Anam Cara@SpiritLive(TM)











 Anam Cara facilitates recovery, interdependence and empowerment

 

 Anam Cara's origins

Anam Cara is a community-based, non-profit organisation that is part of Centacare Disability Services. 

Anam Cara was established in 1997 in response to institutional reform in the area of mental health. Project 300 commenced in 1996 and was the main reform initiative.  It aimed to assist people with psychiatric disabilities to leave hospital and live in the community of their choice.

Project 300 funded services to provide individual support to people moving into community living after long stays in psychiatric hospitals. Anam Cara was established as one of the services from which people could choose to provide their lifestyle support.

About Anam Cara

The phrase “anam cara” is of Gaelic origin, meaning “supportive friend” or “someone to walk with”.

Anam Cara provides lifestyle support services to people who are funded to use mental health services.  Anam Cara provides services to people on a range of disability support funding packages beyond just Project 300.

As an organisation, Anam Cara values:

  • the dignity of each person;
  • social justice;
  • interdependence;
  • empowerment; and
  • recovery.

Anam Cara's philosophy

Anam Cara’s philosophy is to provide lifestyle support services that:

  • are supportive and empowering for individuals;
  • are determined with the person around their individual needs; and
  • help people in making choices that will enhance their quality of life.

Towards achieving this, Anam Cara:

  • supports individuals to enhance their skills;
  • encourages participation in society through lifestyle support in the community; and
  • assists people to maintain a state of mental wellbeing.

Anam Cara reviews, evaluates and improves programs to ensure its services are of high quality and are in accord with the Queensland Disability Service Standards.

Services delivered by Anam Cara

Anam Cara presently provides services to people living across Brisbane, and also in the Ipswich, Logan and Redcliffe areas. 

In the main, service users pay to access Anam Cara’s services through funding provided to them by Disability Services Queensland (an agency of the Queensland Government).  Click on the link (below) to Disability Services Queensland for more information on how to apply for a lifestyle funding package:

www.disability.qld.gov.au/disability_information

 

Specific services provided by Anam Cara include:

  • lifestyle support;
  • regular social events;
  • short-term supported training and
  • supported accommodation

Typical areas of lifestyle support include assistance to manage:

  • house or unit maintenance;
  • education and training;
  • budgeting money and paying bills;
  • shopping;
  • job support and career development;
  • personal health care;
  • determining goals;
  • decision making;
  • making friends and socialising;
  • accessing employment opportunities; and
  • cooking and diet planning.

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