Hearth Support Services Turns Five!
I am immensely proud of this major milestone that Hearth has achieved.
Over five years ago, sitting around my dining room table with a group of likeminded friends I never imagined that the idea we had, which subsequently became Hearth would make such a difference for the people we support.
Hearth Support Services has gone through enormous change over the last five years since its inception in 2017!
Today Hearth Disability Support Services is a NDIS registered and audited provider with hundreds of people supported and employing hundreds of Disability Support Workers operating 24/7, 365 days a year throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
At Hearth we have continued to evolve and learn rapidly to build capability, systems, and processes to be able to sustainably support a wide range of Participant needs, leading to positive outcomes for all Participants regardless of their complexities.
What drives me to continuously improve the lives of people with disability and in turn our organisation is a deep passion for the sector driven by my lived experience with my son Tristan.
The past five years has resulted in many Hearth milestones, the following are some of the key ones.
Hearth Launches “Hearth Housing” In September 2020
In September 2020 Hearth launched “Hearth Housing” a revolutionary approach to non-Specialist Disability Accommodation (housing).
What is Hearth Housing?
Hearth Housing created to solve the problem for the 94% of NDIS Participants who are not eligible for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). Our approach is different as we believe Participant choice and control is important. Choice about where to live, who to live with and which support workers they work with.
It is a rental model where there is a financial gap to pay privately which is calculated depending on the location of the home and other factors.
Once we understand the Participants requirements and assess suitability for both housing and support services, we then undertake a trial assessment, then move to sourcing a house and matching with a house mate.
Hearth Launches “Hearth Allied Health” In March 2021
Hearths first Participant was my son Tristan, and he continues to provide tremendous insight into our service and if we are genuinely improving his wellbeing and helping him to realise his full potential with our goal centred systems and processes.
It is complex and not easy, but at age 15, Tristan’s progress astounds me and would not have been possible without the assistance of the NDIS, his Case Manager and an amazing team of Support Workers and Allied Health Therapists.
Why Hearth Allied Health?
Allied Health, including physiotherapy, speech pathology and occupational therapy are critical parts of the support team for my son and for many people with disability and they do amazing work. However, I have found it particularly challenging to access the right Allied Health Therapists for Tristan as there seems to be a real shortage of Allied Health Professionals who have experience supporting people with a disability.
To address this situation, I decided to do something about it, launch Hearth Allied Health Services! After all my experiences with my son, I believe there is a real need to develop more disability experienced Allied Health specialist teams.
The Hearth Allied Health services include Speech Pathology, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy as well as Positive Behaviour Support. Importantly, we promote choice and control with all our services.
Hearth Opens Bendigo Office in November 2021 & Geelong Office in February 2022
We felt it was time to commence our regional expansion as we had built the capability, systems, and processes to be able to sustainably support a wide range of Client/Participant needs. So, we expanded our geographical footprint in 2021 by opening an office in Bendigo, followed by one in Geelong in February 2022.
The “Hearth Approach” to Sustainable Support
Over the last five years we have built a very comprehensive and unique approach to disability support services. Late last year, while sharing our approach to sustainable support with new Participants in Bendigo & Geelong it became clear that we needed to formally capture the “Hearth Approach” to sustainable supports. To assist we developed a new section in our website dedicated to communicating what the “Hearth Approach” is using a series of videos to explain each aspect of the approach. We believe the components collectively make a significant difference, leading to positive outcomes for our Participants.
Thankyou!
To all our loyal Participants, dedicated Support Workers, and the Operations team a big thankyou because none of our achievements would have been possible without your support!
I would like to also thank all in the disability sector for their continuing support. We really value these strong and deep partnerships.
It has been an exciting and dynamic five years of growth and a real sense that Hearth is supporting and making a difference for people living with disabilities to achieve their goals.
Justin Scanlon
Founder & CEO of Hearth
