This was my 25th year with Stepping Stone.  In many ways it seems like only yesterday that I walked through the doors of 9/61 Holdsworth St, Coorparoo.  Maybe it’s a sign of my age – but the years have flown by.  This year, like all 25 years, has been filled with magic, memorable moments and mammoth achievements.

By the far the biggest achievement this year was securing additional Q Health funding. Thanks to the tireless work of our past President, Miguel Diaz and our local State Member, Joe Kelly, Stepping Stone was able to secure funding to provide significantly increased support to our members. An exciting part of this funding included resources to evaluate Stepping Stone services. In addition to this we also commenced National Psychosocial Support services through funding received from Primary Health Network.

Another great achievement has been our new Strategic Plan.  This involved many members, staff and Management Committee coming together to reflect on what is important to us and dream for the future.  A huge thanks to our Vice President, Jess Watkinson for leading this project.

Covid has again required us to be agile throughout the year, with some short lock downs.  Once again our community pivoted into a virtual world during these times.

If there are any positive changes from COVID, it is the use of technology to connect to our international community - one of the biggest adaptions is Clubhouse International training. We had a team, Danny and Lucy, participate in virtual Clubhouse International training at Tawhai Fountain House, South Korea and we also delivered a virtual training with Haus Bung in Papua New Guinea.

Stepping Stone continued to be part of the wider Community participating and hosting a number of events.  One of the bigger highlights was our second Trent Dalton event held for All Our Shimmering Skies.  We also provided numerous BBQs to City Beach, worked closely with Rotary Stones Corner, Oz Harvest and Joe Kelly, our local member.

Congratulations to all the members who worked and studied this year. We welcomed a new Transitional Employment (TE) employer this year – Containers for Change.  Thank-you to all of our TE employers for providing amazing paid employment opportunities to Stepping Stone members.

Stepping Stone has an amazing, dedicated group of staff.  They are funny, loyal, hardworking and every day give so much of themselves.  Thank-you for all that you do. We were blessed to add two new staff to the Management team this year – Joe took on a temporary role as Support Co-ordinator Team Leader – Joe brings extensive NDIS knowledge that he beautifully blends with his Clubhouse knowledge and loves a good spreadsheet.  Dan also joined the Management team in the temporary role of MH Services Co-ordinator, and has implemented amazing systems, brought great energy and important work to Employment, Education, Clerical, Administration and Training Unit.  Joe and Dan joined myself, Morag and Jaimi.  Jaimi continues to bring her sense of humour, love of all things Mexican and passion for the Clubhouse. Morag has continued to be my rock, googling our way out of any situation.

Thank-you to Brett Emmerson who left our Management Committee after 26 years.  He has been with us from the very beginning and his commitment to Stepping Stone has been amazing.  Personally, Brett has been a constant source of support and often my biggest cheerleader.  Thanks for all that you have done for Stepping Stone and we wish you all the best with the next stage of your career.  Thank-you to Kerrin Dickinson, who stepped down from the Secretary role and into a general committee position.  Thank-you to our current Management Committee members who have spent many hours in meetings, working on multiple projects for Stepping Stone.  Finally thank-you to Anne-Marie Carroll, our President.  Through her leadership and many hours of hard work from all Management Committee members, our Management Committee has strengthened it’s governance processes to ensure all compliance i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed.

Finally, thanks to Stepping Stone members who every day amaze me, inspire me and make me laugh.  I look forward to next year to see what the year brings our way. 

Melanie Sennett
Executive Director

Well, it has been another challenging year for staff and members but we have much to be proud of. 

I am pleased to be able to report that Stepping Stone’s financial position continues to improve as we have also made great progress on our governance arrangements. 

Financially, our NDIS Service income has grown this year by 59%, an extraordinary result in the middle of a global pandemic.  This reflects the hard work by all of our team in supporting members to gain NDIS packages and then the quality of our services which results in members exercising their freedom of choice and selecting Stepping Stone as a service provider.  It also demonstrates Stepping Stone’s success in adapting services to the virtual environment and continuing our vital support during constantly changing restrictions. 

Our transition from reliance on government grants has been significant so that our 2022 budget reflects an expectation that only 48% of our income will come from grants, down from a 95% reliance on government grants in the 2018 year.  Our position has been bolstered by a significant election commitment of $1.4M from the Queensland government which includes funding for a comprehensive evaluation of our service impact.  This is a great opportunity for us to showcase the effectiveness of the Clubhouse model in supporting positive outcomes for our members.

Our success in navigating a dramatic change in our funding through the NDIS and then the challenges of COVID-19 through 2020 and now 2021 are firmly at the feet of our talented leadership team along with all the staff of Stepping Stone Clubhouse.  Mel, Morag and Jaimi have held things together and plotted the course to ensure that our Members remained connected to the Clubhouse throughout the challenges of lockdowns and restrictions. Dan and Joe have stepped up into new roles where they are leading key services.  As a Management Committee, we thank all the management team and staff for their constant hard work, skilled engagement and dedication. 

Another key feature of this year has been significant change in the Management Committee and I thank all those who contributed so much over their time in this role.  In particular, we acknowledge our former President, Miguel Diaz, former Secretary and Vice-President, Martina McGrath and Professor Brett Emmerson, who has been a key contributor to Stepping Stone since its inception 27 years ago.  All three remained on the Committee to provide continuity and because of their genuine and heartfelt commitment to Stepping Stone and the services it provides to members.

We have been blessed however with new Committee members who have taken the challenges offered and generously given their time and expertise.  As a Committee, we look at the last year with pride having completed a new Strategic Plan for 2021-2024, renewed and implemented a raft of governance policies, reviewed the Constitution and supported Mel and her team by approving additional resources to spread the management load and continue adaptation to the new funding environment. 

More than anything else, I as President, and each member of the Management Committee is pleased to work in a positive partnership to serve the interests and needs of our Clubhouse Members.  We are proud to have done our small part this year ensure the endurance of the Stepping Stone Clubhouse now and into the future. 

Anne-Marie Carroll
President

This year, Stepping Stone developed a Strategic Plan for 2021-2024. The process was conducted over a few months in early 2021 and involved feedback from over 80 members, staff and Management Committee in a survey and three different consultation sessions with Human Ingredient. The information from the survey and sessions was consolidated into the Strategic Plan. This plan will guide us for the next few years and we look forward to seeing the outcomes. A huge thank-you to Jess Watkinson, our Vice-President for leading this process and to Scott Brown, Management Committee member, for assisting with the development of the wording for the Strategic Plan

This year, Dylan from Wandarra Media contacted us about working together. They had heard about the work we do for the community and were keen to contribute, offering to create the following free promotional video. Thank you so much for your support!

View our audited financial statements

President – Anne-Marie Carroll
Vice President – Jess Watkinson
Treasurer – Ross Morgan
General Member – Scott Brown
General Member – Brian Goodall
General Member – Fotina Hardy
General Member – Kerrin Dickinson

We’d like to acknowledge and thank all who have contributed to the ongoing success of our community

Funding Partners

Transitional Employment Partners

Community Partners