the meeting

Our take on the meeting

Sue can't move with Kanangra. The decision has been made. It seems the funding for Sue has always come from CJP (and it's previous incarnations). She was at Kanangra because CJP didn't have suitable accommodation until now, and the space, I think and Sue's move has been pushed through because Kanangra is being closed.

At all the meeting about Kanangra's closure Sue was going to move with them but now that CJP has funding that cannot occur. CJP tried to say how they'd been there for Sue all along and they may view it that way seeing they are paying for her to be at Kanangra But as I said to them it was DADHC and therefore CJP that were refusing services to Sue when she was due for parole and at her release date saying that they would not meet her at the jail. That they were "wiping their hands of her." I don't understand why they would think that there past history with Sue should be forgotten or forgiven.

But after all of this the question that remains is whether Sue is capable at this point of participating in the scheme and whether the scheme will be suitable for Sue. But CJP assure us they will not let her fail. That all funding is specifically for Sue and therefore they will make sure that it works. That Sue is their responsibility for the rest of her life. We'll see.

Lifestyle Solutions will be the company running the centre and the name of the centre is Montrose. Lifestyle Solutions is run by Owen Campbell who was involved in closing the Watagan Centre. We were reassured he wasn't involved with running the centre.

We asked a lot of questions about the program and we are (mostly) reassured that Sue won't be forced through a program she would most likely fail at. They are expecting to keep her in secure accommodation for as long as necessary even if that is the rest of the life.

It is also extremely unlikely that the police will be called if Sue becomes violent as they are determined to prevent her from re-entering the criminal system.

Kanangra staff have made all the recommendations that will decide her program. It isn't CJP that has designed the framework. A lot of the things she has now such as the counselling and massage with continue. There is concern about her walks / exercise and their idea is that they will drive her to a park at a quiet time such as during school hours. They acknowledge they can't take her for walks in the streets of the suburb.

Sue will be driven up to Kanangra for special events but they can't give an idea about frequency at this stage. We suggested she make phone calls as well.

The staffing model is still a bit of a concern. 3 staff total at all times to about 5 clients, 2 staff all the time with Sue with 1 available for the others. 1 of Sue's staff will be RN. Lifestyle Solutions has a number of centres spread through the suburbs and so if any of her regular staff are off sick or on leave they will have a pool of other staff to call on. If the RN is off they will be replaced by another RN. At the meeting they didn't have enough comment on how it sometimes takes four staff to control Sue so they can give her a shot when she 'goes off'. They are starting recruitment now. They are looking at moving her into Montrose in December, date not yet set. We said she shouldn't be moved until after the Xmas party at Kanangra and they seem to think that's a good idea.

They are planning to drive Sue to day activities and they are talking about a couple of different places. Montrose staff will stay with her to minimise the possibility of trouble. They are also talking about bringing in activities to Montrose. I have some real concerns for how Sue will cope with day activities in the broader community and how the broader community will cope with Sue's behaviour. The SNRG recommendation say that the success of Sue at Kanangra is due to the fact that all activities can be on the grounds therefore minimising her contact with the police because of her behaviour. Sue better not end up in court again because the CJP decide to go against the recommendation and their own findings.


When we asked about possible objections from the neighbours to Sue making lots of noise they talked a lot of general ideas about consultation with the community. They gave examples of other spaces where there have been problems. They seemed a little worried about it. Consultation with the community doesn't happen until the staff move in.


Katelynd denied she'd been surprised to find out Sue has an official diagnosis or had had shock treatment. Julie says she expressed considerable surprise “Really?!?”. They said all her records have been studied.

We both seem to feel better about the move but we have worries, as we would expect even if we thought the move was perfect.

After reading the document referred to at the top of this email I think CJP has a lot going for it. This program would be excellent for someone just coming out of prison, because it would have to be an improvement. I just hope it's a good comparison to Kanangra.

We gave a few suggestions that we think will help with the move, foremost being that they have to start preparing Sue for the move very soon. They made a mistake by not consulting with us from the start but the only result of that was a few upset phone calls and the need for the rather intense meeting today. It went for about 2 ½ hours. The first thing we called them on was the lack of consultation and after a bit of to and froing (it was Kanangras responsibility, 'but it's in your own documentation that you consult with us', ok it's a joint responsibility and both of you could have) they apologised for not involving us. A few times. We pushed that button a few times.

We told them they need to be honest with Sue and she responds to that. Even if she reacts badly at first she will come back to the honesty. We suggested they tell her it's one step closer to living in the community (even if that doesn't happen) because she misses the independence. They should also say it's closer to us so we can visit more often.