the pandemic on the health and wellbeing of communities across the globe . Within our own community we will continue to work with participants , their families / carers , and the broader disability community to develop initiatives to keep people safe . We will continue to support family and friends within SA health guidelines , as we learn to live with coronavirus .
Despite the challenges , EBL Disability Services ended the year on a high note in terms of service provision and financial strength . Since the beginning of March we have focused on our COVID-19 response which includes maintaining safe service provision for participants , staff and family members . I am extremely proud of our achievements and have immense respect and appreciation for our dedicated employees , EBL Board and Foundation who worked tirelessly to support our efforts through these challenging times .
In late 2019 , we conducted an indepth evaluation of our technical and non-technical operations across every area of the organisation as we grappled with the ever increasing NDIS bureaucracy . And , in early 2020 we used the data gained through the evaluation process to commence work on rebuilding our infrastructure and business processing in order to deliver more efficiencies . This work ensures we are able to better meet the needs of participants and their families as the NDIS continues to evolve .
At the beginning of 2020 , we were coming to terms with the terrible bushfires across Australia and then the pandemic hit . Very quickly our focus changed from NDIS infrastructure building to responding to a new set of challenges . Our primary focus shifted to keeping people safe , hand hygiene , finding toilet paper , sourcing PPE , and securing food supplies for our community .
Regretfully , the social distancing guidelines and restrictions meant that we could not deliver some of our services in the usual manner . One of our services changed and did not return to post lockdown numbers . However , I am pleased to report that nearly all programs are back up and running at full capacity . This result is testimony to the efforts of South Australians who have supported Premier Marshall ’ s strong stance on mitigating the risk of infection in our state .
Notwithstanding the impact of the pandemic , we have emerged stronger and more motivated to build resilience across the organisation . The year ahead will see a concentrated focus on participant and staff wellbeing as we start to plan for what lies ahead . And while it seems that COVID-19 is something we will all have to live with for the foreseeable future we will continue to keep the safety and wellbeing of our community at the forefront of our work .
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year .
Wendy Warren
Chief Executive EBL Disability Services
4 EBL QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER