Strengthening Communities – Empowering People - Lifeline Darling ...

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FamILY suPPort ProgrammE (st gEorgE)
Lifeline manages the Family Support Program (FSP) from their offices in St George. Two staff members are
involved with the management and administration of the program, Pamela Whitman who is the Facilitator and
Mandy Didsman who is the administrator. Where necessary, Jean Smith works casually as the Family Support
Worker.
Over the last year, twenty four families have been in the program that supports families who have a child or children
with a disability. The number of families we have supported in each area is detailed below:
Area/ town Number of families
Roma 5
Goondiwindi 6
Dirranbandi 4
St George 3
Tara area 2
Meandarra 1
Glen Morgan
area
1
Drilham 1
Chinchilla 1
The types of disability our children on the program have are as follows:
Type of disability Frequency
Autism Spectrum Disorder 5
Intellectual Disability 5
Developmental delay 5
Cerebral Palsy 2
Physical Disability 2
Acquired Brain Injury 1
Speech disability 1
Examples of ways we have strengthened families to care for their children include; funding conference and workshop
attendance; providing books and information on a website; funding stress release activities for carers; referring
families to other local services; solving problems over the phone; and encouraging and supporting families to discover
their own solutions.
Areas of support are largely around the topics of education; social interaction; medical or allied health; and personal
care support. In general terms, common areas for monitory support is given for transport expenses to Brisbane to
see specialized medical staff; early intervention treatment and equipment; educational computer equipment and
programs; respite and personal support wages; membership fees to clubs; back to school expenses; clothing and
family holidays or vacation care.
FamILY
support