Empower Possibility Supports
In your own words… What is Empower Possibility Supports?
Empower Possibility Supports (EPS) is an NDIS service provider located in the Geelong region that currently offers a Peer Mentor service for NDIS Participants. Our Peer Mentors provide 1:1 support for NDIS Participants with a focus on accessing the community, exploring areas of interest, and developing overall independent living skills through positive role modelling and skill building.
We are a small team, currently sitting at 18 team members, however, we are all passionate about supporting our NDIS Participants to achieve their goals through a collaborative and tailored approach to providing support.
Tell us the story – your story, of how you came to be working with NDIS Participants to help them reach and achieve their goals.
My pathway into the NDIS was quite different to most. I was initially studying to become an accountant and worked in that sector for nearly five years before deciding I wanted to do something that would be more rewarding and in an industry that was more people focused. I loved helping people and wanted to have a profound impact on others, so I settled on studying psychology at Deakin University as it was an area that always interested me. Once I commenced my studies, I wanted my profession to align with my studies and began to gain further experience working with people, so I started volunteering at BCYF and applied to become a Peer Mentor to another local NDIS Provider. From there, I was able to naturally progress into more senior roles before deciding to start up Empower Possibility Supports and now have nearly six years of experience in the sector. I’m still loving it to this day.
What was your “lightbulb moment”? The moment you realised that Empower Possibility Supports would be your footprint on the world?
I don’t think I can quite narrow it down to one singular moment if I’m honest. I had seen how big the NDIS was getting and how a lot of NDIS Participants started to feel more and more like a number for some of the bigger providers, so for me, I really wanted to create an environment where all NDIS Participants would feel welcome, and we could provide a quality service for our NDIS Participants to ensure they feel valued and respected. I also really wanted to focus on building a collaborative team environment for our staff given that I had seen how it can be such an isolating role as a Peer Mentor if there is not adequate support there from the team, so I felt that from both a service delivery and a staffing standpoint, we would be able to have a positive impact.
Everybody has something they love, what do you love about your ‘job’?
Again, this is hard to narrow down to one specific area. However, if I had to, I would say the people I get to work with every day. There is no greater joy for me than being able to check in with our NDIS Participants and hearing them vocalise their tremendous gratitude for the service one of our Peer Mentors are providing, or being able to receive feedback from our respective families indicating that they are another step closer to achieving a goal that may not have seemed feasible six months prior.
I am very thankful for the staff that we currently have as they are incredibly passionate, and they love the relationships they are able to build over time with our NDIS Participants.
What do you find is the main reason that keeps you getting up every morning, heading out the door and off to work?
For me, it is as simple as being able to have an impact on our NDIS Participants and being able to work collaboratively with them to determine an individually tailored approach to achieving their goals. I am a big advocate for self-reflection and I constantly tell my team to “stop and smell the roses” as our days can pass us by quicker than we realise, so I encourage our team to always be mindful of the effects that they have had on their NDIS Participants and remember where they are heading with each individual participant – it makes our roles so much more rewarding to be able to reflect on what we have achieved!
Tell us your secret… What are some of the little joys that you bring to the NDIS Participants that you work with and who have entrusted you to assist them?
We are very fortunate to have an extremely diverse team here at Empower Possibility Supports – all our staff come from varying backgrounds and areas of study. To give you an example, we have qualified nurses and teachers as part of our workforce, while also having some Peer Mentors who are extremely musically gifted to the point where a few of our Peer Mentors play in bands and have been able to build rapport with their NDIS Participants through this love of music. We also have Peer Mentors who are studying Occupational Therapy, as well as Peer Mentors who have completed Diplomas in Leadership and Sports Management, Certificate III in Community Services, Certificate IV in Disability as well as Education Support.
As you can see, our team is tremendously diverse in terms of their experience and it allows us to find a suitable Peer Mentor for any NDIS Participant that is interested in receiving support, based both on their professional experience as well as their personal interests.
If we were to spend a day in your shoes – what would that look like?
the great thing about my role is that there are so many facets of the business that keep me busy on an average day. I am still providing 1:1 Peer Mentor support myself, so you would see me spending some time with one of my NDIS Participants at their workplace. After this, my days usually revolve around engaging new NDIS Participants with our service over the phone and by booking “Meet and Greets” with myself and their new Peer Mentor, as well as checking in with our current NDIS Participants, supervising the team and ensuring all our staff are well supported and giving them opportunities to continue to upskill.
What do you consider a good day at work for you?
Whenever I am able to receive positive feedback from an NDIS Participant in relation to a staff member, or when I hear that one of our NDIS Participants is closer to completing a goal they have set out to accomplish, it definitely brightens up my day – it is one of the most rewarding feelings being able to know that something has helped to manifest has led to a positive outcome!
Tell us about what you do that sets you apart from the other businesses that are offering 1:1 Peer Mentor Supports?
As we are still a small provider, we can provide our NDIS Participants with the focus and care that they require to ensure our NDIS Participants are able to achieve greater levels of independence and make them feel a part of the Empower Possibility Supports family. As I also mentioned above, as our team is so diverse in terms of their experience and qualifications, we can find a suitable match between Peer Mentor and NDIS Participant with ease, as well as ensure that it is easier to build rapport for our NDIS Participants and make them feel comfortable with their supports in an extremely efficient manner.
Every business needs an adviser, who do you turn to for help and with so many accountants Geelong has on offer, why Canny Group?
Amanda and Julie at Canny Group have gone above and beyond for me and Empower Possibility Supports as a whole since we commenced back in September of last year.
As someone who was unsure where to turn when first commencing the business set-up for EPS, both Mandy and Julie have been phenomenal in making this as seamless as possible. One of the deciding factors in looking to engage with Canny Group, along with a recommendation from another close friend who also uses Canny Group as an NDIS service provider, was the industry experience as seen with their fantastic NDIS Plan Management team. It definitely made me feel much more comfortable in having the team at Canny Group be able to relate to us as an NDIS service provider as well as what we were trying to achieve through Empower Possibility Supports.
What kind of support have your received from Canny Group since joining forces with them as your accountant?
The holistic support I have received from Canny Group has been incredible!
As I mentioned above, the overall business set-up for someone who was unsure where to even begin was fantastic. Before I knew it, Mandy had stepped me through the process of arranging our financial necessities and supported me in networking with other small businesses who were able to help out with registering a domain, website and necessary insurance as well. Similarly, Julie was amazing in helping us set up our Xero file and overall bookkeeping needs. Both Mandy and Julie are always happy to take my call and available to discuss any issues that we may encounter which I am eternally grateful for.
We are very fortunate to have a fantastic relationship with the NDIS Plan Management team at Canny Group as well, who have been so supportive of Empower Possibility Supports since we first began operations. Overall, I could not recommend Canny Group any higher in any area of business.
Looking into your Empower Possibility Supportys crystal ball, what do you see the future looking like for you and your business?
At this stage, we are still within our first 12 months of operations, however, we have grown quite quickly in terms of how many Peer Mentors we do currently have providing support. So, for the time being, I am hoping to maintain our steady growth while still emphasising a high quality of service and maintaining the great connection we have as a team now! Ideally, I would like to look at other alternative services to incorporate through EPS as well to allow for staff to continue with their overall career progression, however, that is more of a long-term goal at this stage.
How do we get in contact with you to have a chat about your services?
There are plenty of avenues to reach out to us and enquire about Peer Mentor Support:
You can visit our website and find out a bit more about our services. Our website is www.epsupports.au which has a referral and contact page listed there.
We also have Instagram and Facebook, so feel free to reach out there as well. Instagram: @epsupports Facebook: Empower Possibility Supports.
Finally, you can also reach out to me directly, via email or phone. My email address is: rhys.anderson@epsupports.au and my phone number is 0433 616 737 – always more than happy to discuss our service further over the phone as well!