What a HUGE month March has been at GO!
Advocacy Month
We began by introducing Advocacy Month - a time to highlight the importance of advocacy in empowering our participants and amplifying their voices.
Advocacy isn't just about speaking up on behalf of others - it's also about creating opportunities for everyone to express their needs, wishes and ambitions. With our person-centered support model, advocacy is a part of every day here at GO, but March was definitely a great reminder of all the ways we can speak up.
Our Support Workers took the time in March to reflect on their daily practices and provided insight into how they bring advocacy to all participants. With prompts to engage our participants in the conversation, we learnt important information about our rights, how to advocate for ourselves when we're feeling nervous, and who we can go to for assistance.
But we also know that people communicate in very different ways.
Support Worker Wilson U supports non-verbal participants to engage "in activities that promote their wellbeing and self-expression." Wilson looks for the various ways individuals communicate their needs and wishes to learn more about their likes and dislikes, and to better hear them when they are advocating for themselves across different situations.
Our workforce is trained to always keep the individual at the heart of their supports, and to actively promote advocacy and self-determination in this way!
But Advocacy Month was just the beginning! The rest of March was jam-packed with exciting events and activities enjoyed across all areas of our service. Here is just some of what we've been up to lately:
Clean Up Australia Day
On March 3rd, Group Programs participants came together to walk the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Walk and pick up litter for Clean Up Australia Day! We had a great turn out of participants, and a great haul of rubbish saved from our drains and sewers!
Pancake Day
Hot on the heels of Clean Up Australia Day, Pancake Day rolled around on March 4th -- celebrated in Programs by a pancake feast catered by our cooking group and enjoyed by all!
Harmony Week
Beginning on March 21st, Harmony Week was a highlight this month. All about celebrating the value of diversity and inclusion in our community -- something Goulburn Options knows all about! -- the week was a great chance to come together and celebrate our differences. We topped off the week with a pop-up photo booth in our festive orange colours!
Melbourne Internatioanl Flower and Garden Show
To finish off our busy month, participants from our Wednesday programs travelled down to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show! Our participants and staff had a fantastic day seeing all there was on offer! A real highlight of the year so far!
Phew! What a full and exciting month at Goulburn Options! It's hard to believe it's already over -- but that just means there's more to look forward to in April. We've got Easter excitement, our Participant Survey, and our Tastes of the Goulburn Pop Up Art Show to look forward to!
We can't wait!
To keep up to date with everything happening at GO, and to find out more ways to get involved, follow us across social media, on both Facebook and Instagram!
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