Positive changes in Jenny’s Intereach career

graphic of leaves

During her 16 year career with Intereach Jenny Bright has worked in numerous areas and seen many positive changes.

She described it as “a fabulous time, meeting so many different people with such varied needs”.

Jenny spent much of her time in various aged care programs, including case management of aged care. She also managed a Community Options program, worked in Compact which provided support for people who had been discharged from hospital, helped volunteers and was involved with Ability Links and then Community Links.

“We are so lucky to have Intereach in Deniliquin and the various programs it supports,”Jenny said,

adding that while team members are the ones identified as helping participants it is the work of the CEO and management to obtain funding that allows this to happen.

She has seen many changes at Intereach, which has grown from a one-person operation in the 1970s to an organisation that now has more than 450 staff and 150 volunteers.

“The NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) made a huge difference at Intereach. There was a total change to the outlook on disability with a greater focus on the individual, which has been a real positive. We were able to spend more time listening to their needs and designing a program around what they need.”

Jenny has many happy memories of her time at Intereach, especially those that have involved helping others. She fondly remembers working with a young man who had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after being attacked in a Melbourne service station.

“He came home to live in the country with his parents, who didn’t know what to do. When I first met him he wouldn’t leave his bedroom, but at the end of the program he was volunteering in an aged care facility and then got a job. It took 16 months, but was a wonderful outcome. I received a beautiful thank you card from his mother, but it was only possible because of Intereach and what it provides,” she said.

Her final role at Intereach was working as a Community Linker, which is a key activity across the services that Intereach delivers. It involves ‘linking’ participants with the services they need.

“It’s a terrific program because it supports a lot of people, especially in relation to NDIS, linking them into the community as well as community activities.”

Jenny has enjoyed lots of travel over the years, especially to the United States and Europe, and with more spare time on her hands is hoping to now “see more of Australia”.