Kira Community Services in Perth, Western Australia | Charitable organisation

Kira Community Services

Locality: Perth, Western Australia

Phone: +61 8 9243 0366

Address: 2 Kilcairn Place 6024 Perth, WA, Australia

Website: http://www.kira.org.au

Likes: 682

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• Non-profit organisation
• Charitable organisation
• Social service

25.01.2022 Don’t roll out of bed and into a chair to check emails and start communicating with your colleagues. It’s not good for you, and if it is too early then they sure won’t appreciate it either. Follow your normal morning routine as much as possible. It might go something like wake, shower, dress, breakfast, quick game with the kids, commute, coffee start work. In your new remote-working lifestyle, you can simply replace the commute with something more relaxing like a walk, yoga, or perhaps just some quality personal or family time. Pro tip: This is particularly important to remember if you manage a team. Emailing a remote worker before work is the same as knocking on their front door at 7am to ask them a question

25.01.2022 Kira is thankful to the amazing staff who continue to help our members during these terrible times. Here is Fionas message to everyone: Hi, my name is Fiona, I am an outcome support officer for Kira, I have designed and facilitated a workshop called "Grow and Relax". I teach this workshop to our Kira members weekly. This workshop is aimed to assist our members to grow socially and emotionally and learn techniques to relax the mind and body. This week in our "Grow" part of t...he class which builds confidence and courage, we played Animal Charades, each member was asked to come to the front of the class and act out their chosen animal, we had amazing results from the members acting out fabulous frogs, monkeys and elephants, the staff joined in and acted out cats, snakes and birds, the one that stood out the most was the horse at the end...You know who you are! There was lots of laughter, joy and fun with us all being our unique authentic self... I am so proud of our members in this class for showing up and being brave, they never cease to amaze me week after week. Looking forward to seeing you all next week. Thanks Fiona @happydreamingau

23.01.2022 The Australian Government has enacted the Coronavirus Emergency Response Plan and the NDIA is taking necessary steps to prepare if a pandemic is declared. Read more about it here:

22.01.2022 Faerie Cara created this video for all Kiras amazing members to stay active while in isolation. She misses you all and would love to know if you would like her to share more dance videos.

22.01.2022 Integrated Cricket Teams for All Abilities. Everyone is Welcome!! Please see flyer for more details.

20.01.2022 These past few weeks have been difficult for everyone. Through these tough times, our members continue to show us that there is always a reason to smile. They have created Beautiful Posters to place in their home windows to spread Positivity and Joy. Follow The Rainbow.

20.01.2022 With the COVID-19 outbreak now a pandemic, working from home is becoming the new normal for many employees. Its not all bad - no more traffic jams, home coffee is probably better than work coffee, and you get to work in your pyjamas if you want. Some people even feel that they work better away from all the office distractions. On the flip side, working from home can be challenging. Some people feel a bit feel lonely and isolated, whereas others need to learn to deal with a d...ifferent form of distraction - either talkative family and neighbours or the temptations of a nice afternoon snooze. Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing some easy strategies for you to settle into working from home, to get productive, and to look after your mental health.

20.01.2022 This remote working tip is the same as if you were in the office anyway - except you now dont have colleagues dropping by for a quick chat, and are not being invited to walk to meetings or around the workplace. Its important to ensure that you are disconnecting from the screen on regular (and preferably scheduled) breaks. Set your away message to tell your colleagues that you are taking a break, tell them when you will be back, and dont forget to turn it off when you do get back. A good guide for taking a break from the screen is at least five minutes break in every 30 minutes of activity. This doesnt mean that you need to do anything special, it could even be just switching your focus from the screen to some paperwork for that brief period.

20.01.2022 Know what to expect on your NDIS meeting. Check out Autistic Nick's NDIS meeting here: https://autisticnick.com///14/autistic-nicks-ndis-meeting/

16.01.2022 Check out our activity calendar for March. We look forward to seeing all of you!

16.01.2022 The NDIS continues to develop ways that will allow participants to better connect and interact with providers. Find out more about the Digital Partnership Program (DPP) here:

16.01.2022 Working remotely deprives you of many sensory opportunities to communicate. You miss the smiles of others as they arrive in the office, the smell of someones leftover lunch heated up, the sound of morning chatter about weekend activities, and the touch of a handshake or other greeting. Its important to focus on building as many communication connections as possible. For remote working, these become text, phone calls and video. Use these often and in combination. Dont sacri...fice those personal connections either by just focusing on work. Ask others about their lives, share stories of your own, and connect as deeply as possible. Pro tip: if you are managing a team, encourage this as much as possible. Share (appropriately) about yourself, set up opportunities for engagement like sharing photos and work/home tips, use your creativity here. You might even encourage a group coffee break, where you all connect over a remote coffee to chat about things unrelated to work.

16.01.2022 Created by one of our members for Anzac day. Lest we forget.

15.01.2022 This remote working tip is the same as if you were in the office anyway - except you now don’t have colleagues dropping by for a quick chat, and are not being invited to walk to meetings or around the workplace. It’s important to ensure that you are disconnecting from the screen on regular (and preferably scheduled) breaks. Set your away message to tell your colleagues that you are taking a break, tell them when you will be back, and don’t forget to turn it off when you do get back. A good guide for taking a break from the screen is at least five minutes break in every 30 minutes of activity. This doesn’t mean that you need to do anything special, it could even be just switching your focus from the screen to some paperwork for that brief period.

15.01.2022 Last week some of our members were lucky enough to meet Shane from the Wanneroo Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade. Shane was kind enough to come to our Currambine Hub to give our members a ride in the car park and to wear a helmet and jacket while following Covid19 health and safety practices. Our members displayed fantastic manners and were very respectful to Shane they thanked him for coming to see them. As support workers, we were touched that during these difficult times the community spirit is still alive and the respect everyone showed towards each other is amazing. Thank you to our support worker Jayne for organising this and a special thank you to Shane our members are so grateful for this fantastic opportunity!

15.01.2022 This is a great post from our friend AutisticNick on navigating entry into the #NDIS

14.01.2022 Whether working from home or in an office, your time is usually discussed in an employment contract and a set of lawful work instructions or policies issued by the employer. These still apply when working from home. Set a schedule and try to stick to it, even to the point of viewing your walk from the kitchen to your workspace as the commute to the office. Many home-based workers use their electronic calendar to block out period of time for certain activities, much as they would in an office environment. This helps to bring structure to your day, and should be used in conjunction with task checklists.

13.01.2022 Fast internet, VPN to access internal company resources, great headphones, web camera - these are all new tools of the trade. New software may include Teams, Skype for Business, Zoom, Slack, Trello or Asana. Your employer will be determining which ones of these will be used to support the workplace in a remote working mode, and then its up to you to get proficient with them quickly. Theres usually lots of instructional videos on YouTube, and the faster you get up to speed, the better you will be able to participate in your new workplace. Pro tip: Check out the background that will appear on your video conference calls to make sure that everything in view is neat and appropriate for your colleagues to see.

11.01.2022 Lucy, one of our support workers helped one of our members make a beautiful motivational poster. These have now been placed around the Currambine Hub to try to brighten peoples days. Let us all keep calm and Kira on!

11.01.2022 Kira members show their appreciation for all our hardworking health care workers through colourful posters. Thank you for keeping us safe and healthy. You are all heroes!

09.01.2022 Happy 2020! Heres to the beginning of a new decade! We look forward to seeing you all, please see attached our January 2020 activity schedule.

09.01.2022 Whether you are working, responsible for home/care duties, studying or retired, you may be feeling burnt out. If so, you are invited to participate in research aiming to clarify the nature of burnout, as well as to determine its distinction from depression. This study follows on from the 2018 Burnout study, aiming to clarify some of the findings. If you took part in the previous study, we encourage you to participate again. The study might be a good fit for you if you:... - are fluent in written and spoken English - are between the ages of 18 and 65 - self-identify as currently experiencing 'burnout'. If you decide to take part, you would be required to complete an entirely voluntary and anonymous online questionnaire. The questionnaire will take approximately 40 minutes to complete.

07.01.2022 The NDIS announced a total of $67.8 million worth of grants to support people with disabilities to better connect with their community by improving employment opportunities and enabling improved access to health services. Read more about it here:

07.01.2022 A lot has changed for our members because of the pandemic but they have found fun and creative ways to cope. This story is called Feed the Camels based on the Hansel and Gretel Children's story, as told by one of our members. Once upon a time there was a young man who was living in a town that was infected with a nasty virus Covid - 19 is preventing me from going to the shops. More specifically preventing me from going to EB games. It is also preventing me from going on a ho...liday. I now have to take a packed lunch so no more take away. Whiteman Park is the only place I can spend my time. I have started walking in the mornings to pass on the time. The tracks at Whiteman park are confusing sometimes so I use the grass trees to break into small pieces and drop piles onto the ground. Just like the Hansel and Gretel story but they had bread I think. The camels are very hungry and like to eat grass trees so its lucky that the ranger doesn't come out and the camels dont eat the grass tree piles or we couldn't find our way back to the car. The Camels come out later during the day when the Coronavirus is distracted. The end. Thanks to our member for sharing his wonderfully written story and his ideas of ways to change things up during these unusual times

07.01.2022 Down Syndrome Australia has published a new resource to support the mental health of people with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome and Mental Health provides info and tips for people with Down Syndrome and their families to help maintain good mental health.The publication also helps people with Down Syndrome and their families identify when professional support might be required. #mentalhealth

06.01.2022 Today we said goodbye to Marleen Roch Manager-Service Design and Delivery as she leaves Kira Community Services. Marleen started with Kira in August of 2016, and has contributed positively to Kiras NDIS transition and development , whilst supporting our members, families and staff. Marleen has lead the review of our quality management processes and procedures, aligning them with the standards.... Marleen has supported various works, including input into audits, annual reports, and oversight of content for our social media. Marleen has taken up a new role with another disability service provider. I wish to acknowledge Marleen for her service, and thank her on behalf of all families, members, staff, management and Kira Board, we wish her all the best John Macdonald Chief Executive Officer

06.01.2022 Resident blogger AutisticNick recently sat down with our Service Design and Delivery Manager, Marleen Roch, to get to know her more. You can read the insightful interview below.

06.01.2022 Mixing a home and work environment is a recipe for disaster. Set aside a particular space in the house or apartment that is your workspace. If you try to work from bed or somewhere else that is normally associated with your private time, then you will eventually ruin both your private AND your work time. This approach also allows you to consider the workplace health and safety of your dedicated workspace. Are the chair and desk appropriately and adjusted correctly? Can you focus purely on work tasks free of other distractions?

05.01.2022 Kira is again this year, raising funds through the Entertainment Membership. Your purchase of an Entertainment Membership contributes towards our fundraising at Kira. Membership can be obtained with an Entertainment Book or Entertainment Digital Membership. Membership provides discounts to popular restaurants, attractions, shopping, and travel. ... For those of you visiting or planning a visit to Bali there is a section included offering discounts again to restaurants and attractions. See more

04.01.2022 If you want a workplace thats radically accessible to everyone, you need to be flexible and adaptable, willing to listen to what works for an employee and find a way to make that fit with the structure of the team or organisation.

04.01.2022 Each Friday afternoon, plan your activities for the following week as if you were in the office. If you are not sure whats coming up next, ask your manager. Remember, your manager may be new at this work-from-home stuff too, and might need some help and support to get the working relationship right. A Friday afternoon planning conversation with your manager allows a quick review of the week that was, and a chance to chat about whats coming up. Dont just review the work tasks, review how well the work from home arrangement is going. What could you fine tune to make it operate better?

04.01.2022 We are sad to report our Chair Louise Forster is stepping down at the end of June. Please join us in wishing Lou Forster all the best for the future and a big THANK YOU!

03.01.2022 Dont roll out of bed and into a chair to check emails and start communicating with your colleagues. Its not good for you, and if it is too early then they sure wont appreciate it either. Follow your normal morning routine as much as possible. It might go something like wake, shower, dress, breakfast, quick game with the kids, commute, coffee start work. In your new remote-working lifestyle, you can simply replace the commute with something more relaxing like a walk, yoga, or perhaps just some quality personal or family time. Pro tip: This is particularly important to remember if you manage a team. Emailing a remote worker before work is the same as knocking on their front door at 7am to ask them a question

02.01.2022 Whether you are at home or at the office, you are still working. Explain clearly to your family and housemates that they should treat you exactly as if you were at the office. Interruptions should be kept to an absolute minimum, noise maintained at office levels or lower, and your space respected as a working environment. This will require some straight talking and reinforcement, because unfortunately some people view working from home as not working at all. Be firm, as the best habits are formed from the outset.

01.01.2022 *WA Disability Help Line* We know COVID-19 is having a huge impact on people with disabilities and their families in WA. If you need some information and/or sup...port due to the impact of COVID-19 please call us. We will support you to connect with the most appropriate service and/or person who can help. 1800 031 093 This service is to provide practical support and connection related to the impact of COVID-19. Wherever possible there will be active problem solving and planning to assist people. We can help with: Connecting to local community resources near you Mental health services and supports Health and medicine support Advocacy and information for housing, income support, service provision, PPE and more. Advice for self-managers Planning needs for complex supports impacted by COVID This phone line is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and is staffed by experienced advocates and planners.

01.01.2022 One of our many fantastic Support Workers Fiona was nominated for a Kleenheat Treat Local Legend Award. The Kleenheat Treat is all about appreciation of those who are doing great things for the community. Fiona goes above and beyond for our Members especially during the COVID-19 crisis and was awarded a gift voucher in recognition of her efforts. We would like to Thank Fiona and all our Support Workers for their continued support they provide to our members in these unusual times. You are all Local Legends to us at Kira.

01.01.2022 Faerie Cara created this video for all Kira’s amazing members to stay active while in isolation. She misses you all and would love to know if you would like her to share more dance videos.