History of Kurrajong’s Narrandera Services

We have been eagerly waiting for this official opening of the Narrandera facility, from when CEO Ray Carrol first announced the proposed new building at the Narrandera Special General meeting in 2019.

Kurrajong’s community connections, go back to the eighties’  from the Small Incorporation of The Narrandera Cypress Centre now known as Kurrajong Laundry, to our current year, with Kurrajong services including employment , lifestyle and day services, Supported Living,  multi-discipline Therapy  services,  Plan management and Support Coordination now all provided here, locally to the Narrandera community.

The first lifestyle service commenced in 2012 in our previous East Street office in Narrandera,  which was just a little bit different to the new building we are standing in front of today!

In 2015 we saw a significant change in the way the Government allocated funding for services for people with a disability with the Introduction of the NDIS or National Disability Insurance Scheme and Kurrajong has managed this change and grown our service’s to meet the needs of the local community.

In 2018 we officially opened the new supported Living units which were a very exciting new shared living model of accommodation. One which continues to be a very successful and popular model of accommodation still.

Service’s such as Plan Management, Support Coordination and Therapy services were provided to the Narrandera community from Wagga Wagga and these services have increased to a demanding need for a local office.

In 2021 we increased our Narrandera supported living services to include a SIL group home and Short term accommodation or respite accommodation, which is utilised regularly and a great relief to local families who previously had to access these services out of town.

And now in 2023, we are here celebrating this terrific new multipurpose building.

These past years have seen such progression within Kurrajong services and the disability Sector as a whole. However, one thing that hasn’t changed, is our goal to ensure we continue to provide high quality services to People with a Disability and their families.

This new building, provides a modern environment to support Kurrajong’s lifestyle choices services and includes a spacious kitchen designed for group cooking programs and specific spaces for living skill training and activities. The facility includes a large woodwork workshop, music room and outdoor area for physical activities and also provides an office base to co-ordinate the supported living accommodation supports currently provided in the community and various evening social and leisure groups.

We have already received such positive feedback from the clients who use the facility regularly, and everyone agrees, the new building is a wonderful environment to develop skills, try new tasks, achieve goals and meet new friends. The new building has motivated everyone to try new activities with much larger space now, so stay tuned for great things to come from this building for the amazing people we support.

 

The new building also accommodates our Therapy and First Contact services which are managed by Victoria Mack and Norm Corcoran.

Local families now have a place to attend Therapy sessions with a multi discipline team of therapists including Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology, Early childhood Intervention, education and more. These services which will be utilised by many local families, will enable local people to not have to go out of town to access these services. Kurrajong therapy support all age groups from children to adults living with a disability to help them to overcome barriers with the right approach to reach their full potential.

With the transition into the NDIS, many families are still feeling confused about the difference in service types and how to ensure they are receiving the right information and best services for their needs. Kurrajong’s Plan Management and support coordination services can assist local families to navigate the NDIS and provide options on what local services are available and how to access them.

Kurrajong Support coordinators and First contact representatives have private spaces in our new building, to meet with local families, face to face to discuss their NDIS plan and services, which is a great benefit when you are talking about connecting with families and building a professional relationship.