As we celebrate Scope’s 75th anniversary, we are joined by Jenni Hendy, General Manager of Accommodation Services, who has shared her story about her journey with Scope.
When did you start working at Scope?
When I started working Scope was the Spastic Society of Victoria and it was 1993 – so it’s 30 years now. I’d just finished my teaching degree and there were no jobs at all in Victoria for teachers, so I just looked for a job in The Age newspaper working with children with a disability as I had studied special education for people with severe and multiple disability. I had no idea what I was applying for!
What was your role when you started working at Scope?
I started off as a Disability Support Worker because it was the closest thing to working with someone with a disability that wasn’t a teaching job. I was one of 95 applicants because there was a shortage of work back then, so I was really proud of myself that I had got the job. I started off initially as a casual and then was taken on permanently at the Dame Mary Herring Centre in Armadale. It was an interesting role, we made it up a bit as we went along, there weren’t policies or procedures like there are now – there wasn’t even a medication procedure back then! We couldn’t even get wheelchairs into the bathrooms, we had to wheel kids to the door and then lift them into the bath. It was very primitive back then, but we made it work. It was really good fun, we really loved it.
I’ve done lots of different things in the organisation over the years. People always say how can you stay in the one place for 30 years, well, to me it’s been 30 years of lots of different jobs and there’s been lots of changes within the organisation.
What was different when you started work at Scope?
We were a significantly smaller organisation and we were very well known as the Spastic Society. When we changed our name to Scope it took a long time for people to actually give us that recognition again. The other thing is there were less policies, procedures, rules and regulations, and probably a lot less safeguarding of our clients which has definitely changed. A lot of things like documentation and reporting didn’t exist back then, it was really just about providing the support and care to people.
What are some of the changes you've seen during your career in the disability sector?
I’ve seen a lot of change with technology, giving people more opportunity and voice. I’ve seen the community change to be a lot more accepting of people with disabilities and there’s a lot more integration into people getting involved in community and getting jobs. Things used to be a lot more segregated. Seeing people with disabilities actually have a voice be heard and be able to make decisions about their day-to-day life, I think that is the biggest and best thing I’ve seen change.
What's one memory or story you can share about a time working at Scope?
In my time I’ve set up a number of new accommodation services and seeing that opportunity for people to live away from their mum and dad and have a new home, and for their parents to be comfortable in knowing that their child has somewhere really great to live. That’s been a really positive thing to see.
Back when I used to do children’s respite I used to love it when the kids would come and stay and have a great time. You’d have a child there with the most complex disability but when they saw their parents come and pick them up, the look on their face when they recognised them! It was just gorgeous.
What do you see changing in the future, either at Scope or in the disability sector?
Where I am in accommodation services, the biggest change is that people are going to have so much more choice in the way they live. The opportunity to live with someone who you choose to live with is a big difference and just better homes with better technology. We will see it steering away from these group living situations with big amounts of people. In the future I think people will have more control over their life and what they do.
What are you excited to see in the future, either at Scope or in the disability sector?
I’m really excited about the Scope in Victoria and NSW coming together. There’s been such a great opportunity for us to come together and take all the good bits from each other and really excel as an organisation. We’re lucky because we have some talented people working for us, so there’s a lot for us to learn from each other. We can definitely be one of the best organisations providing services for people with disabilities in Australia. As an organisation we’re becoming more modern and now we’re taking bigger steps to be a better organisation.
What would you like to see change in Supported Independent Living?
New and innovative housing is the one thing I would like everyone to have access to, that’s a real focus. I’d also like to see people in their own homes actually running their homes themselves, just as everybody else does. Being able to decide how they decorate their houses and what they’re having for dinner, instead of being led by the people that support them.
What do you love about working at Scope?
The people that we support, they’re definitely the motivation for me. I’ve seen little children grow up into adults, move out of home and start living the life they want to live and I think that’s been such a special thing to see. I’ve got to see kids who were six become 36! Sometimes I catch up with people in houses and we reminisce about the old days and what we used to get up to.
Which Scope value resonates with you most and why?
I would say ‘Act bravely’ as I really want people to not just speak up when things aren’t right but I want people to actually think outside of the box and do things differently and not feel scared to do that. I want people to be creative and have new ideas. But I also love celebrating people and their successes – you see something that’s happening on the ground and I just love to celebrate that.
If you had any advice for new support workers or people joining the disability sector for work, what would it be?
Make sure that you listen to the people we support as they have some really valuable information, listen to the staff on the ground as they’re real experts in what they do. They’ve often got the answers to all the problems you think exist. And have fun! It can be such a great career, I don’t think there’s ever been a day I’ve thought ‘I don’t want to go to work’ because every day is different and exciting, so many things happen and while sometimes they can be challenging things that happen, other times it’s fantastic things to celebrate. I don’t have any plans to not work for this organisation – I still love it.
75 years from now, what do you hope life for people with a disability will look like?
My one hope is that people are just integrated into society, disability or no disability, you can do whatever you want, access whatever you want, there’s no limits to what you can do. And people having their voices heard.
As we mark Scope’s 75th birthday, we sat down with Robert Moore, Senior Manager Government Relations, to chat about his extensive career at Scope, and the changes he’s within the organisation and disability sector.
As we celebrate 75 years of empowering lives, Denise West, General Manager CIRC National Services, takes us on a journey through the origins of Scope's Communication and Inclusion Resource Centre (CIRC) and the remarkable impact it's had on the disability community.
For Geoff and Louise, being a part of the Scope family has proved to be more than just a place for them to live and work but has also fostered their long-term relationship and marriage.
