The motto at Crossing The Gap Disability Services has always been ‘Your choice, your goals, your pace’, and the local organisation is committed to helping individuals live their lives and thrive within the community.
Established in 2021 as a response to the community’s growing need for experienced and care-focused disability support services in Geelong, Crossing the Gap works with participants to empower the individual.
As well as the core services of disability in-home care and personalised complex care, Crossing the Gap offers a range of services to help people achieve their goals, such as independent living skills support, community access and disability respite.
Developing life skills allows participants to experience greater independence and live a more enjoyable and self-managed life. Crossing the Gap tailors its independent life skills programs to the interests, goals and abilities of each person, covering activities such as travel and transport, finance management, domestic skills like laundry and cleaning, shopping, meal planning and preparation and organising and attending appointments.
Company director Kristy Browning said seeing participants flourish and gain more independence was one of the most rewarding aspects of her job.
“It’s amazing to see them get to that stage where they can do all these things themselves, especially when they’ve most likely had people tell them that they can’t,” she said.
“Seeing our participants get to that stage, they just get so happy and excited when they realise that they can do it on their own.”
Crossing the Gap staff understand the importance of providing access to recreational tasks and social opportunities, which enable individuals to develop skills and competencies that improve quality of life. The service’s support in Geelong includes goal-based activities such as catching public transport or shopping, recreational activities such as going to movies or the zoo, or navigating to a relative or friend’s residence. These supported experiences help participants improve their confidence and independence, as well as providing enjoyment.
“Some people we work with haven’t had a lot of opportunities to go out in public,” Kristy said.
“So we really enjoy providing that chance when they go out with us.”
Giving carers the chance to refresh and recharge their batteries allows them to better take care of their loved one, which is why Crossing the Gap offers disability respite care to participants. Kristy’s team can organise everything for short-term, temporary and emergency relief periods for primary carers, including accommodation, food, travel and activities.
Participants are matched with the right support worker for them to cater for their needs while their primary carer takes a planned break, short holiday or attends to emergency situations.
Kristy said the focus for her staff was to provide a fun time for participants while their carer had a break. “We don’t call it respite, especially with the kids; we like to call it a holiday,” she said. “It’s a time when they can get away, have fun and take part in a range of activities. We try to make it as fun as possible.”
To find out more about Crossing the Gap’s services and start getting help from the team you deserve contact Kristy Browning at kristy@ctgdisability.com.au or call 0493 057 276.
