Adam helps one of our participants in a cookery course. Yes, the knives are sharp.
Why choose the NDIS?
Many things in this world need fixing. Why get involved with the NDIS? I suppose it was a chance to blend our ingenuity, creativeness, talent from all sorts of industries and experience, combining these with financial rigour, precision and business. In life these opportunities are rare, but that chance arrived with the NDIS. Some of us get that opportunity to change the world, and we then have to ask ourselves "do you accept?" We did.
Different Backgrounds Bring Knowledge
Ramani had worked in the community and non-profit and government sectors for most of her life. Christina was an accountant who had seen all manner of industries, from small business, to finance, construction and healthcare. And Paul who studied as an actuary before turning to telecoms, energy and helping universities. Not to mention various voluntary projects we had been involved with over many years. Over a dinner table, we wondered why the social care sector was so backwards-looking, so keen to label individuals as "disabled" and then treating them as "disabled", rather than as people. We had people in our own families who had challenges with disability. The NDIS was coming, in somewhat of a hurry. We saw what was being done and felt we had to do something to make it better.
What’s the Corner thing all about?
And so At The Corner was born. True, our business was on the corner between two streets. Yet, more importantly, we felt the name also captured the spirit of what we wanted to achieve. After all, sometimes you look down the road, and you can only see what is ahead of you. Or, maybe you look behind and see where you came from. What if you don't like the look of either direction? And that is why corners are so important. Turn the corner, and maybe you find a whole new perspective. A chance to be surprised by things that you never realised were there. Turning the corner represents an opportunity to do something different. To make things better, to find new perspectives. That's why we chose the name - At The Corner. We will always help you turn to the solution.
To Serve Up A Different Recipie
Our philosophy was, and still is, to be more than “just another provider”. We wanted to be involved with out community in every angle. Because, through being involved with the whole community, we get a better perspective with people. We are not just a disability organisation. We’re a people organisation.
We looked at how to serve the community and address the challenges that needed addressing. Most important of these was that the traditional care sector was institutionalised, and tended to do things in a particular way. It was labour-intensive in administration; such tasks could be done far more efficiently using some ground-breaking techniques and tools from other industries. And if this happened, we could keep costs low and focus on the front line. Like getting to know people as people, to treat them as individuals, to be a hub for the community and inspire change in society for the better.
Being the Change We Wish to See
It's been harder than it sounds. Being audited and verified against the regulations was a challenge and an expensive one at that. The NDIS itself, with its excellent aims and ambitions, seems to have been implemented in a way that makes the simple very complicated. But that in itself gave us our guiding principle, to be the NDIS Navigator that society needs. To demystify the complexity and figure out a way to make the NDIS make sense in the most practical and personal way for everyone.
Different. Driven. Determined.
Our difference is that we are personal, experienced, multiskilled and hopeful. We deliver results based on building personal relationships with people.
We are driven by making a difference to the people we touch, delivering wholeheartedly and personally to be the change that people need. Embracing the spirit, we represent the NDIS to make it come alive to the people that need it the most.
