Cérge

You need to start taking care of your mental health”We hear it all the time and of course everyone would love days of eating healthy food, long showers, yoga and a full night sleep, right? That would be a good start to helping my “mental health” and “anxiety”.What I’ve learned as a mum, with a toddler, and my partner and I both working full time in stressful jobs is that “mental health care” starts with small steps first.It also starts with accessing supports. Which in itself can be daunting and tike consuming If you had of told me previously that I would go swimming for fun I would have laughed at you.ColdWet SwimmersMirrorsPeopleThat’s a recipe for an anxiety casserole twice baked.Learning about the Cérge app and starting to use it in local Cafes, then taking our son to some tourism venues and now the pool has made this such an easy transition. I trust the app so therefore I now trust any business on the Cérge app because it shows they actually care. They want to help people feel better and more included which makes them my first choice.It’s like seeing a rainbow sticker in a business window shows you that business is LGBTIQA+ friendly and having Cérge shows you they are inclusive and care about being as accessible as they can be. It also means they have a website with an Access Guide, Visual Story and Sensory Guide which means I can get any answer I need beforehand usually.I saw Deception Bay Aquatic Centre had just adopted Cérge , it’s not the closest pool to me but I was happy to drive a bit further as it’s a super great venue and I really enjoyed it. I asked the staff to show me quieter areas for me to be able to bring my toddler. The staff were so friendly and nothing was a bother at all.The family area is great, it was very welcoming and I have to say cheap entrance fees! I went before work because this is part of how I can add extra self care to my day. The good thing with Cérge is it’s takes a lot of the anxiety and wanting to bail out of the equation.I’m so glad to have Deception Bay Aquatic leading the way in my local area! Thank you!

We are teaming up with a new initiative, Cèrge. Cèrge is a communication platform created to help people with disability connect with local businesses in their community. It allows organisations to provide personalised services to customers with disability with the aim of reducing the fear, anxiety and discrimination individuals with disability go through as customers. Through the Cèrge app, the customer can notify participating businesses that they will be arriving, giving staff awareness of what the customer may need while in the store.Today our customer visited the Swan Hill Leisure Centre to have a shot of basketball with his support worker. He was able to communicate through the app notifying the leisure centre of when he would be arriving and what he was planning on doing while there. Upon arrival he was met by staff who greeted him by name creating a welcoming experience for our customer. This helped our customer feel very comfortable and he went on to enjoy a shot of basketball while there! Swan Hill Leisure Centre Cérge Cérge Community

I made a trip down to White’s Supa IGA on Monday, the newest partner addition to the Cérge app and wanted to share my experience.The whole team were fantastic I sent my notification with a request to please lower the music and the lights, I was lucky enough to have my peer worker with me for the day so I didn’t need as much assistance as I would if I was to go shopping alone.I checked in as we parked the car and by the time we got to the front door a manager was there to welcome us by name, how fancy!They had turned the music off completely which was lovely however due to the building being owned by Stockland they were unable to adjust the lights as it is seen as a health and safety issue. As they are now the store is well lit but certainly not anywhere near as bright and glaring as the big box stores. They are working hard to find a solution for this whilst still keeping everyone safe, so hopefully it will be an available option in the future.We also discussed what assistance is available for those of us shopping solo and I was pleased to hear that they will do everything they can to help, including having a team member shop with you if they are free.The manager gave us a tour of the store, asking questions about my dietary requirements and what I enjoyed eating then pointed out specific isles that met my needs. I know for some people this can be triggering but please know that I am sure my boundaries would have been respected if I had declined to answer.After confirming that everything was ok, she left us to shop in peace with the reassurance that if we needed anything all we had to do was ask a team member.Their product range is extensive with many unique options that you don’t see or are difficult to find in larger stores, including a wide variety of gluten free and vegan products, some of which I had never seen before and I will be going back to purchase later.I did not need my stick on Monday but the isles are wide and easily accessible for those of us using mobility aides.All in all a wonderful shopping experience and great to see local businesses joining Cérge so we can support them in return.

My son lives with Autism and it’s so important for him to fill his bucket of certain sensory needs. In today’s case that bucket was the need to gently pat animals.As a mum, I like to make sure Seth has a mix of exposures, experiences and in an environment that is conducive to him feeling safe to explore and learn. Obviously with animals and excitement this can be tricky to manage and you really need the right place.Edendale Community Environment Farm is this place. Just Awesome!New places are always nerve racking, I’m not going to lie. I never, ever know how the day will go and it can be a challenge.However, I’ve used Cérge at a pool and I trust that if Cérge is there the staff care. It just makes me feel so much more at ease.When we arrived at Edendale they were so engaging and happy to see us, they were great with Seth too. No crappy small talk trying to get him to like them, just lets go see the animal later and have some fun.We saw chickens, roosters, ducks, goats, alpacas, llamas and so many more! It was truly so very cool! Some were super excited to meet us and very keen on some yummy treats.Seth had a full bucket of animal love and I had a full bucket of mum love!So much better than a day of mum guilt.Today was a good day!

Last week, one of our support workers and participants used the Cérge app for the first time! Entering in access needs and support information needed to support Carol was quick and easy. Upon arriving they were greeted and a water wheelchair was waiting at the accessible change rooms.Carol is vision impaired and has a physical disability. Carol looks forward to her weekly outing at TRAC but at times her needs are not met with limited access to the bathroom and often Carol needs to wait for the shower commode chair.Through using the Cérge app, Carol was treated as an individual that relies on support to access the community and on arrival everything was ready to go! Thank you Cérge and TRAC for helping our community to achieve its health goals!Support Your Way recommends checking out the Cérge app & TRAC! Join the Cérge Community and find out more!

"My son Henry is autistic and has very poor proprioception and muscle tone so he doesn’t go to a lot of places often because it’s usually far too much sensory input for him. His “wet noodling” around the place can crash into things etc. This causes extreme frustration and embarrassment for him and sometimes staff can be rude at times like this or not know how to help. It’s frustrating and my heart breaks for my son.I have to say I was pretty nervous going to White Ridge Farm with my son. I wasn’t sure how he would cope, how the staff would be and to be honest, if it would just be a disaster. We knew @cerge was at the farm so we were keen to give it a go as we have heard great things.The night before I read through the Visual Story on the app with the children and they felt as though they knew what to expect and were very excited. This was an amazing resource and certainly helped my own nerves because I new everyone had seen photos of the venue along with sights, smells and other possible sensory interactions.I notified White Ridge Farm on the app 60 mins before our arrival about our must knows which were areas and activities that are less noisy/busy with fewer people and plenty of space for Henry’s unique walking style and that we are bringing along the pram for him to sit in when he needs to.I received notification that they had read and acknowledged our requirements within 10 minutes of sending it. Talk about service!I booked our tickets online prior to ensure that we wouldn’t have to spend too much time at the entrance buying them where Henry would get anxious before our day even started. That process was great the staff member at the counter acknowledged that we were with Cérge and took extra time to go into further detail about the farm, directed at the children, about some of the sounds/smells/textures they may come across on our journey and gave them a map to help them orientate. This was great and made us feel like we were appreciated and not a bother.Once inside, the area was vast and there was PLENTY of the space that we needed on the paths. The staff were very friendly and answered every single one of Henry’s questions (and this kid asks a LOT of questions ). They also reiterated some of the strange ways his hand may feel as he feeds the animals, which is something I hadn’t even considered so thankful to them for that!Being able to take our own food and have a picnic was perfect as it’s always so hard to find foods that Henry will eat based on texture and we generally avoid places where outside food is prohibited.I would definitely recommend it to any families wanting a great day out! It was so great! The ability to let the farm know our situation through Cérge prior to arrival, the Visual Story to prepare and the amazing staff at Whites Ridge Farm. What a great day! I can’t wait to go out again and usually after a day out I think I never want to go out again!