Casino NSW News
Leading disability provider opens in Casino
Leading disability provider opens in Casino
Disability support provider, Accessible Care & Lifestyle Services (ACALS), has opened a Casino office to provide much-needed Support Coordination services for people in the Northern Rivers living with disabilities.
Support Coordination is available to eligible National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants and is designed to help them get the most out of the support services in their NDIS plan.
ACALS CEO and founder, Ruth Lopez Gonzalez, said understanding the NDIS isn’t always easy and quality Support Coordination can transform lives.
“The NDIS can be overwhelming to navigate and when it comes to managing NDIS plans, participants don’t always understand their rights, or know how to maximise the services covered in their plan,” said Ms Lopez Gonzalez.
“We want people to know that they don’t have to stick with the one provider for all their supports, and they can change providers at any time if they want to,”
”Quality Support Coordination can transform lives,” Ruth Lopez Gonzalez, CEO, ACALS
“Education about the NDIS is so important. We see participants who’re suffering because they’re not getting the right level of support. If you need more services, your Support Coordinator needs to advocate for you to get them added to your plan,”
“Support Coordinators shouldn’t take over, because that’s disempowering, but they’re there to help you understand and manage your plan and can request additional funds if needed. This can really change your life. If you’re not getting the support you need, how can you achieve your NDIS plan goals?”
Ms Lopez Gonzalez encourages participants who want Support Coordination included in their plan, to contact the ACALS NDIS Access Officer.
“Make an appointment to see our NDIS Access Officer. In my experience, the success rates are low for participants who apply for Support Coordination on their own, so it’s a good idea to get an advocate to help you. And we offer this service for free, to ensure participants get the support they need.”
ACALS started in Sydney in 2017, and now offers over thirty different Community, Aged Care and Disability Services. The Casino office will initially provide just Support Coordination and add more services in the future.
“We’ve started with the service where we’ve identified a pressing need.”
Ms Lopez Gonzalez, a 20-year disability services veteran, said ACALS started working with the Northern Rivers community during the 2022 floods, and they quickly saw participants needed more support with their NDIS services.
“We were there to help match participants with emergency accommodation and found ourselves educating people about how to manage their NDIS Supports,”
“The NDIS can be time consuming and stressful to navigate. We want to educate people about their rights and choices and help take the load off participants and their families.”
By April 2022, ACALS started a temporary mobile Support Coordination service in Kyogle, before establishing a permanent office in Casino in August.
“We provided a lot of information to the community in and around Kyogle. Word got around that we did things differently and a lot of people reached out,”
The Casino office is fully accessible and currently has four Support Coordinators. Ms Lopez Gonzalez said participants are matched to a team member and then work with them on an ongoing basis.
“We offer continuity of care. Our approach is highly personalised and, if, for some reason, you can’t get through to your Support Coordinator, someone else will always pick up the phone during business hours. You never get the run-around,”
It can take up to three months for Support Coordination funding to be approved and Ms Lopez Gonzalez encourages participants who want Support Coordination included in their plan to request this sooner rather than later.
“Funding takes time. We write end of plan reports and schedule your reviews and then the NDIS does a plan review, so you need to get in touch asap if you want to apply for new, or more, Support Coordination funding,”
“Your needs can change over time and it’s important your NDIS funding is adjusted accordingly.”
ACALS offers consultations in-home or at their new office at 78 Barker St, Casino. To book a consultation or make an appointment with ACAL’s NDIS Access Officer, call (02) 6699 5210.
RESUMPTION OF SITTINGS AT CASINO COURT HOUSE WELCOME NEWS
The resumption of sittings at Casino Court House tomorrow after it was closed following the 2022 floods is welcome news for the local community according to Clarence Nationals MP, Richie Williamson who advocated very strongly for the Court House to reopen as a matter of priority.
Mr Williamson delivered a Private Member’s Statement in the NSW Parliament in May last year followed by a letter to the NSW Attorney General, Michael Daley supporting a Mayoral Minute from Richmond Valley Mayor, Robert Mustow seeking urgent priority to be given to expediting flood recovery works at the Court House given the impacts on the local community and economy.
“Whilst the number one priority of flood recovery should always be about supporting flood victims, restoring key community assets should be a high priority,” Mr Williamson said.
“As I said at the time, the closure of the Casino Court House was having a negative impact on the local community and economy with the nearest sittings being heard at Kyogle and Lismore and disadvantaging many in the community.
“Its closure impacted on low socio-economic and high Indigenous communities, some of whom have very limited transport and were struggling to attend because public transport is almost non-existent.
“It was also impacting family members needed at court as support people as well as having an operational impact on our local police force because local police officers were required to travel to Kyogle or Lismore for appearances and court hearings.
“Economic impacts on Casino were also being felt because of the lack of court days, which would normally bring to the community a high number of professional people to the community, where they would quite often stay for the night.
“I thank the NSW Attorney General for his assistance in ensuring the Casino Court House is back up and running.
“It is a great shot of confidence for the community and is part of the healing and recovery process that is so important for my community,” Mr Williamson concluded.
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Crazy Cow comes to Casino
By Samantha Elley
If Kristy Gill had her way, she would cook 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“I used to advertise on Facebook and made cakes for my friends and family,” she said.
From there, Kristy opened the Riverview Café in Coraki but when the opportunity came up for her to move her business to Casino, she took it.
And Crazy Cow Café was born.
“I figured it was a good name to suit the beef capital,” she laughed.
After a lot of hard work to get the business up and running, Kristy opened her doors on Tuesday last week.
“We do lots of take home meals for people who don’t have time to cook, so they can take them home and put them in the freezer,” Kristy said.
“We do honey chicken, fried rice, home made lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and sausages and veges.”
Crazy Cow Cafe
The café also serves up hamburgers, chicken wraps, salad sandwiches and all the deep fried favourites.
“We will eventually do pizzas as well,” said Kristy.
“We will be looking into gluten free cooking with our cakes and slices and we have lactose free milk for our coffees.
“We try and cater for everyone.”
With her five youngest kids in Casino Public School, only a walk away, Kristy knows she will have no problems with young helpers in the shop after school.
“My five year old has already asked if he can come and help,” she laughed.
“I hope he continues with that same attitude as he gets older.”
The Crazy Cow Café is located at 117 Barker Street, next to the Commonwealth Bank.
For more Casino news, click here.
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