Challenge Trust provides a number of residential rehabilitation options for clients who require 24 hour, 7 day per week residential rehabilitative support. These services are provided in ‘homely’ environments and are accessible to clients who are referred from the Regional Rehabilitation Co-ordinators working for the Community Mental Health Teams within various District Health Boards. Challenge Trust works collaboratively with the clinical teams, clients and other organisations to ensure a safe transition into the services.
The services are located in South Auckland and all are in close proximity to the shops, public transport, and local amenities. Challenge Trust’s Level 4 residential rehabilitation services are aimed at clients who require continued support in order to regain independence and develop skills that facilitate independent living. Challenge Trust has also built excellent relationships with CMDHB Intensive Community Teams, Tamaki Oranga.
When entering the service a full assessment is carried out and Cultural assessments are carried out on all new clients entering the services. Challenge Trust employs a full-time Maori Development Manager who assists with Maori cultural issues, a Pacific Manager who assists with Pacific Island cultural issues, and an Asian Manager who assists with Asian cultural issues.
Challenge Trust employs well-skilled and trained staff to provide its intense and therapeutic Six-Point Paths To Recovery Paradigm or model. This unique holistic approach developed by Challenge Trust coupled with the realistic expectations of the clients themselves drives best practice when delivering residential recovery and support services.
An Inside View
Working in residential recovery and support services is very challenging and equally rewarding. We work alongside clients to support their own individual recovery journeys. It is important that as part of the journey each client undertakes we support them by walking alongside the client, not in front or behind them.
Clients who live in the various residential services have very high and complex support needs in a number of areas, ranging from attending to their own personal cares, maintaining their home environments, to identifying appropriate programmes to manage alcohol and/or drug issues, medication compliance and education.
Challenge works with clients to identify personal goals and jointly develop support plans in order to achieve these goals. We support clients in achieving the eventual goal of exiting the service and living independently in the community, in a home of their own choice.
More than anything else, the service is totally client focused. Challenge supports clients with what they want to achieve and not what we think they should achieve. All support plans are individualised and recovery focused to suit their specific needs and requirements. This means we do a great deal of work with our clients which includes providing the skills to fine employment, managing finances and budgeting, supporting clients to re-engage with their family/whanau, accessing their local communities, joining the library, participating in regular exercise programmes and enrolling in education courses just to name a few.
A Success Story
Challenge recently worked with a client who felt she was unable to leave the service without continued support from staff. Over a number of months and in taking small steps, she was eventually able to go out on her own independently.
In order to achieve this milestone a lot of positive encouragement and support was given. On numerous occasions staff would catch the bus with her and sit next to her. The next step involved getting her to catch the bus alone while staff waited for her at the next bus stop. She can now catch the bus alone without any assistance and because of this, she has recently been able to start a part-time job.
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