Care Together e-news June 2023

We are excited to introduce our website for the Care Together Program. Find out more about the Program, how you can get involved, events and education, resources, news, submissions and more. Visit caretogether.coop

The Care Together Program is designed to put the power back in the hands of the people who matter the most – the people who receive care and the people who deliver care. Are you interested in innovative, cross-sector, place-based solutions for care delivery where you live?

Follow the Care Together Program on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to stay updated and be a part of our impactful program.

Our eighth Social Care Community of Practice webinar, held on Wednesday, 21 June 2023, discussed how member-owned ‘secondary co-operatives’ can be formed to provide business services to smaller co-ops and mutuals and organisations.

Guest speakers Katrina Kazda, Program Director, Home Care, The ICA Group and Adria Powell, CEO of Co-operative Home Care Associates, shared their US co-operative journey to establish a network of worker owned home care co-operatives. Katrina and Adria have made a significant contribution in establishing the Elevate Co-operative, a national secondary co-operative that will provide value added services to the network of home care co-operatives across the US.

Elevate Co-operative’s mission is to drive the profitability, growth and influence of home care co-operatives for the mutual benefit of caregivers and clients. Elevate Co-operative is built upon the culture of best practice sharing and peer learning, elevating what’s already been accomplished through collaboration to take the model to the next level. In the US, there are 17 home care co-operatives operating across nine states and Puerto Rico, employing over 2500 caregivers, and over a dozen new start-up initiatives underway in as many states.

If you missed the CoP webinar, you can watch it online.

Save the date for our next Social Care Community of Practice online meeting on Wednesday, 30 August 2023. Time and registration information coming soon.

On Wednesday, 28 June, the Care Together Program team visited Bega Shire in New South Wales, to deliver location-specific training and co-op development and hold one-on-one meetings with local groups and individuals interested in learning more about Care Together and the co-op and mutual business model.

Our Introducing Co-operative Care workshop was held for current NDIS and aged care/disability worker seeking information on alternative models of care delivery under the co-op model, and individuals interested in considering working in care and seeking information on alternative models of care delivery under the co-op model.

The half-day, face-to-face workshop helped participants to:

• Understand the Care Together Program and opportunities for the Bega Region to be involved in a Care Together project
• Understand the co-operative and mutual business model, its history, how it works and what is involved in getting one up
• Learn about existing co-ops to provide inspiration and understanding of the co-op model in place with a focus on social care, aged care and disability support
• Hear about other co-operatives and mutuals successfully delivering care in Australia

Are you interested in innovative, cross-sector, place-based solutions for care delivery where you live? We invite expressions of interest from individuals, organisations or communities to partner with the Care Together Program to support your project as a co-operative or mutual.

The BCCM and its Care Together Program team have made two submissions this month to highlight the important role co-operatives and mutuals can play in social care:

• BCCM submission to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on the development of a National Care and Support Economy Strategy
• BCCM submission to the Department of Health and Aged Care’s consultation on a new model for regulating aged care

This Saturday, July 1 is the 2023 International Day of Cooperatives. This year’s theme is “Cooperatives for sustainable development”, allowing us to reflect on the contributions co-operatives and mutuals worldwide are making to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

In the lead-up to IDC, the BCCM is reflecting on how the co-operative and mutual movement supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Share our post on Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

To build your own campaign, use the 2023 Coops Day Media Pack.

Aged care the topic of National Press Club address

Health services feature in the Top 100 co-operatives and mutuals in Australia (NME Report)

Service to co-ops and mutuals recognised in King’s Birthday 2023 Honours List

Why co-ops are an altogether different way of doing business and setting one up could be transformational

Can worker co-ops create a healthier planet?

Where do the ICA’s co-operative principles stand on the environment?