LFT Identity Statement
IDENTITY STATEMENT FOR LAURA FERGUSSON TRUST CANTEERBURY The Laura Fergusson Trust Canterbury is an independent not-for-profit service organisation providing a service 24/7 to enhance the lives of people who face barriers to inclusion, involvement and independence on the basis of impairment. Residential, slow stream rehab and respite services are based at the Centre, 279 Ilam Road, Christchurch. Community services are based at 50 Roydvale Avenue. Day services are based in Bishopdale. We have strong links with other Laura Fergusson Trusts elsewhere in New Zealand but operate independently of them. Our trans-disciplinary team includes medical specialists, nurses, support and coaching staff, occupational therapists, speech language therapists, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists and social workers. We work closely with, and support, other service providers in the disability services sector to ensure we use resources wisely, share knowledge, and adopt best practices across the sector. Our Board of Trustees provides governance over the affairs of the Trust and our CEO leads all operational matters. To facilitate autonomy, inclusion, involvement and independence for people with impairments and their families/whanau. Ordinary life opportunities We provide a range of short and long- term residential and community based rehabilitation, personalised support options and other services for people 16 years of age and over with physical, sensory, neurological impairment or multiple impairments. We are an evolutionary organisation concerned with continuous improvement. We are determined to reflect current sector best practice in all our operations and are constantly aware of changes in the needs of our clients and working with their families / whanau, the Laura Fergusson Trust aims to lead societal change on behalf of those we serve. Our primary function is the development and facilitation of skills associated with daily living and the expression of individuality. We specialise in age- and lifestyle appropriate service provision. We specialise in providing a goal directed continuum of support and care. We adhere to the social model [1] of disability. Our approach is characterised by our dedication to rehabilitation and habilitation [2] in all we do, and by our passion for providing freedom and support to maintain individuality, identity and personal lifestyle within a strong community focus. We build trusting relationships and individual programmes that maximise self-management, connectedness, community connection and inclusion. We live in a disabling society. Disability is not something individuals have. What individuals have are impairments - physical, sensory, neurological, psychiatric, intellectual or other impairments[3]. Disability [4] is the process arising from one group of people creating barriers by designing a world only for their way of living, taking insufficient account of the impairments others may have. We accept and uphold the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities as the basis of our relationships with those we are established to serve. We support the New Zealand Government’s Disability Strategy (NZDS), developed by the Minister for Disability Issues in consultation with disabled people and the wider disability sector. The document reflects many individuals’ actual experiences of disability. NZDS presents a long-term plan for changing New Zealand from a disabling to an inclusive society. It proposes that New Zealand will be inclusive when people with impairments can say "We live in a society that highly values our lives and continually enhances our full participation." Our Vision of "Ordinary Life Opportunities" creates the over-arching basis of, and common thread to, our strategic direction. When developing organisational policy and strategy for the provision of services and our relationship with the wider community we ask, "Will this create ordinary life opportunities?" Reviewed July 2010 Page 3 of 3 Our strategy aims to create opportunities in work, play, family and community involvement, for people with impairments to participate, make mistakes, solve their own problems, have adequate support, and be empowered and active to maximise their own lives. We believe that respectful, seamless and effective responses to the needs of people with impairments and their families/whanau require relentless efforts to identify those needs, and recognition that – - Frequently, the best way of supporting individuals with impairment is by providing support to their families/whanau.
- Over time their needs change, thus our understanding of the best practices to employ in order to respond to them must also change. Our services should be flexible enough to respond to those changes and to the individual transitions that people face throughout their lives, (e.g., between schools, from living at home to living in a home, to work, to independent living, into retirement).
- High levels of interpersonal communication competence are necessary, including the ability to communicate in our consumers’ own language and to accurately interpret their cultural needs.
- The ability at all times to access clear, accurate and readily accessible information about services available to them and for which they are eligible, is vital.
[1] The social model of disability is a move from a predominantly medical approach to one in which psychological and sociocultural aspects are equally important. [2] Habilitation is the coordinated use of medical, social, educational, and vocational measures to assist individuals born with limitations in functional ability to achieve greater physical, mental and social development by enhancing their well-being and teaching skills which increase the possibility that they will make progressively independent and responsible decisions about social behavior, quality of life, job satisfaction and personal relationships. This contrasts with retraining people who have lost abilities due to disease or injuries, which involves rehabilitation. [3] Impairments are shortfalls in the working of various body systems or structures. [4] Disabilities are when impairments create shortfalls in a person’s ability to meet the demands of daily living. Accepted 12/12/07 Laura Fergusson Trust Board, reviewed July 2010.
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