Success Stories
Peter
Peter is a 46 year old man who has been receiving services from TEEM Treasure for the last four years. Prior to that, Peter had tried a number of accommodation support options including living independently with drop in supports. During this time Peter would often collect unwanted items he found within the community and take them back to his home, creating large quantities of useless items which cluttered his home. Peter would collect items on a daily basis as he wandered around the community filling his time. He had very few friends and was vulnerable; most of his contact with other people was through his involvement with a local church and his drop in support person.
Since choosing TEEM Treasure as his preferred service provider, Peter’s quality of life has improved dramatically, in his own words he states that, ‘my life has become more meaningful.’ Peter has been supported to secure paid employment five days per week which keeps him positively occupied. Peter now resides with another gentleman in a very nice home in the northern suburbs and receives 24/7 support that allows for security and companionship. Peter also receives support to be as independent as possible which allows him to have annual holidays and attend events such as concerts. Peter is supported by staff to attend his GP and specialist appointments, ensuring his general and mental health issues are attended to on a regular basis.
Craig
Craig is a 24 year old young man who had lived at home with his parents and his sister all of his life.
Craig had problems at birth which left him with low muscle tone, epilepsy, ADHD and body tremors, which in turn lead to him being anxious and quite reserved when dealing with new situations, strangers and crowds.
Two years ago Craig made a decision that he wanted to live more independently but still keep in regular contact with his family. Teem Treasure were able to secure some shared accommodation for Craig that was very close to his parents home, therefore Craig decided to move in.
Although excited about the move, Craig was also apprehensive about how he would cope living away from his family. Craig’s move went smoothly and he soon settled into his new home and began to foster new relationships with other residents and staff. Craig has matured since his move and has learnt to deal with new situations very well. He has recently been on a trip to Bali and to the AFL Grand Final with other Teem Treasure consumers and staff.
Craig leads a busy life working at Qualipac three days per week and Intework two days each week. On weekends Craig likes to catch up with his family and friends in the neighbourhood.
Ian
Ian lived with his father until he was 15 years old. Unfortunately due to his fathers’ failing health, he was no longer able to care for Ian; who was then assisted by State Government Care.
The 15 years following that, Ian experienced a variety of accommodation options with minimal support. He had to learn to manage as independently as possible but struggled in areas such as: finances; personal health and domestic chores due to a lack of training. Ian got himself into a lot of debt and became quite unhealthy due to living mainly on take away food.
In 2007 Ian changed his accommodation support agency to TEEM Treasure. At that time Ian was quite a shy 32 year old man, who was fairly vulnerable and often exploited by others that had their own interests at heart.
Ian’s life has changed significantly over the last four years. He has moved into his own flat in Maylands and has grown as a person who is more confident and happy with his life. With the assistance of Teem Treasure, Ian has adopted a healthy lifestyle and lost over 10kg in weight. He now has the skills to attend to his household responsibilities with staff support.
Ian now works five days per week, enjoys going out socializing, doing different activities, visiting his father and grandfather regularly, going on regular holidays and attending concerts. Ian states that he has never been happier and he loves his quality of life.
Jason
Jason is one of our Indigenous Consumers and has been supported by TT since its inception. Prior to gaining support from TT, Jason had been leading a very transient lifestyle which included spending significant periods of time living on the street. Jason was also having trouble with minor offending and substance abuse issues, he spent quite some time in and out of time prison as a result of this.
After developing a good rapport with TT staff in the early stages of Jason’s accommodations support program, he began to realise that he had the potential to do a lot more positive things with his life to what he had done in the past.
These days Jason calls himself the New Man. In a period of approximately 2 years Jason has gradually turned his life around. He has not been involved in any offending behaviour during this time, has stopped associating with peers that would take advantage of his vulnerability, and takes pride in the positive way he conducts himself in the community. Jason now lives with his brother and has regular support from TT Coordinators and Support Staff. He is working towards more independence by gaining his own flat which is his preferred option. Jason recently had his first experience on a plane when he travelled to the AFL Grand Final with TT staff. Whilst there he met and had a photo with one of his idols David Wirrapunda. Jason is a great example of what positive support, opportunity and understanding can do for an individual from a disadvantaged background.