Humans of Nextt: How Fiona helps make a shared SIL house feel like home

For almost two years, Fiona has been supporting people living in one of Nextt’s shared Supported Independent Living (SIL) homes. Starting as a Disability Support Worker and recently stepping into the role of Client Experience Lead in Victoria, she’s seen firsthand how the right team can make a difference to someone’s experience of living in a shared home.

From helping housemates build relationships to finding ways to support individual choices, below, Fiona shares what goes into providing quality support at Nextt.

Helping housemates feel at home

Fiona supports a team working with three people living in the same home. One of the team’s priorities is helping housemates get to know each other and build positive relationships.

“Obviously, they don’t always get on and there can be conflict at times. But I think it’s a matter of providing the opportunity and space to allow them to get to know each other and having that general talk that helps to make a friendship,” Fiona explains.
Families are also encouraged to be part of life in the home.

Fiona and her team organise monthly dinners where clients and their families can spend time together. Sometimes a family member cooks, while other times everyone gathers for a BBQ.

“At the house we try to have a monthly dinner where the families come together with staff to sit down together so then everyone can get to know each other and interact,” she says.

These get-togethers give housemates and their families opportunities to build relationships and feel more connected to the home.

Why the right support team matters

Having worked in the same SIL home since joining Nextt, Fiona has seen how important it is to have a team that works well together.

She explains that it took time to build the right team, but they now have a group of support workers who work together to meet the needs of the people living in the home.

“A good team is a team that works together, not against each other. A team that listens to the clients. It’s important to find the people that have patience, understanding, care, and kindness,” Fiona says.

For Fiona, this means taking the time to understand each person, knowing their preferences and making sure everyone on the team works towards providing consistent, personalised support.

Finding ways to support individual choices

One experience Fiona shared demonstrates how her team works together to support clients’ everyday choices.

A client wanted to get out of bed and spend the day doing something different. However, because he required two support workers to safely use his hoist, there weren’t enough staff available at the time to assist him.

Rather than dismissing his request, Fiona and the team arranged additional support for another day.

“So rather than saying it couldn’t happen, we worked a way around it and then organised extra staff to be able to make it happen and get him. This enabled us to give him his choice to be able to get him out of bed for the day,” she shares.

This is one example of how Fiona and her team approach support. They listen to what each person wants and look for practical ways to make it happen.

Leading a team that puts people first

Fiona’s recent promotion to Client Experience Lead has given her more opportunities to be involved in coordinating support and understanding each client’s broader needs and goals.

An important part of her role is encouraging other support workers to build genuine relationships with the people they support.

“I encourage my team to get to know their clients. It’s not just about coming to work and doing your job. It’s about having a conversation, sitting down, talking to them, finding out what they like and what they don’t like. It’s not about just completing tasks in the house,” she explains.

By leading through example, Fiona encourages her team to focus not only on providing daily support, but also on understanding what matters to each person.

Her experience highlights the importance of having a support team that works together, understands individual needs and helps people make choices about their daily lives.

Explore Supported Independent Living with Nextt

At Nextt, we work with people with disability and their families to find suitable SIL accommodation and provide personalised support based on their individual needs, preferences and goals.

If you’re exploring SIL or SDA options for yourself or someone you care about, learn more about our SIL services or get in touch with our team to discuss how we can help.