Tag: disability

A great display of leadership

The Lifestyle team at Myhorizon are showing a strong display of collaboration across our various sites, where once a month a group of nominated participants meet together as true leaders in the newly formed Participant Advisory Committee (PAC).

This committee was formed by participants, for participants and is a genuine opportunity for those exhibiting qualities of leadership, creative thinking, and initiative to be nominated by their fellow committee members and be a part of a forum that provides them and their peers with a voice.

The committee currently meet at either the Myhorizon Springwood, Ormeau or Ashmore office on the Gold Coast, and have a formal discussion to provide feedback and generate new ideas on the way Myhorizon delivers its Lifestyle Service to them and fellow peers, and the wider community. They then help implement these improvements at their respective branch locations.

When asked what qualities make a great leader and an ideal member of the committee, the participant leaders chime in with attributes that speak to ‘commitment’, and ‘being a good listener’, all important qualities of a strong leader recognised by the entire group.

Recently, Participant Committee member, Antonia Bray, was the driving force behind a fundraiser held at the Springwood branch. Antonia thought it would be a great idea for the participants and staff of Myhorizon to support a worthy cause and so coordinated a ‘Day for Daniel’ fundraiser which is aimed at educating children about safety and support for young victims of crime.

Antonia managed everything from the event registration right through to promoting the event with posters and flyers, and arranging for all taking part to dress in red for the day. Together with the support of the other participants, Antonia and the team raised $150 for the worthy cause.

The Lifestyle team at Myhorizon are passionate about participants having this opportunity to make their own decisions and directly influence their own lives in a positive and meaningful way.

“We are finding this new initiative is working extremely well as a strategy for positive behaviour management” says Key Worker, Colleen Bleathman.

“These participants own the process and the outcomes of these meetings, and many of the ideas they come up with are really clever and relevant.”

For more information on Myhorizon’s Lifestyle service, simply call our Lifestyle Team on 07 3824 7007 or leave an email enquiry for us using the contact form on this website.

(Photo: From left to right: Participant Advisory Committee members – Julia Wojciechowski, Antonia Bray, Jason Korostovetz, Stefan Kanserski, Reese Poelstra, discussing their ideas for Myhorizon Lifestyle services.)

Myhorizon Wins Australia Day Award

The annual Redland City Australia Day Awards were held last night (Tuesday 23rd January 2018) at Alexandra Hills Hotel where Myhorizon were honoured as winners of the ‘Community Organisation Award’.

Each year Redland City Council recognises residents and community organisations through these awards where they acknowledge members and organisations in our community who have made outstanding contributions to promote the welfare and wellbeing in the Redlands.

Myhorizon has been part of the Redlands Community since 1981 and today supports more than 2000 people with a disability, with a passionate and dedicated team of over 240 staff.

The prestigious award was graciously accepted by Myhorizon CEO, Joe Gamblin on behalf of the entire organisation.

“This award is a wonderful recognition of the leadership at Myhorizon over many years and the contribution made by all the staff. It is great for the organisation to be recognised in this way and it is a strong reflection of goodwill and acceptance of people with disability within the Redlands community.” said Joe.

Myhorizon sincerely thanks the Redlands community and all who took the time to nominate the organisation for these awards, and congratulate all the other worthy nominees and winners on the night.

(Photo: Myhorizon CEO, Joe Gamblin, and Redland City Mayor, Karen Williams)

Myhorizon announces Wayne Clarke as its new Chair

Local disability services provider, Myhorizon, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Wayne Clarke as the new Chair of its Board of Directors.

Dr Clarke joined the Board in March 2012 and has held the position of Vice President over the last 2 years, and recently succeeded Louise Dudley as President and Chairman.

Victoria Knight, HBE employee at Myhorizon, and Dr Wayne Clarke, newly appointed President and Chair of the Board.

Spending much of his early career as a Speech therapist, Dr Clarke has worked with people with disability for many years and completing a PhD in the speech of cerebral palsy children has given him a strong understanding of working with people with disability. Dr Clarke has also worked for a number of non-profit organisations in executive roles, more recently for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, and Mental Illness Fellowship of Qld through which he has gained a strong sense of the importance of community values.

 “My view of disability and the role of organisations like Myhorizon is to try and prevent the disabling aspects of disability so that people can grow and lead a positive life and look for education, employment and other services.

“The wider community may not be aware just how many people there are with disability. We need to try to bring them out to be active members of our community and promote a general acceptance by everybody. They all need support in one way or another and as a community I believe we all have a responsibility to support them.” Said Dr Clarke.

It’s a timely message leading up to International Day of People with Disability, celebrated on 3 December. This is a United Nations sanctioned day that promotes inclusivity and celebrates the achievements and contributions of people with disability. It is an opportunity for our community to make positive changes to the lives of 4.3 million Australians living with disability.

A strong example of this year’s theme of empowering people with disability, is the collaboration and job ownership displayed by the HBE team at Myhorizon. Victoria Knight (pictured with Dr Wayne Clarke) is one of many employees who says she enjoys working at Myhorizon because she likes to come and get her jobs done and be with her friends. Myhorizon’s HBE employees work on a variety of mailing and packaging contracts for well-known businesses in the local area such as Sirromet Winery, as well as other businesses requiring similar services.

In addition to the mailing and packaging services offered by Myhorizon at their newly built Centre on Runnymede Road, Capalaba (next to Indigiscapes), they also provide a range of high quality services, all designed to support the ongoing needs of people with disability.

“The investment that has been made in Myhorizon’s new facilities and services is not just about preparing for the launch of NDIS next year, but also about having a modern facility that can be used by everyone in the community.

“You have members of the community coming in here, you’ve got people with disabilities helping in the café, and providing services back into the community. The fact that there is a facility that can provide you a good cup of coffee and you know in doing that you are supporting the community effort, really is important.” Said Dr Clarke.

 For more information on Myhorizon’s full range of services, click here.

Fulfilling a Community Vision

Myhorizon proudly celebrates the official Grand Opening of their brand new purpose-built facility in the heart of Redland City.

From L-R: Raymond Walker; CEO of Myhorizon Joe Gamblin; Redland Council Mayor Karen Williams, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, the Governor of Queensland; Vice President of Myhorizon Louise Dudley with the official plaque presented to Myhorizon Community Centre.

It has been a rewarding journey for Myhorizon to proudly fulfil a community vision after many years, with the opening of their state-of-the-art Community Centre. The event was held on Friday 20 October 2017 at Capalaba, where His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland, officially opened the impressive new facility. 

Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams also attended and spoke at the event, and was joined by approximately 200 attendees including local council representatives, government members, and Myhorizon clients and staff.

The multi-million dollar flagship centre on Runnymede Road, next to Indigiscapes, boasts a range of high quality services and purpose built facilities, all designed to support the ongoing needs of people with disabilities in the local community.

CEO of Myhorizon, Joe Gamblin thanked those in the community that supported and contributed to the magnificent community facility, including Redland City Council, Ian McDougall Trust and Redland Foundation.

“What we’ve created has made a real difference to the lives of hundreds of people with disabilities. It has been so rewarding to be able to build on the hard work of our founders and grow the organisation to where it is today, supporting thousands of clients across the state, with the help of so many wonderful people. This ceremony is a wonderful celebration of this rich history and the important work Myhorizon undertakes in the local and wider community” said Mr Gamblin.

Mayor Karen Williams also spoke to the values shared between Myhorizon and Redland City Council. “The Myhorizon community centre shows just what can be achieved when the community comes together, shares a common vision, and gets down and makes it happen. It’s an important, productive and valued community asset and is a true reflection of Myhorizon’s commitment to continuing its important work in the region and council’s support of such services” said Mayor Williams.

Myhorizon employs over 240 passionate staff members across 11 different centres (located from Wynnum through to Tweed Heads).  “Our amazing team actively works with 2000 people with disability, from the earliest stages of life through to adulthood” said Mr Gamblin.

Myhorizon’s specialty service areas include Support Coordination, Plan Management, Independent Living, Lifestyle services, Employment & Training and Social Enterprises, as well as Early Intervention services operating out of the new Ian McDougall Centre within the same new facility. This was named after the late Redlands philanthropist whose trust has supported a range of local causes. The Ian McDougall Trust made a $450,000 donation to the early Intervention Centre which is a fantastic place tailoring support to meet the needs of children with disability.

The new centre also doubles as an entertainment venue for public hire with modern event spaces and meeting rooms perfect for corporate meetings, community events, and weddings.  The centre’s new cafe The Bush Pantry is open to general public and offers great coffee, refreshments and light snacks, and takes advantage of the picturesque surroundings of Redlands’ Botanical Gardens.

To speak to the friendly staff at Myhorizon and learn how our services can support you, call us on 1300 MYHORIZON today.