We see your potential. You choose where to apply it  

Choice is a basic right that people who work alongside Spectrum Care are given in abundance. Finding meaningful employment not only provides an income to increase personal choices, it also boosts confidence. You choose where you want to work and we will support you to be the best you can.  

Spectrum Care Mahi is dedicated to finding employment opportunities for people with all kinds of care requirements. We can help you find a job in an open or supported mainstream environment enabling you to maximise your potential and give you as much independence as you are comfortable with.  

Our service is designed to give you the confidence to take on meaningful employment just like everybody else. Make the choice today to start working with Spectrum Care Mahi. Our team are here to support you to reach your goals. 

What’s our mahi? To help identify the potential in every one of the people we serve, then set out to help them realise it.

Media Lab is a project from Spectrum Mahi, covering a variety of creative skills, delivered at a variety of learning levels. We aim to provide a variety of high-quality, low- or no-cost creative skills activities and learning sessions.

Finishing school is a significant and exciting milestone for every young person and their family. Our Transition Support service provides school-leavers with a range of options to empower their future choices.

From employment opportunities to valued social roles and increased participation in their communities, we work with each person to develop an individual Transition Plan based on their aspirations and life goals.

Our Transition support offers:  

Employment/Work experience 

• Developing work skills – identifying interests, goals and strengths
• Identifying employment opportunities
• Access to further education to develop specific skills and competencies

Participation 

• Access to volunteer work in the community
• Access to sporting, cultural and recreational activities in the community
• Access to vocational programmes

Resources 

• Links and access to funding for housing and transport

Advocacy and networking 

• Support with all advocacy and community engagement during transition

Transition Support requires a referral from the student’s school (in their final year). Ministry of Education’s Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding is available to students identified as having ‘high needs’ or ‘very high needs’. If you’re not ORS funded, please ask about our private transitions agreements.

We’re also happy to provide support in other areas as necessary, including Welfare Guardianship and Total Mobility Cards. 

We recognise every person has unique needs and aspirations. We can help you to realise them.

Our Aspirations Support service helps people with disabilities develop life skills to make their lives more enjoyable and fulfilling and actively participate in their communities.

The service is centre-based day support and can include individualised community options. It is available to people between the ages of 17 and 65 in the greater Auckland and Wellington regions. 

Activities include recreational pursuits, learning and development opportunities, social skill development, community engagement and progression towards relevant work or volunteering opportunities.

We strive to understand each individual’s goals and needs and develop or adjust our services to cater or customise accordingly. We continuously evolve our support options to ensure they remain as relevant and engaging as possible. 

Our Aspirations team will provide you with all the relevant information regarding enrolment and funding. 

If you are being supported by a Transition Provider to leave school, they will be able to make contact with Aspirations Services for you. 

Our Auckland Aspirations centres are located in Manukau, Kumeu and Henderson, with a new centre now open in Onehunga Mall. Our Wellington centre is on Cuba Street in the CBD.

For more information, please contact us on 09 634 3790. 

At Spectrum Care, we believe in supporting people with a disability to understand their rights and advocate for themselves. 

We believe in listening completely and doing the right thing. For those that struggle to advocate for themselves, we ensure their natural supports and/or staff can raise concerns and support the person to have their rights and needs met.

We can provide individuals and families with: 

• Information, advice and the appropriate forms for those wishing to apply to be Welfare Guardians or Property Managers
• Information on our support options
• Regular updates on Welfare Guardianship and the Code of Rights, as well as disability sector news
• Information about external advocacy services such as the Health and Disability Commission, the Personal Advocacy and Safeguarding Adults Trust (PASAT), Adult Guardianship and Advocacy Services Trust, and Citizens Advocacy

Additional resources

Code of Rights

When you use a health or disability service in New Zealand, you have the protection of a Code of Rights. For more information on the Code of Rights click here.

Welfare Guardianship 

Welfare Guardianship involves a person being appointed by the courts to support the care and welfare decisions of individuals unable to make these decisions for themselves.

To get support and/or information about Welfare Guardianship, along with Property and Personal Orders under the ‘Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 88’ (PPPR Act 88) you can approach the following organisations…

Adult Guardianship and Advocacy Services Trust

Support whānau and others with applications to the courts for Guardianship, Property & Personal Order applications (under the PPPR Act 88), along with independent advocacy and life skill development for people with learning disabilities

Web: www.adultguardianship.org.nz

Email: adultguardianshipnz@gmail.com

Phone: 021 08767583

PPPR Services

These services are predominantly, but not limited to administrative, financial, marketing and training. This support allows Independent PPPR Consultants who work with PPPR Services to focus on solutions for those they’re appointed to assist.

Web: www.ppprservices.co.nz

Email: martha@ppprservices.co.nz

Phone: 09 8693 923

Auckland Disability Law

Auckland Disability Law (ADL) provides free legal services to disabled people for disability related legal issues. ADL is the only specialist disability law community law centre in Aotearoa New Zealand.  ADL also provides legal education on disability law in the community and within disability and legal organisations. They work with the disabled and deaf communities through their community engagement and law reform activities.

Web: http://aucklanddisabilitylaw.org.nz/

Email: info@adl.org.nz

Phone: 09 257 5140

For more information about advocacy support, contact the Spectrum Foundation Advocacy Manager on 09 634 3790 ext 312 or 0274 757 577.

The ACC Living My Life option gives you the control of your care. Together we can work alongside you to access the very best services. 

Whether you are new to the support option or want to improve your current service offering, Spectrum Care puts you at the centre of all decision-making steps to ensure you get the best possible outcome for your ACC funding. We cover all components of the programme and help you to create an individualised plan.

Our ‘Living My Life’ support option provides a means for people with life-changing injuries to re-engage with their communities through social activities, hobbies, employment and more.

You are at the centre of all decision-making and our role is to be a trusted partner on your journey towards realising possibilities.

Our highly trained team has a depth of experience in working in a person-directed way, led by the needs and aspirations of those we support to explore and engage in their community.

Our team will help you to map your needs and decide what you want to gain from our support.

We deliver all four components of the ACC Living My Life support option:

• Facilitated Pathway Mapping
• Independent Facilitation
• Tailored Supports
• Coaching to Self-manage

Through these steps, your Living My Life support could include:

Community participation 

• Support to map all of your interests and hobbies, to find fun and engaging activities
• Support to access volunteer work in the community
• Support to access sporting, cultural and recreational activities in the community

Employment 

• Support in developing work skills and identifying strengths, goals and interests
• Support with individual employment opportunities
• Support to access tertiary education and develop work skills

The Living My Life support option is accessed by referral from ACC and is open to those who have existing ACC supports.

Speak to your ACC Case Manager today about how we can help.

For more information, email Spectrum Care’s Service Manager – Aspirations at Piri.Rutherford@spectrumcare.org.nz or call 09 634 3790.

Hello. Kia ora. Talofa. Bula. Malo lei lei. Ni hao. Whichever way you say it, we will listen to you and your needs.

Our Community Cultural Support team provides advisory services to New Zealander’s of all cultural backgrounds and ethnicities, with specialist teams supporting the needs of Māori, Pacific Island and Asian communities.

We provide person-centred, culturally-appropriate support with an integrated approach that focuses on the needs of the individual.

The Community Cultural team supports people by: 

• Assisting families to access the support they require from government agencies, such as Work and Income or Housing New Zealand;
• Linking families with other disability support agencies;
• Assisting Spectrum staff and families to promote cultural understanding;
• Encouraging people with a disability to become actively involved and included in their cultures and communities;
• Linking people with a disability to their culture and family;
• Supporting families to plan and review how Spectrum Care meets their cultural needs.

Awhi 

Meaning ‘to support and guide’, Spectrum’s ‘Awhi’ group has been delivering cultural support to Māori accessing our services for nearly 20 years.

The Awhi group is involved in all aspects of Spectrum Care’s support provision. It also facilitates staff inductions, powhiri, house blessings, tangi (bereavements), rights and advocacy, and other cultural initiatives.

Pacific Peoples

Spectrum Care’s Pacifika group provides high-quality, culturally-appropriate support and advisory services to people from the Pacific Islands.

The Pacifika group provides an array of cultural activities and events for the people we support, including facilitating at events such as blessings and bereavements.

Asian services 

For more than 10 years, Spectrum has provided support and advisory services to people of Asian descent.

Led by Spectrum’s Cultural Advisor – Asian Services, our specialist cultural team also utilises a network of long- term community partnerships with organisations such as TANI (The Asian Network Inc), CNSST (Chinese New Settlers Services Trust), NZCYT (New Zealand Chinese Youth Trust) and the Disability Connect Chinese Families Autism Support Group.

To access our Community and Cultural Services a referral is needed from Taikura Trust, phone: 0800 835 4672.

For more information, contact the Manager – Community Support Services on 09 634 3790