CLRS’ Club Teen proves a hit at home

May 28, 2020

COMMUNITY Living and Respite Services (CLRS) have been getting creative to support families under COVID-19 restrictions.

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In the past few weeks, CLRS have teamed up with Carer Support Services to create Club Teen at Home kits.

These have provided staff eight activities that are an engaging and sensory activity which families could do together during the stay at home orders.

“It was identified that families who were caring for children with disability were particularly impacted with children being home from school,” CLRS staff member Lauren Davy said.

“Families were telling us that they were having some trouble being out of routine, trying to manage home-schooling and in some cases also trying to work.

“Add to that many children didn’t understand the restrictions or may be having difficulty regulating emotions.

“We purchased the ingredients needed to complete the activities and printed out booklets with instructions.

“These kits were delivered to un-suspecting families to add a bit of surprise. We delivered the kit in two lots to keep in touch with families and provide another contact for anyone needing extra support.

“For those who needed a little more support our Club Teen staff devised an innovative solution to give the kids a chance to get out of the house in a safe environment and for everyone to have a bit of down time.”

The program has also teamed up with Moama on the Murray, who has provided facilities for staff and clients to use.

“They have been fantastic,” Lauren said.

“By using the facilities at Moama on Murray we were able to provide one-on-one support each week for the children to cook a home-cooked meal for the family, which further helped mum and dad to have a night off during the week.

“We were able to have protocols in place to keep everyone safe by using two different locations at the park and cleaning thoroughly in between uses.

“Kagome have also come on board and helped us with a donation, which has resulted in some lasagnes going home that families have been raving about, apparently some of the kids have never eaten this much tea.

“This project has been another good example of local business and providers coming together to benefit the community.”