Meet Riley’s team

Ten disability support workers have been named as the first team of the month for their tireless work moving Riley into his new home.

The Ballarat-based team includes Abin, Aman, Ben, Cathy, Deus, Justin, Kapil, Kartik, Moses, and Shabib.

Upon finding Riley’s new house deeply unclean, the team banded together to return the house to a pristine state.

Kath, one of Ballarat’s Client Services Officers, said everything needed cleaning.

“Your shoes would stick to the floor when you walked in,” she said. “The floors, skirting boards, windowsills, countertops, tiles – everything was sticky and dirty.”

The team wasted no time getting stuck into the cleaning. They pulled together and helped each other to bring the house to a liveable condition.

“It wasn’t just one person doing all of the work,” Kath said. “Everyone really came together to share the responsibilities around.”

But even after the house had been cleaned, the team lacked handover information from Riley’s previous support provider. Plus, Riley’s routine had been disrupted by the move, meaning the team needed to settle him into a new home and a new routine.

To overcome these challenges, the team worked as a cohesive unit – having meetings to share information and strategies to support Riley.

As a result, the team has noticed significant improvements from Riley.

“They have really worked together here,” Kath said. “The house is spotless now, and we’ve seen improvements in Riley’s mood and behaviour.”