A Message from the Chair of Sunnyfield

Dear Auxiliary Members

My thanks to Neale Parnaby for the invitation to place a message on the Sunnyfield Auxiliary website. I am delighted and humbled to accept the position of Chair of Sunnyfield. As the mother of a 21 yo daughter with Down Syndrome currently working at Sunnyfield and living at home, I have direct and personal knowledge of many of the problems facing the families of the people we support. Sunnyfield has many challenges ahead to implement its far reaching strategy, and to continuously improve the services we provide. I am committed to that strategy, because I believe it will significantly improve the lives of the people we support and their families. The support of the Auxiliary members for Sunnyfield, its Board and management team in this task will be most welcome.

The Board has now established a new committee, tentatively called the "Families and Communication Committee", to consider the needs of our families, the way in which we communicate with families, and the issues raised at the AGM. Margie Payne will be the Chair, and we will keep families informed of the discussions and outcomes of that Committee.

Sunnyfield is developing key position papers in response to requests from families for specific information on a number of issues. The first three papers have been developed and focus on Person Centred Practices, Accommodation and Individualised Funding. The papers have been developed to provide important background, up-to-date information and Sunnyfield's perspective on each key issue. They are available on the Sunnyfield website and I hope you find them interesting and informative.

I look forward to the assistance of the members of the Auxiliary over the next year, to help the Board ensure that Sunnyfield meets the four cornerstones of its objectives: to be truly person centred, a facilitator of plans, a driver of social and legislative change and financially independent to build a sustainable future.

Patricia McKenzie
Chair Sunnyfield