of key events
August 2011 - Residents move in - furnish own rooms .
3 August 2011 - Formal opening . Presbytery event with UCD from Sydney and UCA from Wollongong and ACT Govt Minister .
August 2011 - MoU signed with Uniting Care , initial operational manager . Path-planning exercise conducted with families . Roles and expectations clarified . Offer of small budget contribution from Disability ACT - $ 17,000 per annum for 2 yrs . Overnight duties managed by families and volunteers . Heavy pressure on families to fill in . 3-month break meant budget underspent in first year . New model with paid live-in coordinator . Full rent and full-time salary . Anticipated for 2 years .
Feb 2012 - Changes to Management Committee . Peter Biggs as Chair . Ken Horsham leaves . UCA drop out . DACT become less involved .
March 2012 - Dikshya selected with full time offer . Shift from UCA to UCD handling employment and rent collection .
August 2012 - St Margaret ’ s annual disability service of celebration . Moved from June to August for RWL opening anniversary .
Oct 2012 - Weekend cooks employed – trial for 3 months extended . Periodic meeting of UCD ( Jo-Anne Hewitt ) with Residents Committee and others . Families feeling remote from management and management committee , in spite of representation at meetings .
April 2013 - Dikshya ’ s Maternity Leave , a baby in the house . Baby popular with residents , but house dynamics progressively changed . Community involvement – Bri Griffiths from Presbytery office / Uniting Care seeking involvement of Canberra Organic Gardeners and Black Mt School in joint activities .
19 April 2013 - Facilitated discussion with families regarding level of care and security . Led by ACT Conflict Resolution Service staff . DACT also provided pre-NDIS advice regarding future enhanced service offers .
May 2013 - Transfer of management from UCA to UCD . UCA financial reporting to end of Financial year . Emphasis on documentation of procedures by UCD sometimes seemed excessive for house . Limited engagement by members and families .
Feb 2014 - Individual funding from DACT ahead of NDIS - enhanced
St Margaret ’ s News 25 RWL Special Issue