NRCA Services

In addition to other services, North Ryde Community Aid & Information Centre provides a selection of Home & Community Care (HACC) Services

Home and Community Care (HACC) services are located in the community. These services provide support to older people, people with disability, and people who care for them, while they live at home.

A link to HAAC Consumer and Carer Handbook

You may be able to receive HACC services: - If you are a frail, older person
- If you are a person with a disability
- If you care for a frail aged person or person with a 
  disability. And you live at home.

Client Testimonial

“I have received services from North Ryde Community Aid Centre for ten years. Having these services and some respite from time to time has kept me well and mobile. 

I come to the Tuesday Luncheon and the Thursday Morning Tea groups each week, and as a ‘social butterfly’ I enjoy the conversation and companionship they provide. I enjoy walking to the Centre but they arrange door to door transport any time I prefer the bus. 

I also look forward to the bus outings each month.

The Linen Service helps by changing my bed sheets and towels every fortnight. The volunteers are very helpful and understanding of my needs. They are lovely people.

My family is pleased to know that I have the support of NRCA, and I value the independence of staying in my own home with help from North Ryde Community Aid & Information Centre.”
Norma, 79 years

The following Home and Community Care services are provided by NRCA

Aged & Disability Care Coordination


Jacki Evans



Nuala Williams

This program aims to support older people, people with a disability and their carers, to continue living independently in their homes, in the areas of City of Ryde and Hunters Hill Council areas. 

It offers the following:
Information about a wide range of support services, 
eg. - practical help in the home plus allied health
     - Home visits by appointment
     - On-going help with referrals to service providers
     - Advocacy for those with additional disadvantage
     - Use of free, professional interpreters, both face to face and on 
       the telephone, for people from different language backgrounds
     - Follow-up support and monitoring.”

    
      

Social Support


Heidi Gardner

 Social Support Program

The Volunteer Visiting program aims to reduce the isolation and loneliness felt by some older persons and younger persons with a disability living in the local Ryde and Hunters Hill municipality area by providing social support through a Volunteer Visiting program, Monthly Social Outing and a Bi-monthly Men’s Outing.

The Volunteer Visiting Coordinator matches up a volunteer with a client with whom they keep in regular contact through phone calls and home visits. 

Visits are a minimum of one hour and are either weekly or fortnightly. Visits can offer time to have a chat and coffee, learn about the computer, go for a walk or a drive, as the client prefers.

The Volunteer Visiting Program’s two bus outings
– a monthly ‘Wednesday Social Outing’ and 
- a bi-monthly ‘Monday Men’s Outing, provide clients with the opportunity to socialise and participate in community life. 

Volunteers help out with these outings by assisting the staff member and interacting with clients.

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Armenian Volunteer Visiting


Ophelia Amirchian

 The program provides visitors to housebound and isolated Armenian clients in their homes for social support. 

There are Monthly bus outings and weekly social group activities. 

The program also covers information and referral options about a wide range of support services which enable Armenian clients to live independently in their homes. 
The Program Coordinator follows up the referrals and services.

Target Group: Armenian aged and people with disabilities and their carers.

- Friendly Armenian volunteers
- Home visiting
- Weekly social group, transport provided
- Monthly bus outings
- Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00 am – 4 pm

Serving Area: Ryde Local Government Area

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Luncheon & Morning Tea Groups


Lyn Wicks

- Friendly volunteers
- Weekly social groups at the centre
- Door to door transport
- Additional social groups in the Community
- Monthly bus outings

This program provides a Tuesday Luncheon group and a Thursday Morning Tea group in the grounds of the Community Church next door. Other morning tea groups are expanding into the local community.

 

 

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Linen Program


Kaye Bracken

The Linen Program is a fortnightly service which assists older residents and those with a disability and their carers in the Ryde and Hunters Hill local government areas. 

We bring sheets, pillow cases and bath towels which are provided and professionally laundered by Alsco Linen Service.

The aim of the service is to assist this target group to stay in their own homes and keep their independence.

This program can only exist with volunteers helping me, so if you have a few hours to spare a fortnight and enjoy the company of older people, then please come and join our team of friendly volunteers.

This is an ideal volunteering opportunity for early birds – come and brighten up someone’s morning by providing fresh linen.

- Friendly volunteers
- Fortnightly bed-linen and towels
- Ryde & Hunter Hills LGA
- Tuesday's/Wednesday's fortnightly, for $5.00 we provide:
   2 white flat sheets/pillowcases
   2 white bath towels

We provide sheets, pillow cases and bath towels which are provided by and professional Laundered by Alsco Linen Service

 

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Shopping Services


Kaye Bracken

 

 


 

 

The Shopping Program aims to assist people to remain independent and living in their own homes for as long as possible, as well as providing an enjoyable social outing. We achieve this by providing our clients with hands-on assistance to do their shopping and run personal errands.

- Friendly Volunteers
- Flexible shopping choices
- Door to door transport

We currently offer three different types of service:-

- Social Shopping
 Our Volunteer meets the client at the nominated shopping centre, accompanies them around the shopping centre and helps arrange home delivery of their groceries. Clients are transported to and from the shopping centre via the Ryde Hunters Hill Community Transport (RHHCT) bus. 

The RHHCT Bus currently goes twice per week to Macquarie Centre (Tuesday & Friday) and fortnightly to both West Ryde and Gladesville (Thursday).

- Escorted Shopping
 Our Volunteer picks the client up from their home, drives them to the shopping centre, accompanies them around the shopping centre and drives the client home with their groceries, or helps arrange home delivery of groceries. 

- Shop by List  
Our Volunteer drives to the client’s home, picks up a shopping list from the client, does the grocery shopping / runs errands on their behalf and then drops the groceries, receipts and change home to the client.

The need for this Shopping service is by no means limited to just supermarket groceries. Often our clients need help with paying bills at the post office, visiting Medicare, filling a subscription at the chemist, finding a birthday gift for a grandchild or buying a new set of flannelette sheets. The list is endless!

Volunteers are a vital part of this service and we are extremely grateful to the many volunteers who helped launch this program last year. 

If you are interested in volunteering and would like to know more, please call Kaye on Ph: 9888 3380.

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Additional Non HACC Services

 

 


Carolin Wilkinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Aygul Vallotton

 

 These services are not part of the HACC community services, and are provided with funds from other funding bodies and the goodwill of local groups and individuals.

The Neighbour Aid Program provides a coordinated social support service to frail aged and younger people with a disability and their carers, in the following areas:

- Individual transport
 This service provides door to door transport to and from appointments in the local area.

- Light gardening
Volunteers provide gardening assistance from time to time.

- Lawn mowing service
 NRCA in conjunction with North Ryde RSL Club provides a lawn mowing service to residents in the North Ryde area at a subsidised cost. Assessment necessary.

- Light home maintenance
 This service provides help with minor domestic maintenance.

- Seniors Computer classes
 These beginner classes are held at the Centre and run for 8 weeks four times a year with a volunteer tutor.

- Emergency Food Relief
 Local residents in need, can request assistance in the form of an emergency food package. This program relies on donations of food from local residents, schools and churches in the area and coordinated food drives. Accordingly, food is not always plentiful and this program can only supply irregular support. 

Most of the services in the Neighbour Aid Program are provided by a wonderful band of volunteers.

NRCA also distributes a quarterly Newsletter with up to date information for our local community. 

Watch out for this in your letter box!

- The Multicultural Mothers’ Group is a small and friendly social group for mothers and children from culturally diverse backgrounds. 

The group offers:
- A welcoming meeting place for mothers from all over the world 
- A chance to meet other local mums and children in similar situations
- Information /guest speakers on topics of interest
- Toys and craft/activities for children
- Morning tea for mums

The group meets on Fridays of school terms from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the grounds of North Ryde Community Church (next to the North Ryde Community Aid Centre).