THE CONNECTOR! COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS - VOLUME 51 SUMMER 2021
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Community
Connections
Te Hapori Awhina Tangata
The Connector!
Volume 51 ~ Summer 2021
In this issue: Fun and beer in Nelson for
Nik Androutsos. See his story on page 14
Contents Page
My fishing adventure By Ricky................................................. 3
Megan’s flat By Victoria Whisker, Megan and her parents....... 4
Paul’s radio talk By Brian Sullivan............................................ 6
Sandra’s new tricycle............................................................... 7
Steve’s new job........................................................................ 8
Dinner with my friend By Courtney Palmer.............................. 9
Sandra saves Max.................................................................. 10
Support evaluation feedback By the CCSLT Team................ 11
Fun and beer in Nelson By Nik Androutsos............................ 14
My daytrip to Waipawa By Shane Love................................. 15
Making hook rugs By Shona Green....................................... 15
Christmas cooking and baking fun By Emily Hill................... 16
The first Te Pou Oranga Forum By Dana Nicklin
and Matt Sang........................................................................ 17
Sandra loves to bake ............................................................. 20
Community Connections
Main office: 5 Sheffield Street, PARAPARAUMU 5032
Phone 04 298 7703, www.ccslt.org.nz
The deadline for the next issue: Friday 11 March 2022
Please send stories and pictures to Sara, sara.hamer@ccslt.org.nz
My fishing adventure
By Ricky
As part of my goals, I wanted to learn how to catch fish and also
the basics about catching a fish. Another part of it was getting over
my fears of putting bait onto the hook, touching bait, touching a live
fish and knocking the fish out once I’ve caught it.
The first time I went out to the beach, I caught a baby fish, second
time, I didn’t catch anything and third time, I finally caught a beauty!
Now I need to get over my fears of gutting a fish and learn how to
fillet one.
Big thanks to Peter, Cameron and Mana Whaikaha for making it
happen.
Community Connections ~ 3
Megan’s flat By Victoria Whisker (support worker), Megan and her parents Megan has been flatting with three other people since late last year. Her flatmates have regular work, and they do things like flat shopping together. Sometimes they go to the fruit and vegetable market on Sundays. Everyone is expected to do their share in the flat, jobs like emptying the dishwasher and cleaning the front entrance and hallway. Megan makes her bed every morning. Her days for cooking dinner are Monday and Wednesday. One of her flatmates is vegetarian and so Megan has learnt many new dishes this year. She also enjoys baking and her flatmates enjoy her great-tasting chocolate biscuits, yo-yos and ginger slice. Megan has a favourite orange seat in the room which gets the afternoon sun. The flatties have a shared Netflix account and sometimes watch movies together. There is a washing machine at her flat which makes funny noises, Megan laughs when she puts it on because she is the one who knows how. She hangs up washing with her support workers because teamwork makes the dream work. After finishing a task at her flat, such as hanging up the washing, Megan loves to high five and we say, ‘Good job!’, because it is fun doing things together. 4 ~ Community Connections
Megan likes walking a puppy called Coco that lives just down the
street. Her favourite walk is in Ōtari-Wilton bush. She especially
enjoys meeting other people walking dogs there, and talking to kids.
Megan has grown more confident and independent since joining
the flat. She has a part-time job at Hell Pizza on Tuesday afternoons
where she stacks and unpacks boxes of drinks and fills the fridge
with drinks. She wears her uniform and looks very smart in her
black bandana. Megan also enjoys seeing the horses at Ōhariu
Valley on some Wednesdays.
Megan and Coco
Community Connections ~ 5
Paul’s radio talk By Brian Sullivan, Kapiti Kiwis facilitator Here’s Paul Curwen of the Kapiti Kiwis Network doing his first radio talk called ‘Paul Unscripted’. He is with Tanya of Coast Access Radio in Waikanae. This broadcast was to promote the Kapiti Kiwis’ next fund-raising BBQ at the Paraparaumu Beach Market. They chose to support the Wheel Blacks who have recently come back from the Paralympics in Tokyo. 6 ~ Community Connections
Sandra’s new tricycle
Sandra has a new tricycle and is looking forward to getting out and
about on it this summer.
Sandra is very happy with her shiny red trike. She chose a
detachable basket for the front along with lots of safety items
including the bell to
ring and let people
know that she is
coming. She also
chose reflector
lights, an orange flag
so that she can be
seen in traffic and
of course her fluoro
green helmet to
protect her while out
riding.
Happy travels
Sandra!
Trying out the trike at the shop
Community Connections ~ 7
Steve’s new job In September Steve Winyard was interviewed for a cleaning role at Panda Furniture in Upper Hutt by the managing director and the office manager. He told them about his experience cleaning for other companies and working in a factory. His interview went very well and he was offered a permanent position. Steve is in charge of keeping the kitchen and bathroom areas tidy, hygienic and well stocked with the essentials. He also maintains the workshop area by clearing all offcuts of wood, emptying the massive dust collection bags (as in the pic) and keeping the workshop floors and machine areas clear from sawdust build-ups. Steve is very happy in his new role. He learnt his tasks quickly and his hard work is really appreciated by the team at Panda Furniture. Well done Steve! 8 ~ Community Connections
Dinner with my friend
By Courtney Palmer
Jordan Wilson and I both have a coffee group once a week and
meet up at the Verdict. Over lockdown and through to level 2, we
haven’t had a catch up. I decided that we would invite Jordan
around for dinner. My staff and I organised to cook macaroni
cheese for the meal. We picked a day that the staff who supports
both of us could be there and support with the dinner preparation.
With help from staff, Jordan organised with his father to get to my
house on the night. My staff and I prepared dinner before Jordan
arrived, so all we had to do was heat it up later. We chatted for a
while and then turned on the oven. I had set the table up earlier as
well. It turned out to be a lovely night, and we plan to have dinner at
Jordan’s one night too.
Community Connections ~ 9
Sandra saves Max Sandra and Bronny, her support worker, were enjoying breakfast at McDonalds in Taradale. They saw a beautiful dog running around on his own near a busy intersection with traffic lights. Sandra called him and he came straight up to her. Sandra patted him, then saw his name tag said ‘Max’. Sandra held on to Max whilst Bronny tried ringing his parents. They weren’t home so Sandra and Bronny rang the Napier City Council dog control people. When the dog control team came they said that they knew Max as he had escaped from his home the previous week too. They thanked Sandra because she had done a great job of looking after him. Max really liked Sandra and enjoyed being looked after by her. She got a bowl of water for Max from the nice staff at Taradale McDonalds and shared a fry with him from her happy meal. Later that day Sandra and Bronny rang Max’s parents. They were very happy and thankful for her taking such great care of Max. They also invited Sandra to come and see him sometime. You can read the full version of this story on our website: www. ccslt.org.nz 10 ~ Community Connections
Support evaluation feedback
By the CCSLT Team
We were given a lot of great feedback from everyone in the August
2021 support evaluation. As with the February evaluation, we did
not mail out paper surveys. We did it all online, either through
Flowpoint or a Google forms questionnaire.
109 people sent their forms back, which is about a quarter of all of the
people Community Connections supports. This is slightly fewer than
we received for the February survey. Thank you very much to everyone
who responded – they really help us to see how well our support is
working for you. The chart below
Responses by location shows how many responses we got
back from each area. The Hawke’s
Bay area (bright blue) had the most
responses, with Wellington/Tawa/
Kapiti (red) coming a second with
roughly a quarter of responses.
Well done to Hawke’s Bay and
Wellington/Tawa/Kapiti!
The feedback that you gave us was
mostly very good. These graphs
show how people feel about their
goals, the way their support works,
and their overall happiness with
Community Connection’s support.
Community Connections ~ 11(a) Most people said that they almost always (in blue) or usually (in
red) feel like their goals are planned in an achievable way.
(b) Most people said that they almost always (in blue) or usually
(in red) feel like they are making progress on their goals. However,
if you do not feel that your goals/dreams are being met please
contact your coordinator or team leader, as we really do want them
to come true.
(a) Achievable goals (b) Goal progress
(c) Flexible support (d) Support at planned time
12 ~ Community Connections(c) Most people said that they almost always (in blue) or usually (in
red) feel like their support is planned in a flexible way.
(d) Most people said that they almost always (in blue) or usually
(red) feel like their support was delivered at the planned time.
(e) Most people said that they are almost always (in blue) or usually
(in red) informed of any changes in their support.
(f) Most people said that they are almost always (in blue) or
usually (in red) satisfied with the support that they received from
Community Connections overall.
(e) Informed of changes (f) Overall satisfaction
59 people gave us extra comments at the bottom of their forms.
Most of the comments were positive, with comments being happy
with their support worker/team. Other comments included making
progress with goals, and enjoying activities. A few people wanted
clearer communication and communication in a form that works
best for the person supported.
The next support evaluation will be done in February 2022.
Community Connections ~ 13Fun and beer in Nelson
By Nik Androutsos
I recently went on holiday to Nelson! I went
on the Interislander ferry to Picton and
drove across to Nelson with my support
workers, Harry Bright and Harrison Leach.
While I was there, I crossed the longest
swing bridge in New Zealand and I enjoyed
a ride on a jet boat. I love adrenaline
activities!
I also love drinking beer, so the next day
I visited a brewery and got to try lots of
With Harry on the
different types. This made me very happy! cathedral steps
Crossing the swing bridge and on the jet boat At the brewery
with Harrison
14 ~ Community ConnectionsMy daytrip to Waipawa
By Shane Love
One day I bought a ticket to travel from
Napier to Waipawa and back on the same
day for the following Tuesday. So on the
12th of October I went on the Intercity bus
from Clive Square to Waipawa.
I got off at Waipawa before the Settlers’
Museum. I had a good look in the museum
at everything, including the dental surgery
and the vintage Morrison Motomo reel
mower. I then bought myself a light blue Wearing my Stetson
Wrangler Stetson hat, which I wore all the
way back to Napier.
Making hook rugs
By Shona Green
During the colder weather I decided
it was time to finish off my hook
rugs. I needed to buy the backing
for them and, with the support of
my support worker, we got the
backings. I have many hook rugs
throughout my home. People say
how lovely they are.
Community Connections ~ 15Christmas cooking and baking fun By Emily Hill Since October 2021, I’ve been attending ‘Cooking for Christmas’ classes every Friday. So far, we have made shortbread biscuits, ginger biscuits, polenta sticks, arancini balls and other yummy goodies. This week we are making meringues. I share these treats with my family and friends. The classes are heaps of fun and I hope I can do the same course next year. Emily and her tutor Courtenay Blair 16 ~ Community Connections
The first Te Pou Oranga Forum
By Dana Nicklin and Matt Sang
We held our first Te Pou Oranga Forum at The Dowse Art Gallery,
Lower Hutt, in July. We covered three topics, which are drawn from
our new values framework:
• What is a good life?
• Mana Rangatira — making my own choices
• Mana Reo — having my voice honoured.
People arrived and began mingling, meeting and getting to know
each other. The day first speakers were Jenna, Alyson, Jenni, Cam,
and Keith. These were followed by discussions where six groups
brainstormed about ‘What does a good life look like to me?’ Here’s
some of what they said:
Community Connections ~ 17• Being treated with respect
• Being my authentic self
• Proud
• Laughing
• Being an optimist
• Getting a job that gives me purpose
• Doing things for myself
• Trying something you have never done before
• Helping people… doing the right thing
People also discussed what makes them feel they are in charge of
their life and the services they receive:
• Respecting people’s opinions and how they see things
• We don’t work around the staff, the staff work around us
• Having regular catch-ups
18 ~ Community Connections• Not feeling judged
• Being told you can do it
• No yelling
• Taking me seriously
• Understanding my disability
There was also a discussion about what’s important in
communication. Here are some quotes from the brainstorming
session:
• I like to be told when someone is running late or is sick, as well
as who will come and support me.
• A good relationship is important.
• I like to be able to trust those who support me and manage my
needs confidently together by communication verbally, email,
phone, etc
• I don’t like having to tell support workers what I need all the
time. It’s great when people within Community Connections
communicate with each other about my needs.
The participants had heaps of ideas. Many also came up to the front
and spoke about their own experiences. We then enjoyed some pizza,
after which they asked questions of the leadership team.
We hope that everyone enjoyed the forum, meeting each other and
telling us what matters to them and what we can do better.
Thank you to everyone who joined in and helped with the running
and organisation of the event. With the data gathered, we hope to
steer the organisation more closely along a path desired by those
who are supported by us.
You can read the full version of this story on our website:
www.ccslt.org.nz
Community Connections ~ 19Sandra loves to bake Sandra loves to bake and made some yummy sugar free cupcakes recently. Yummy, yummy, get in my tummy! Baking the cupcakes and putting them in the oven Getting them out of the oven and icing them later 20 ~ Community Connections
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