Since 2021, Airmaster‘s Western Australia branch have connected with, and assisted people living with a disability through a partnership with Active Linc.
Active Linc is a Support Coordination organisation that provides home-based services for individuals living with a disability by supporting them with occupational therapy, support coordination and physiotherapy.
Initiated in early-2021 by Airmaster WA Branch Manager Matt Wisniewski, the partnership was based around Wisniewski and Service Manager Ryan Mansfield looking at innovative opportunities for their highly skilled team to donate both knowledge and time to offer people with disability labour and technical services.
Making a difference
The WA branch had a clear vision in providing this solution, and was built around the principle that anyone referred by Active Linc would receive the same levels of service as traditional Airmaster customers, and that by employees utilising their workplace skill as volunteering opportunities, it would embed the program and Airmaster values into both the team and day to day operations.
Airmaster has delivered various works and involvements with Active Linc throughout the 18 months and continues to provide support as participants’ needs arise.
Sarah Wilson, Director and Support Coordinator of Active Linc, believes that the partnership with Airmaster provides meaningful social impacts and forges a strong bond with the community.
“The idea of the program is to provide a service that complements the formal and informal support a person using a NDIS plan receives, but with a focus on everyday services (and living costs) that are not NDIS funded, which may otherwise be unaffordable. This makes a big difference to how someone may be able to go about their day”, says Wilson.
Case Study Example: Electrical Bike Repair
One example of the work undertaken as part of this program includes a repair of a Functional Electrical Stimulation bike.
With no local repairer for this device, Active Linc were struggling to get someone to help rectify this issue. “We’re grateful to Matt, Ryan, Oliver and other team members who took this on, and guided us through it”, says Wilson. “They provided multiple home and workshop visits to get the bike working and to help rectify the fault.” Since being repaired, the bike has now been used by two people with high-level spinal cord injuries. Wilson says that in their past experience, NDIS does not fund for these devices, so the support provided by Airmaster is above and beyond their expectations.
“Thank you to Oliver (Airmaster Technician) for donating his time to look at and repair the FES bike. It is amazing that he got this working. To get it going is such a great help to our participants who have quadriplegia, and are ventilated, as this is the only way that they can participate in exercise,” says Wilson.
Examples of works included or conducted as part of the program include:
Lighting and electrical repairs, replacements and installations
Installation of electrical appliances such as the mounting of a TV to be seen from a profiling/electric bed
Disassembly and reassembly of items to assist participants move house
Installation, repair and maintenance of air-conditioning and other HVAC equipment
Repairs of fridges, freezers and other electrical appliances
Installation, repair of exhaust fans, bathroom steam extraction fans, rangehood
Provide general advice on cooling (heat load calculation, size an a/c unit), assist with install
General plumbing repairs such as leaking taps, toilets, hot water systems, roofs, and gutters
Assemble flat pack furniture
Assemble and install mobility aids both external and internal to participants’ home
For both Active Linc and Airmaster, this approach and shared values help people go about their daily life and continues to nurture valued-based team members, who have a social and community awareness, interest and understanding.
For Airmaster, opportunities such as this is an important part of our organisation, and we are pleased that our valued team members can share their expertise with people in this way and make a positive difference in the community.