Meet Chris!

Image: L-R Rocky Bay Customer Renee with Team leader Chris.

Say Hi to Rocky Bay Team Leader Chris!

Chris is a passionate Rocky Bay Team Leader for community access at our PKC Hub in Cockburn. We recently chatted with him to discover what a typical day looks like for him, his inspiration for working in the community service space and what he loves most about his job!

Can you tell us about your role and what a typical day looks like for you?

I am the team leader for community access at the Cockburn PKC hub.

Our role each day is never the same and you have to adapt at a moment’s notice for individual tasks such as organising various shifts, liaising with other departments and families/carers of the customers, incidents and reportin and administration tasks. All the while trying to provide the best possible support for your staff and customers.

A normal day for me includes supporting staff with any aspects of the job they require, interacting with customers that attend the Cockburn hub, communicating with customers, their parents or carers regarding budgets and supports, communicating with other departments and planning upcoming events.

What inspired you to work in the community services space?

I have three children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and other family members in the UK with disabilities and loved seeing them attend different events they were interested in as they grew up. I wanted to be a part of that, seeing the smiles on faces and helping people to live their best lives.

What do you love most about your job and the impact you make?

I love seeing and celebrating the smallest achievements which mean so much to the customers and their families and that most people in everyday life take for granted.

Can you share a memorable story of how our services have made a difference in our customers life’s?

We have a customer who loves cars and watching car racing. Last year we were able to co-ordinate with other community teams and with his carer to have extra funds available to allow him to attend the Drift ability event in Wanneroo. He had a great time and loved being able to go for a ride with a professional driver on a drift track. He has asked to attend again this year and is looking forward to being able to do it all again.

We have been organising themed monthly discos and movie days at the Cockburn hub, this has allowed more variety for the customers and more chances to socialise and participate in activities that they enjoy. This has also allowed a lot of the Rocky Bay staff in other departments who don’t usually interact directly with customers to come and meet them in person.

How do you and your team work together to support customers?

Our staff work collaboratively with each other, family and carers and the therapy team to support our customers.

Passing on information and tricks and tips to each other and to myself to add to their support plans. We are always open to new ideas wherever possible and all love what we do.

What’s one thing you wish more people knew about the work we do?

How much it benefits all our customers to be able to access and participate in their local community. The smallest things can always make the biggest impact.

What motivates you in your role?

The customers themselves provide enough motivation on their own with all their different personalities and senses of humour and how much they enjoy their community outings.

Being able to provide such a great service to people who normally would not get to access some of these activities is also definitely a plus.

What are three things you love to do outside your role?

• Spending time with my wonderful wife and kids
• I loved playing soccer but am getting a bit older now so more enjoy watching games instead
• Going bushwalking