Keeping Local Communities Connected

Baptist Care SA’s new Community Connections: Living Connected, Living Well program officially commenced on 1 July 2021 with an aim to strengthen social inclusion across Eastern, Northern, and Southern Adelaide.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one in ten people are experiencing social isolation which has a significant impact on their health (both mental and physical) and their ability to engage in the community.

The Living Connected, Living Well program aims to work alongside participants and support them to build social connections, encourage improvements in quality of life and achieve better health outcomes. Case Managers will work alongside vulnerable South Australia aged 18-64 years (or 49 years for Aboriginal people) who are socially isolated helping them to engage with and participate in community activities, groups, and volunteering opportunities.

Each participant will be supported for twelve weeks to set goals that align with their personal interests and skills and exit the program with increased social and health connections, which they can independently maintain. Participants with complex needs may qualify for a twelve-week extension.

The Living Connected, Living Well team has now been fully recruited with Madeline Keatley (formerly a Team Leader with the FLO team) appointed Manager, Beth Ashley and Sarah Fu working in the North at our Salisbury site, Matteo Mazzilli and Matteo Panizon working in the East at our Inner City site, and Jin Zhao working in the South region at our Hallett Cove site.

Unique partnerships have been formed with leading organisations that are well established within these regions, including the Elizabeth South Community Centre and Northern Volunteering SA (Inc.) in the North and the Hackham West Community Centre, and Christie Downs Community House in the South. These connections have been established strategically with the anticipated participants of the program in each region in mind. We are confident that the trust that the local communities have in these organisations will encourage positive outcomes for the program. Participants across all regions will also have access to the WestCare Centre and Community Food Hub at Baptist Care SA’s Inner City site.

Community Connections is partnering with primary and secondary health providers across the three regions which will enable the program to provide participants with holistic, wrap-around support and seamless transition pathways between agencies. The team is excited and motivated to get this program up and running and we look forward to many positive participant outcomes over the next two years.

If you have any questions about please contact me E: [email protected]

Madeline Keatley
Manager, Community Connections

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Baptist Care SA, lives, works and walks on Kaurna, Peramangk and Boandik lands. We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the state’s first peoples, recognise their traditional ownership, and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs, deep connection and continued guardianship of land and waters. We value the contributions of Elders past and present, and are committed to learning from those emerging.