SUMMER 2021
What a summer it’s been, cool and windy. I believe we had about 5 warm days in total!
It has been pleasing to see that SPDL has continued to provide services for people with the number of trips increasing in December 2020 as people were out and about in the community.
There has also been an increase in demand for our Mates services which is good news. January was a quiet month in terms of activity as it usually is, however, post the lockdown in mid-February, there are signs that people are returning to their regular trips and activities.
Client survey
Things we do well
Clients confirmed using SPDL assists them in achieving their goals in terms of community participation and social inclusion.
The majority of clients are very satisfied or satisfied with the service they receive.
Most clients would give SPDL a score of 10 out of 10 in recommending SPDL to family and friends.
Nearly all clients feel very supported by the volunteer providing the service.
Things we can improve on
Clients would like to receive more regular updates from the organisation, such as newsletters.
Not all clients were clear on the feedback/ complaints process.
What else could we do?
The survey also asked clients what else they would like from SPDL.
There are a number of people who wanted return trips from the Alfred hospital and trips to destinations outside of the CoPP.
Some clients were asking for assisted shopping to shop and carry the groceries and some suggested weekend trips and assistance with home maintenance.
Response from SPDL
SPDL is evaluating how we could provide return trips from the Alfred and trips to the City of Melbourne. Currently we are constrained to provide these trips due to vehicle and staffing capacity.
The feedback from the survey was good timing, as a tender was released by the Federal Government to organisations wishing to provide additional services. This tender is part of additional funding under the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP).
As part of our tender submission, SPDL have applied for additional funding to provide return trips from the Alfred hospital and trips to the City of Melbourne. We will let you know if we are successful, fingers crossed!
At this stage we are unable to provide assisted shopping or assistance with home maintenance, clients who need these services should contact the Council about the home support services program on 03 9209 6777.
Feedback process
If you would like to provide us with feedback, good or bad we would like to hear from you.
Feedback may be provided a number of ways:
Phone us on 03 9646 6362 and ask to speak to the General Manager
Write to the General Manager at SPDL PO Box 199 , Port Melbourne Vic 3207
Write to the Committee of Management c/o SPDL PO Box 199, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Volunteer update
The year has commenced well, and we are hoping to increase our volunteer mumbers in order to resume to some degree of normality.
We are delighted that so many potential volunteers want to engage in volunteering with SPDL, especially for our most popular opportunity 'Daylinks Volunteer Driver'.
We recruited many new volunteers across all programs using the newly developed Volunteer Recruitment process. Many new client referrals were made through MAC to register for Mates programs.
If you meet anyone who is interested to volunteer or would like to access the service, please direct them to our new website for more information on www.spdl.org.au or alternatively enquire on 03 9646 6362.
Our 2020 end of year function was simpler last year with an outdoor BBQ at Gasworks park attended by a number of volunteers following the social distancing guidelines.
While the mood was slightly different to normal, the BBQ was a wonderful opportunity for us to get together to meet after a long time and have a nice chat.
It was well received and much appreciated by the volunteers. We are planning to start our volunteer meetings shortly in April and hope to have a mid-year volunteer party this year.
How good are our volunteers?
SPDL is very fortunate to have around 80 volunteers providing services to the community in an enthusiastic and passionate way. The recent client survey included a lot of positive feedback about our volunteers.
A huge thank you to our volunteers who provide a great service to the residents of CoPP.
Here are some of the quotes from our clients:
"Better than a taxi service, good drivers, good service."
"Drivers are very helpful, excellent service."
"Just love the service and would be devastated if it wasn’t available."
"Driver's all amazing and very kind people."
"Wonderful service, more than happy with it."
"All volunteers are a great help and very friendly."
Outlook
Everyone including staff, volunteers and clients has adhered to the government health and safety guidelines at SPDL programs which has kept everyone safe which was a great team effort. We are grateful to everyone playing their part and are looking forward to a more active 2021.
April fundraising activity
For the month of April, SPDL has a fundraising activity at GRILL’D Balaclava store • 231-237 Carlisle St, Balaclava.
When you eat at Grill’d Balaclava you will be given a token which you can put into a jar for SPDL and help us raise funds!
How does it work?
With every burger ordered, a Local Matters token is handed over to you to drop into a Local Matters jar of your choice.
Local Matters jars are a fixture in all Grill'd restaurants. Each month, in every restaurant the jars promote three community groups for their guests to support.
At the end of the month $500 is split between the groups.
$300 for 1st
$100 for 2nd
$100 for 3rd
So please have a burger at Grill'd Balaclava in April and support SPDL.
Click on the button below for the print version of NewsLink Summer 2021