Since inception, a core focus of Hearth Support Services has been matching support workers with participants for in home support and community access.
This is based on my lived experienced, which has largely informed me that without the right human connection, the support provided by support workers can generally be sub-optimal.
But striking balance and connection is not an easy undertaking. It generally can take some time for the relationship to form between a support worker and the person being cared for.
At Hearth, it is the role of our Hearth Relationship Managers to coordinate the all -important match. This firstly requires a thorough understanding of the family and their loved one requiring care – the participant. Secondly and importantly, the Relationship Manager must understand the support worker requirements.
Hearth introduced the Relationship Manager role to the disability sector. The services provided by the Relationship Manager is free to the participant.
It is Hearth’s investment and value-add in the set up and ongoing coordination of the support worker team.
Our experience continues to be invaluable
Finding the right support worker is not an easy process. Hearth however has extensive experience to guide this critical step in setting up the best possible support for the participant.
Many factors come into play. They include interests and passions, as well as the support needs of the NDIS participant.
We have many learnings. For example, the support worker who is most confident and does not listen, may not work out long term because they are not as open to be guided by the Allied Health team strategies. We are committed to avoiding these types of situations.
Just as important are efforts by the support worker to connect. We strongly encourage our support workers to learn about participant’s interests as part of building a long-term relationship.
So matching support workers into participants is a core capability of Hearth which now extends to the Hearth Home Solution.
Matching in the Hearth Home Solution
This additional aspect of matching in the Hearth Home Solution relates to the all-important matching of families.
The Hearth House is the participants long term home. So, families naturally engage with the home, and its environment when visiting their son or daughter.
Given this, it is important and indeed beneficial that the families can relate to each other. They do not necessarily need to be or become best friends. But it definitely makes a difference to be able to relate.
Here is one of many reasons.
With NDIS Supported Independent Living (SIL) and the Hearth Home Solution, participants, by definition require a reasonable degree of support – either paid or informal.
Within a home shared by SIL participants, support workers are generally shared or pooled as part of the NDIS SIL 1:3 support ratio requirements.
So, families play an important part in ensuring the right complement of support workers in one home.
The process normally begins when the families meet with Hearth. The next step is a meeting between the families in a community setting, which includes the participant being present. Hearth facilitates this meeting.
Fine tuning matching
After these two initial meetings, which provide a better understanding of who the participants are, discussions continue between Hearth and the families. This allows for follow up, clarity and registering of additional requests with Hearth.
A common not negotiable requirement from families is that their son or daughter remains safe.
Some families may prefer housemates who use words to communicate.
No one participant nor their family is the same. So, we work through meeting needs, finding matches or negotiating a middle ground.
Importantly, what we do not do at Hearth is allocate a vacant room in a home without working through this process.
Very serious consideration is given to ensuring the participants and families are compatible and their loved ones can share their long-term home.
This matching of participants for housing is a relatively new concept for the disability sector. In fact, it is one of the greatest challenges in establishing long term housing for NDIS participants.
For Hearth, it is another example of our commitment to solutions that matter and make a difference.
