CRU News

CRU News - June 2008

Renewal Strategy Progress Update

From the Management Committee

We recently announced our commitment to renewal and change for CRU. In undertaking this process of renewal CRU is responding to the needs of people with a disability and their families and the demands and needs of service providers in 2008. As all organisations experience as they grow, there must be space for evaluating, listening to others, and learning that change is a necessary element in the continuous development and relevance of a healthy organisation. To not do so places an organisation at risk of becoming irrelevant and isolated.

In the last few weeks CRU has been involved in a process to assist us to develop and implement the strategy to consider the future focus of CRU. Several consultations were conducted recently and we thank all those who were able to make the time to participate in these consultations and provide us with their thoughts, ideas and vision for the future of CRU.

The feedback from these consultations was rich and inspiring, reflecting both a deep respect for the people and work of CRU over the last twenty years and for the commitment of CRU to renewal and change. We were encouraged by the demonstration of support and encouragement for CRU and the commitment of others to continue to support the work of CRU.

We feel it is important to communicate and share with you the proposed change for CRU and to stress that there is still much to do to consolidate this change.

The breadth and depth of the feedback we received has led us to point where we feel we need time to reflect more on the potential for the future of CRU. We will spend more time in discussion and planning to develop further clarity about a strategic plan for the future and will postpone the planned summit to a later date. This summit will be an opportunity for CRU to present an overview of a change management plan for the future; a plan of focused strategies to guide the direction of CRU.

If you have responded to our declaration, we will forward an invitation to attend the summit.

CRU Update - April 2008

Declaration of Commitment to Change and Renewal for CRU

Following a recent strategic planning process, the decision was reached that CRU will undertake a transformation to plan and develop a new and responsive organisation.

This process of change signals our commitment to move to becoming an organisation with a progressive, relevant, and future-oriented agenda.

We are seeking contribution and input from the wider sector to shape this organisation to support this renewal process, in order to be pertinent to the range of issues facing our broader community

We believe that the work of CRU needs to be relevant to the broad sector and the current social climate.

We encourage you to stand alongside CRU and assist in the evolutionary process. Even if you have not felt closely connected to CRU in the past, we value your comments and welcome your contribution.

We see this as a CALL TO ACTION and call upon your support.

You can be part of the process in the following ways:

Telephone or meet with us to discuss your ideas
Send us an email
Ask to be kept informed of developments
Express your interest in being involved in a discussion forum The Discussion Forum will be held on 16th June 2008 in Brisbane.

Contact Sharyn Pacey on 07 3211 5700 or sharynpacey@cru.org.au

Homes West Experience book now available

The Homes West Experience. Steps to Independent Living for Adults with a Disability compiled by Jill Hole with contributions made by Homes West families.
Published by Homes West Association Inc. (2007)

This book is based on the real life experiences of a small group of parents who rejected traditional services and joined together to establish a service to support their sons and daughters for the long term. The book is written in three sections: Getting started; Living in the Community - moving into a home of your own; and The next Generation - when parents are no longer around. The Homes West families hope that by sharing their journey, they will contribute to the next generation's journey by smoothing the pathways in some small way.

This book is provided as a FREE resource to families, postage and handling charges apply.
$11.00 plus postage and handling for organisations and government and non-government agencies.

Annual Report

The Annual Report for 2006-2007 is available to download here.

From the Management Committee

Charles Darwin once said that it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

As this year draws to a close, we, the CRU committee, thought it was timely to reach out to our members, allies and supporters to let you all know of how CRU is responding to the many changes that are currently challenging us. Like many of you, CRU has found 2007 to be a very difficult year. While we have tried to maintain a state-wide presence through our training, we nevertheless have been inwardly focused as we have worked through leadership transition, generational transition, geographic transition, and staff turnover. While necessary, this has come at the expense of wider sector engagement.

In the next twelve months CRU is aiming to embrace more firmly our core values and renew and affirm our mission. We are acutely aware that CRU does not exist in a vacuum and that we live in the context of long-term and mutually respectful relationships. As such, we will be initiating a series of deep and searching conversations to assist in our strategic planning.

In the New Year we will be encouraging people to join with us to contribute to these discussions, and we will welcome your thoughts and your hearts as we work towards renewing focus and investing in relationships across the sector.

Our best wishes to you all for a safe and joyous Christmas period.
Mike Duggan
President

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