The My Life Program Berry Street Victoria Provide intensive outreach support to young people with an intellectual disability whom display high risk behaviors and have complex needs.

My Life Program Presentation Content Background Evolution of the program The My Life Program Target group Goals of the Program Service Specifics Conclusion

The My Life Program Background High Complex Needs Project 2000. The clients didn’t fit into any existing service type. Thus DHS Disability Client Services funded the My Life Program as a 2 year pilot project. This program has now received ongoing funding and is now in its fifth year. It has long been recognised by The Department of Human Services Victoria DisAbility Services that the support and care provided to that small group of older adolescents with a mild disability was not adequate.  The Department therefore carried out a project entitled the “High Complex Needs Project 2000” It sought to identify the characteristics of adolescents with a disability who had complex needs that resulted in severe challenging behaviours.  This group of young people have such challenging behaviours that they were found to lead ·      Segregated lives, Have little opportunity to interact with others ·      Have little opportunity to participate in normal activities.  The project focused on those adolescents that display recklessly indifferent behaviours, such as offending behaviours and drug and alcohol use/misuse.  The needs of this group are different to those of adolescents who had highly complex needs that arise from a specific identified developmental or psychiatric disorder.  These young people identified by the project did not fit any existing service type and would often experience difficulties accessing mainstream services that exclude people with a disability claiming that the nature of the service was not appropriate.  The Youth at Risk initiative generated from this report funded the My Life Program is program.  So what is the My Life Program developed and run by Berry Street Victoria?

The My Life Program Mentoring Youth for Life Neil Morison - Manager – Youth and Community Support Programs Georgina Sullivan – Team Leader Dougal Braithwaite – Outreach Support Worker Kellie Wishart – Outreach Support Worker Adam Withers – Outreach Support Worker

Mentoring Qualified professionals employed to provide intensive outreach support by… Modelling appropriate behaviours Assisting in daily problem solving Establishing a caring relationship Engaging in educational, cultural and recreational activities Assisting to access community support Encouraging community and family connectedness Advocating The workers care for, communicate with and provide advice to young people in need.

My Life Program Referral Criteria Must be currently case managed by the Disability Client Services (DHS) Between the ages of 13 and 21 Living at home or independently Willingness to engage in the program Borderline to mild intellectual disability

My Life Program Target Group Early exclusion from school. Unemployment. Low self esteem. Low motivation. Social isolation. Lack of social skills Anger management issues. Negative peer relationships.

My Life Program Target Group Family disorganisation. Victims of abuse. Offending behaviour. At risk of Juvenile/criminal justice involvement. Sexualised behaviour. Substance use/abuse. At risk of homelessness.

Goals of the Program Provide a proactive response Support community inclusion Encourage ongoing development Move towards greater independence Supporting family connectedness

Service Specifics A reliable, skilled resilient adult figure who can engage and “stick with” the young person no matter what. An outreach, less formal yet nonetheless, highly skilled intervention style. Advocacy and support. Assistance and mediation with or on behalf of the young person in relation to the maintenance, development and consolidation of family and social connectedness.

Service Specifics cont. A strong commitment to normalising the young persons experience. The skilled therapeutic use of activity based interaction to build relationships. Support the young person in regard to setting and reaching their goals they establish in their case plan. Focus on ensuring that the young person has access to information and assistance regarding their personal health and sexuality. Supporting and assisting the young person to attend appointments or educational/vocational opportunities.

Working with the Department The regional DHS workers refer to the program via Northern Disability Client Services. After 3 months (if appropriate) case management is transferred to the My Life department case managers. Weekly phone contact with the case managers 3 weekly update meetings 3 monthly secondary consults Annual GSP (general service plan) & IPP (individual progress plan) review

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