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'Rotary Central Melbourne assists night nurses'
"On behalf of the clients, staff and board of Youth Projects, I would like to pass on my appreciation and deep thanks to Rotary for their additional funding and support of our After Hours Primary Care program it truly has made a difference for people." CEO of Youth Projects Inc
This is an abridged version of the project report lodged with District 9800 accounting for the District Grant received recently.
1. Briefly describe the project. What was done, when and where did project activities take place, and who were the beneficiaries?
The Christmas and New Year period is incredibly challenging for people who are sleeping rough and experiencing terrible disadvantage, isolation and vulnerability at a time in which most of us are celebrating with family and friends.
This period also represents a time in which most services are closed or provide limited / reduced services to Melbourne’s most vulnerable. Each year Youth Projects Inc experience an increase in episodes of care over this time and are very appreciative that with the support of Rotary Central Melbourne they were able to deliver critical health and wellbeing support to those most in need.
The additional funding provided by Rotary Central Melbourne enabled Youth Projects to have a team of 2 qualified and skilled Night Nurses on patrol in the Melbourne CBD for 7 additional nights; 26th, 27th, 28th of December and 01st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th of January. The additional services again highlighted the significant need for a weekday service and a major gap within the sector. They were pleased to be able to demonstrate this need and use the support from Rotary Central Melbourne to advocate to their funding bodies for extended services.
Youth Projects were able to make contact with 31 new clients between the 26th and 28th of December, and their busiest night was the 1st of January with 32 contacts. During this period they were also able to facilitate multiple referrals back to their team of GP’s at the Living Room as well as referrals to Launch Housing, Lifeline, Podiatrists and Bolton Clarke.
The additional shifts meant that there was a continual service for clients to access critical medical care and support. Their teams delivered frontline health care to 175 people during the 7 days and 43 were new clients. Their team was able to complete 161 General Health Assessments, 35 Mental Health Assessments and attend to 16 high-risk wounds. Many people were able to receive immediate help with their problems which prevented them presenting to an emergency department. They were also able to provide wellbeing support and reduce heightened feelings of loneliness.
2. Participation in the project from RCM?
Three Rotarians (Elias, Peter and Alison), two partners both nurses (Pippa Thornton and Nicki Lebbos) and one family member (Ben Lebbos).
3. What did they do?
They shadowed the specialist nurses on their patrols through the CBD and Southbank carrying water and other supplies for the nurses. To protect the privacy of the clients they observed from a discrete distance unless called forward. They witnessed the nurses engaging a number of homeless on the street, establishing their trust, checking their welfare and assessing their needs. Part of the nurse’s role is acting as an outreach for the large number of services YP offers in their Hosier Lane headquarters, and several “new” clients were informed about these facilities. At one stage they encountered a bewildered tourist who had just been robbed, and were able to give support, material aid and guidance.
Observations by the Rotary Team
We observed that the slow building of trust with these vulnerable people is a feature of these well-trained and very patient nurses providing hope for the individuals.
Even though one of the RCM members, Elias as CEO of Travellers Aid, is extremely familiar with the CBD and some of its problems he and others found accompanying the Night Nurses an “eye opener” on the divide that is occurring between the people living in our city. He commented at one stage that “Homelessness and people impacted by it is a familiar sight in his line of work, but it is clear to him how homeless people seem to have been forgotten”.
4 How many non-Rotarians benefited from this project?
175; Principally male, almost 25% of people assisted were from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.
5 What are the expected long-term community impacts of the project?
The on-going relationships of street people with the Night Nurse Patrols and the care given to them by these nurses which also results in a reduction in numbers visiting emergency facilities as they have nowhere else to go.
6. Is this project sustainable?
Youth Projects Inc is committed to provide the program on an ongoing basis. Currently funding is only available for weekends and not weekdays or major public holidays. The statistics provided by them testify to the success of Rotary funding the additional days during the traditional Christmas/New Year shutdown period and will be used in further submissions in the hope that the funding bodies will provide funds for these periods in the future.