Additional Respite Program 2023 - 2025
Respite helps give unpaid carers a well-earned break and a chance to recharge, relax or take part in other activities.
Additional respite funding is designed to allow flexible respite for unpaid carers, particularly in regional Victoria, for 2 years from 2023 through to 30 June 2025.
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing recognises that these Carer need flexible supports based on a carer's individual needs and circumstances. The Additional Respite for Carers in Victoria is a way to ‘Care for the Carers’ in their challenging role.
Shannon’s Bridge uses the Additional Respite for Carers funding to provide carers with face-to-face services within a 100km radius of Creswick (Victoria), including
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Short term or Emergency in-home respite
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Overnight respite in a care recipient’s home during the terminal phase
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Regular short sessions of respite including Art and Horticultural activities
Support for Carers Program 2023 - 2026
Unpaid carers provide care and support for their partners, friends, family members or other loved ones. They include supporting a person with end of life care needs.
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing recognises that these Carer need flexible supports based on a carer's individual needs and circumstances. The Support for Carers Program (SCP) in Victoria is one way to ‘Care for the Carers’.
There are service providers who running this program across Victoria which aim to
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meet a carer's short-term, high level support needs
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respond to a carer's immediate or urgent needs in a timely way
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provide short-term top up services to supplement a carer's broader service system supports.
Shannon’s Bridge uses the SCP to provide carers with face-to-face services within a 100km radius of Creswick Victoria, including
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Emergency in-home respite
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Overnight respite in a care recipient’s home during the terminal phase
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Regular short sessions of respite including Art, Music and Horticultural activities
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Counselling
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Equipment and consumables
For the regions outside of that immediate area, Shannon’s Bridge provides
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Connection of Carer with their community organisations with training in the delivery of end of life respite and supports.
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Equipment and critical consumable items
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Navigation and advocacy for Carers accessing services (NDIS, MyAgedCare).
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Access to digital rerources and Carer education.
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Free resources to upskill and embed our ‘Care for the Carer’ approach to in more areas of Victoria tro combat inequiety in access to formal supports rurally.
Shannon’s Bridge gets 2.5m in VIC State Government funding
2018
On 11th April 2018, Minister for Health Jill Hennessy announced that Shannon's Bridge was among six services to share in $5.5 million from the Labor Government’s End-of-life Ancillary Service Grant program.
As a charity that connects patients and families with palliative care services we ‘bridge' the gap if no formal services exist to support end of life care in the preferred place of care. We do this by training volunteers to provide practical help, arranging equipment to enable them to remain home, improving death literacy in the community and assisting with advance care planning.
Shannon’s Bridge was formed in response to this identified need and gap in care at end of life. Along with Dr Claire Hepper and Dr Allison O’Neill, Jeremy and Belinda established the organisation to help people access palliative care that is not determined by postcode, finances or cultural background.
In our first 18 months of operation the delivery of this vision has only been slowed by workforce restrictions with the four directors balancing full time work and their volunteer roles. To date the operational needs have been met by donations from community groups and generous in kind donations from community members.
The grant is needed to expand the geographical areas we can assist and ensure that locally generated resources go directly back into local communities to enable sustainability. We will always need local donors and of course our volunteers.
Shannon’s Bridge has a five year strategic plan for the infrastructure, systems and human resources which will enable state-wide assistance and mentoring of other ancillary organisations undertaking end of life work.
With improved death literacy and promotion of advance care planning, Shannon’s Bridge aims to change the landscape of how death and dying issues are managed in our communities.
Outcome auditing identifies that the most common reason for unplanned hospital admissions is due to simple after-hours logistic problems rather than major clinical issues. Many of the services that patients need already exist but even a small physical or temporal gap can render these services ineffective.
We strive to bridge these gaps with either on the ground assistance or connecting patients and their families with options to do so.
