LEAH Taaffe may just have the best job in town.
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She knows it as fact, so when she stepped back into the Community Living & Respite Services office on Percy St last week as the chief executive there was no wiping the smile off her face.
A part of the organisation for more than five years, Leah knows the challenges that lie ahead.
But it’s the interactions with people and the achievements that come out of those she’s going to relish.
Starting at CLRS in 2012, Leah moved on and cut her teeth as the chief executive of the Kyabram Community and Learning Centre for two years.
Those two years were a steep learning curve, as the organisation underwent a significant restructure, while continuing to work with the community of people who relied on it.
“It was a really challenging role that taught me a lot about myself and how to manage an organisation and people,” she said.
“I’ve always valued small communities – I grew up in one – and so ensuring services are available to smaller communities is something I see as essential.”
Among the changes it was crucial to retain the best level of support the organisation could.
“Working with the community and people at KCLC really solidified my understanding of the value of community and showed just how significant the work is to keep a range of services in a small town,” she said.
Leah then returned to CLRS as the service development manager and was acting chief executive on occasions before assuming the role full-time last week.
And the support has been overwhelming.
“Echuca-Moama is a beautiful community that is so generous and supportive,” she said.
“When you talk to people about doing something new (in terms of services or fundraising) people are so encouraging and ready to support it.
“Add to that our gorgeous client base and the people I get to work with, and that is the reason I come to work every day.
“The people you work with and for in an organisation such as CLRS push you to do more and the value of seeing people achieve is a pretty addictive thing.”
It’s a role that revolves around people, in an organisation that is centred around the community.
So leading the organisation into the new decade and new projects is nothing too daunting to the CLRS team who support people with disability and provide the opportunity to be as independent as possible.
“I want to make sure we give staff the tools they need to do their job really well – that is a driving force for me,” she said.
“That will help us to continue to deliver projects such as the Opening Doors Project and Johnno’s Run, the community involvement with both of these projects is great.
“They give you a chance to meet people in the community you may never otherwise see day-to-day, and meeting them in that forum gives people a better sense of what we do.”
But more importantly, the programs give people with disability opportunities they may never have had previously.
In a community that is more than willing to show how much they care.
“In other communities people with disability have the potential to be unseen but that isn’t the case here,” she said.
“People are looking to be actively involved in supporting people with disability to be as much a part of our community as everyone else and I’m looking forward to making the most of their support.”
And with CLRS’ fundraising efforts about to kick off for another year – it’s hard to pick a highlight.
The upcoming fundraiser dinner, the official opening of the Moama Opening Doors Project and preparations for Johnno’s Run 2020 are high on the list.
But for Leah the real highlight will be seeing people’s lives made easier.
“This year will also see the transition to NDIS completed by July 1, it’s been a large focus for us in past years and it will be interesting to see the scheme mature,” she said.
“We’ve seen a real range as to how successful people’s NDIS plans have been. But with the introduction of the participant service guarantee it’ll be interesting to see how it works for people.
“It will allow participants to review a draft of their plan and offer better support to people before the plan goes live.
“Having those improvements in how the NDIS engages with customers is a real positive and we’ll be strongly supporting those advocating for those changes to occur as soon as possible.”