OVERVIEW.

'Living Interdependence For Everyone'

L.I.F.E Unlimited meaning Living Interdependence for Everyone (formerly The Disability Resource Centre) is situated at 20 Palmerston Street, Hamilton and also has several sites throughout New Zealand.

The main Centre is accessible with plenty of car parking available and the Palmerston Street location is close to the inner city. L.I.F.E Unlimited's building encompasses conference facilities, tenanted offices as well as providing quality services to people with disabilities in the community.

L.I.F.E Unlimited has built New Zealands first accessible show home which is open to the general public and located in Hamilton.

In achieving our goals L.I.F.E Unlimited will be guided by the following principles.

Equity
By responding to the needs of individuals and cultures within the community with due regard to the Treaty of Waitangi and the Bill of Rights.

Co-operation
Promoting co-operation with other agencies with similar interests.

Accessability
By ensuring that appropriate services are accessible to the community.

Value
By allocating resources effectively and efficiently.

Accountability
By monitoring performance against clear objectives.

Quality
By striving always to deliver services of highest quality.

Leadership
Our strategy is to work alongside other community organisations to the benefit of our clients and the community. We strive to avoid duplication of services and waste of scarce charitable funds.

We seek to provide innovative programmes by identifying gaps in services within the community.

CUSTOMER FOCUS.

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L.I.F.E Unlimited's customers are all people particularly people with disabilities, their families and whanau, health professionals, students, service providers and the wider community, in fact anyone affected in any way by disability. We also include as customers the government organisations that contract us to provide services.

The key elements to L.I.F.E Unlimited's customer services are:

• The expectation of the team to be completely honest.
• To always put the customer before oneself.
• To maintain a sense of humour.
• To explore every option available to clients.
• To greet everyone that comes through our door with a smile.
• To appreciate individual differences.
• Take the service to the customer (our Mobile Info Service)

Our customers' expectations and preferences are formally determined by way of:

• Customer satisfaction surveys.
• Procedures and policy regarding complaints.
• A formal measure of our performance in this respect is a monthly statistical report for each service. This gives us an indication on how well we are doing eg: our No Limits programme for children with disabilities started off with 16 families involved 4 years ago, now 135 families enrolled.

L.I.F.E Unlimited's relationship with customers is unique. Clients are either self referred or referred to us by other organisations. They all have needs, and look to our organisation for help. L.I.F.E Unlimited seeks to:

• Assist by way of referral
• Support and help by way of correct information and one on one guidance.
• Assess needs in a holistic manner.
• Coordinate services in a holistic manner.
• Provide innovative assistance eg: No Limits.
• Provide educational support for students
• Provide a free service, (except for equipment and aids which are available for purchase).
  

INNOVATION.

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The Chief Executive Officer and the Team put new ideas to the Trust Board after careful consideration. The ideas come from a number of sources within the Team based on client needs. The atmosphere within the organisation encourages innovation, which is totally supported by the Trust Board.

The Trust, strives to be the most excellent generic, impartial service provider, by setting challenging goals and developing many new innovative services including:

• No Limits - Programme for children with disabilities.
• Recreation and Leisure Co-ordination including Operation Fun Link, Achilles Track Club.
• The construction of New Zealand's first and only 'accessible show home.'
• Only one of its kind, L.I.F.E Unlimited takes it services outside to their customers in the rural areas.

All these innovative services have been achieved as a result of hard work, fundraising, and negotiation with funders and government officials and have created a passion amongst the team to continue to seek innovative services

The Team continues to strive for excellence and to satisfy the needs within the community. L.I.F.E Unlimited has developed a service focussed on the needs of Maori with intellectual disabilities. This is a Marae based day programme where the participants are included in all activities at the Marae. Disability Support Link is funding this programme (by fee for service) in recognition of the huge need for this type of service.

Our recent bold approach to re-branding with the creation of the L.I.F.E brand is yet another example of innovation.

COMMUNITY.

L.I.F.E Unlimited take great pride in the work that we do within the community. Apart from our government contracts where we are charged with providing a service, we also fundraise to provide services that are not funded through government agencies:

• L.I.F.E Unlimited Mobile Info Service.
• We provide a disability awareness programme delivered to schools within the Waikato region and to businesses.
• We administer the Achilles Track Club, which is an international Track Club for people with disabilities.
• Our facility is available to the general public to access any information they may require on disabilities and related issues. We have Internet available for use and many university and polytechnic students use our services for research.
• Co-ordination of the "No Limits" holiday programe.
• Free assessment for the Total Mobility Service.
• Other community organisations are able to use our facility and our information services.
• We have at the disposal of the community a conference/board room kitchen facility at a nominal rate. We also provide rental space for various other community organisations, providing them with reception and administration support.
  Tenants include:
  • Waikato MS Trust
  • Alzheimers Waikato
  • Head and Injury Society - Waikato
  • Occupational Therapy Rehabilitation Services

OUR CREDO.

In meeting their needs everything we do must be of high quality, and of professional standard.

We must constantly strive to provide excellent services, to maintain and source reasonable prices for our equipment services. Customers' orders must be serviced promptly and accurately.

We must be impartial, providing the customer with choice.

We will strive to meet the cultural needs of people with disabilities, applying the principals of the Treaty of Waitangi.

We are responsible to our employees, and volunteers, the people who work with us throughout the Region. Everyone must be considered as an individual.
We must respect their dignity and recognise their merit. They must have a sense of security in their jobs. Compensation must be fair and adequate, and working conditions clean, orderly and safe.

We must be mindful of ways to help our employees fulfil their family responsibilities.
Employees must feel free to make suggestions and complaints.

There must be equal opportunity for employment, development and advancement for those qualified. We must provide competent management, and their actions must be just and ethical.

We are responsible to the communities, in which we live and work.
We must be good citizens. We must encourage access improvements, better health and education. We must maintain in good order the property we are privileged to use, protecting the environment and natural resources.

We must experiment with new ideas.

Research must be carried on, innovative programs developed.
New equipment must be purchased, new facilities provided and new products launched.

Reserves must be created to provide for adverse times.

When we operate according to these principles, our clients should realise a quality service.