Guyra Home Support Services

COVID-19 adjustments

Guyra Home Support Services is adapting its service delivery to ensure the health and safety of clients, staff and volunteers due to the unfolding COVID-19 crisis.

Many services will continue as normal but with changes to allow the implementation of social distancing practices. Meals on Wheels will continue to be delivered as usual, with frozen meals available, telephone support will be available during normal working hours, medical trips will continue with one driver and one client per trip and individual support will be assessed on each clients needs.

Services and activities that have been postponed include:

• Weekly (Friday) Community Service Bus from Guyra and Tingha to Armidale & return
• weekly Day-Centre activities & bus service
• monthly outings
• all group support
• all craft activities,
• all Nicholii House bookings
• all community bus bookings.

For more information about the services available in the Guyra and Tingha region please contact Guyra Home Support Services on 6770 7127.

Guyra Home Support Services provides a range of services in Guyra and Tingha for people over the age of 65 (50 for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders) to assist them to remain living comfortably at home.  Services include meals on wheels, group social support, transport and individual social support.

Guyra Home Support Services is contracted to support the Tingha region until June 2022.

Group Social Support

• A weekly group day, called Nicholii House, is held every Wednesday at the Home Support Services building, 162 Bradley Street Guyra. Clients meet between the hours of 10am and 2pm, with door-to-door pick up from home on the service bus from 9:30am. Group social support provides an opportunity for clients to get together and enjoy the company of others over morning tea and lunch. An afternoon activity is offered for those who wish to participate.

• Group Chair Based Exercises – these are held weekly every Wednesday prior to Group Social Support, commencing at 9am. Pick up and drop off is available via the service bus. The exercises are gentle and suitable for many fitness levels. Clients should consult their doctor prior to commencing.

• Regular bus trips are offered to places of interest, within three hours drive of Guyra. The trips include door-to-door pick up, morning tea, lunch and visits to local attractions. During the warmer months barbecues or picnics to local places of interest are also very popular.

Meals

• Hot weekday meals are delivered Monday to Friday in Guyra by volunteers. Clients can select any or all days to receive a hot meal and they have a choice of mains, dessert, soup or juice. 
• Frozen meals are always available for purchase at the Home Support Services building. The coordinators can also arrange delivery to clients if required.

Individual Social Support 

• Individual Social Support encompasses many things depending on the client’s requirements. Social support is usually provided on a one-to-one basis with most social support being undertaken by volunteers. Some examples of individual social support include friendly visiting, assisting with basic shopping needs, assistance at medical appointments  and assistance with mail (eg reading to the client if the client has poor vision)  Contact the office on 6770 7127 for further details

Transport – Transport is available for a variety of purposes including the following:

• Transport to and from medical appointments in the service car with a volunteer driver. Transport to medical appointments takes priority over all other transport requirements. 
• Transport to and from group social Support (Nicholii House) via the service bus. This is a door to door service
• Transport to and from outings and day trips. This is a door to door service
• Friday Access bus to Armidale from Guyra. The bus departs promptly at 8:30am with pick up in Guyra from 8am. Return to Guyra is at 1pm. Priority is given to clients of the service, however community members are also welcome to travel on the bus providing there are seats available.
• Limited support with transport can be provided to community members who are not clients of the services. These trips are limited to medical trips and the service can only offer assistance if the client is considered transport disadvantaged and does not have family or friends to assist.

Fees:

MEALS ON WHEELS

Main Hot Meal - $6.00

Dessert - $1.50

Soup - $1.00

Sandwiches - $4.50

Frozen Meal - $8.50

Other meals - Full cost Recovery

TRANSPORT – HSS BUS

HSS Bus to Armidale - $10.00 return - HSS Clients

HSS Bus to Armidale - $15.00 return - Community transport members

HSS Bus to Nicholii - $3.00  Return for ALL passengers

HEALTH RELATED TRANSPORT

Guyra to Armidale - $20.00

Guyra to Tamworth - $30.00

Guyra to Inverell - $30.00

Newcastle - $61.00

Coffs Harbour - $31.00

Other - cost recovery  + 10% of Cost

Cancellation Fee ( < 24 Hours Notice) - $10.00  per booking

GROUP SOCIAL SUPPORT   (Nicholli House)

Morning Tea (client & volunteer) - $5.00

Activity Fee-$2.00

Lunch -Full Cost Recovery

Outings/Day Trips -Full Cost Recovery

Bus to Day Centre -$3.00 return

Total for day all inclusions  $10.00

Package and Community service provision fees