Who are we?

The partners...

Tracie Armstrong has worked in the South Burnett as a disability support service coordinator and a mental health supports facilitator for more than 13 years.  Tracie has a lived experience of living with a mental health condition.  She is motivated by a genuine desire to break down barriers and stigma for people with psychosocial disability and other conditions.  Tracie is the heart of Emerge Supports and always brings authenticity and empathy to her relationships with both participants and staff.  

Matthew J Armstrong is a social worker with 25 years of experience working with children, families, young people and communities.  Matthew has taught social work at University and provided training to practitioners across Queensland.  He is committed to ensuring that Emerge Supports provides an ethical, participant-focused service with high standards of practice.   

Our team...

We have an amazing group of support coordinators, psychosocial recovery coaches and support facilitators who make up the Emerge Supports team.  They are committed and authentic... in line with our ethos of "bring yourself to work"!

Our Services

Support coordination

  • Helping you to build your network and find to find the right supports and services
  • Stepping up during tough times to make sure everything is working smoothly
  • Helping you and the people around you to take control of your plan.

Psychosocial recovery coaching and peer support

  • Supporting people with psychosocial disability and mental health conditions to get well and stay well
  • Building on your strengths and networks to develop a recovery plan
  • Helping link you with supports and services
  • Mentoring and peer support to build your skills and strengths.  “Peer support” means working with people who been through some of the same things which you have, who might be able to use their experience to support you. 

Participation in community and social activities and social skill development

  • o   Assisting you to get connected with people and with your community, to build your skills and to pursue your hobbies and interests.

GameFace- specialised support based on games and gaming culture

  • Groups and individual support involving board games, role-playing games, cosplay, science, art, online gaming and such.

Therapeutic supports and social work services

  • Helping you to stay strong, face stress and live well
  • Social work assessments, consultancy and reports
  • Professional supervision and training
  • Group and individual counselling to help you set and attain goals, build insight, and manage your emotions.

Our approach to providing services

The way we work with each participant will be different, depending on your needs and the services you have asked us to provide.

Usually, you will have an NDIS Plan when we start working with you.

If you are asking us to provide support coordination, we will help to find the services and supports you need from across the community.

If we are providing psychosocial recovery coaching, we will work together to develop a recovery plan- strategies to support your mental health and to support you when you are unwell.

In all cases we will work with you to develop a Service Agreement which makes sure we are clear about what we are providing and how much it will cost. 

We will talk to you, your family or anyone else who is part of your network.  We will ask about:

  • Your strengths, interests and skills
  • Your existing networks and supports
  • Things which you find challenging or which worry you
  • The things you would like to change or improve in your life, or that you need help with
  • Any current plans, assessments or things which we need to know to be able to support you
  • What you would like to get out of working with Emerge Supports- the outcomes (achievements and changes) you would like to see
  • The services which have been funded by NDIS for you
  • The specific activities we will do together to achieve your goals, and who else we might need to work with in the community and in your network.  We will also talk about the costs of services, the process for booking times to work together, and what happens if you need to change or cancel a service booking
  • How we will review (check in) about whether we are getting things right, and how you can let us know if things aren’t working out or if you are unhappy with the way we are working with you
  • How we will know if it is time to stop working together and how we will support you to move on when this happens- including referrals to other services and any reports or information you might need from us.

Our values
At Emerge Supports:

We are committed to inclusion and diversity... 

  • We want to foster an environment of openness and safety for any participant who chooses to work with us. 
  • We don’t want you to feel judged. We want to understand you, your identity and the things which are important to you.  We respect and value you for who you are, including your culture, social role, gender and sexuality, age, life experience and beliefs.
  • We think it is up to us to change our approach to meet your needs, so we will ask for your guidance about the best way to acknowledge, respect and celebrate your identity.
 We are committed to offering you choice and control...

  • We want you to choose to work with us.  We want to plan and deliver the services and supports which help you to achieve your goals.
  • We will change our processes to best meet the needs of participants rather than the other way around.
  • We want to truly listen to you, by taking the time to hear your story and by checking that we have understood. We want your voice to be loud.
  • We will give you honest and direct information in the way which is best for you.
  • We want you to know about other services and options, and for you to feel free to stop working with us at any time if we are not the right fit for you.

 We want to make sure that you feel safe and that we respect your rights in all areas of life…

  • We want you to be safe from abuse, neglect and exploitation.
  • We want you to feel confident to make a complaint or raise a problem with us without feeling worried about what will happen.
  • We will treat your private information respectfully and only share it with your permission or when we are required to by law.
  • We want you to feel free to bring an advocate or support person whenever you meet with us. 

 We want to work with you as a whole person…

  • We will work with your family, support people and significant others (your network) to make plans and provide services.
  • With your permission, we will collaborate (work together) with other services, businesses, and individuals to support you.

As a registered provider, we are bound by the NDIS Code of Conduct and Practice Standards.  The Code of Conduct is part of our organisation’s values and we have included it at the end of our Service Charter.