Notices

CRECHE @ GECKOS

MUMS 'n' BUBS

Are you a new mum with a babe under 18 months of age? We have a lovely group of mums with little babes meet here every Monday from 1.30 - 3pm. It is a time for mums to talk to other adults about adult stuff. Yes, it is different from playgroup where the focus is on the children. In this group the focus is on the parent and your needs. This is the perfect time to chat as babe feeds and sleeps.

Be good to yourself

Come on in and have a cuppa anytime from 0900h to 1600h Mon - Fri (not Tuesdays as the centre has the creche operating). Why not ask your partner to join you for lunch here? You can sit under the trees eating your sandwich while you catch up on the day - let the kids play on the swings too. It is just like being in parklands. There is room to move, something to do and someone to listen (if you want to talk) at GECKOS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THERE TO BE A SPECIAL EVENT HERE TO COME AND ENJOY GECKOS. Everyone is welcome to come along and participate in any of our activities, or just sit and relax.

Is your partner coming home?

Defence has published a lot of support material for Defence families to prepare for service separations and reunions. You can get copies of these materials from GECKOS, Psych support, LBMC, DCO or NWCC. Here are a few tips learned over the years (not in order of priority):
a.Remember that people (including you) may have changed over the period of separation. Take some time to find out how your partner has changed. Remind them that they are still needed and still important to you.
b. Take time to get to know each other again. Don't rush around with heaps of things to catch-up on - parties or social events, or, repairs and maintenance tasks. Let them take a breath when they get home. SLow down and be patient.
b. Curb the desire to leap in and take over just because you always have.
c. Acknowledge the good things that have happened during the separation - like the support from family and friends (including GECKOS) - limit your criticism to your partner.
d. Go easy on spending money. Think and plan. GECKOS has ADF Financial Consumers Council matierial (booklets and vidoe) to help you budget, plan, and find the right people to help you manage your finances.
e. Respect each other's personal / emotional space (including that of your chidlren).
f. Sexual closeness may be awkward at first. Talk openly and respectfully with your partner about this issue.
g. Previous problems may crop up again. This time, do something about them. Professional support is freely available if necessary. Talk to the Padre if you've got questions.
h. Be prepared to give and take to help them adjust back into your relationship and the family.
i. Let the kids take their time to readjust to having your partner back on the scene. Some children want to hog all their time, and some kids need a little space to work it out. Don't push them to immediately accept their dad or mum back into their life - it will come in time. If you are worried, talk to DCO for some help.
j. Things that worked before may not work now. You've managed without your partner for some time now, and now its time to let them back into your life one step at a time.

Some returning soldiers find it hard to walk into the shopping centres - all the lights, people, smells, commercialism can be overwhelming. That's actually normal. Let them sit in the car if they want to, or even stay at home until they readjust back into our Western culture. If problems persist over weeks, talk to the Padre or DCO for further help.

Keep an eye out for changes in your returning partners behaviour - especially increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs and changes to their eating and sleep patterns. This could be early signs that they are having issues readjusting to being off deployment. Yes, some adjustment issues are absolutely normal but others are flashing lights. Alcohol and other drug use, sleeping and mood swings are the flashing lights. If your partner is displaying these problems it is essential that you talk to them about your concerns. Help is freely and readily available through padres, UWOs, DCO, psych support and VVCS. Overwhelmingly evidence from previsou deployments shows that the quicker help is given the better the outcomes for the service person. Often the service person can't see the problem or will be reluctant to seek help. This is where it is essential that families know what to look for and what to do. If you've got qestions, please contact us at GECKOS and we will help out as best we can until your partner receives the help to ge them over the line and return to their usual self again.

DCO Activities that might interest you

DCO have developed a couple of programmes that could be of interest to those whose partners are being deployed.

PARENTING DURING DEPLOYMENT -

KIDS OF DEFENCE -

SURVIVING SERVICE SEPARATIONS -

For more information please contact DCO Townsville on 4753 6539

GECKOS SUPPORTERS BOARD

GECKOS Supporters Board was updated at the GECKOS Festival on Sun 26 July 2009. We have had some very generous donoations (both financial and in-kind) and publicly acknowledge these on the board.

Support is identified as being Bronze, Silver, Gold or Kevlar standard.

If you or your organisation want to know more about the donations we receive or, how to make a donation to Geckos, please contact CAPT Lynn Harding on 4771 7031.

Need a PHOTOCOPY?

GECKOS has photocopying facilities:
10c per page if you provide your own paper, or
20c per page if you use our paper.

How are we going?

The next User's Group Meeting for GECKOS will be Thursday 19 November. Come along to share what you think about the place. What can we do better? Any ideas for programmes? Was there something you used to enjoy that is no longer offered?

Staff are always willing to listen to your suggestions on how to make GECKOS more appropriate to the needs of Defence families. If you would prefer,you can fill out the blue suggestion sheet and put it in the box provided.

Amongst other things, this meeting was the catalyst that made GECKOS totally smoke free.

Some of the outcomes of the suggestion box have been the provision of toilet training facilities and baby change table in the Disabled toilet.

STATS UPDATE

These stats are made from the Registration sheet at the 'Welcome Table' at GECKOS. We acknowledge that not everyone signs the sheet so the numbers are not 100% perfect - they are the best we can give you at the moment. If you've any ideas on how we cna make thes stats more accurate, let us know!

An 'ocassion of service' is any event that GECKOS staff have had to allocate time toward.

Our doors opened 21 MAY07.

2007
MAY: 10 events/ 98 occassions of service
JUN: 14 events/ 167 occassions of service
JUL: 32 events/ 1276 occassions of service
AUG: 36 events/ 999 occassions of service
SEP: 26 events/ 278 occassions of service
OCT: 27 events/ 327 occassions of service
NOV: 24 events/ 601 occassions of service
DEC: 12 events/ 161 occassions of service

TOTAL
FOR 2007 = 3907 occassions of service

2008
JAN: 20 events/ 427 occassions of service
FEB: 30 events/ 849 occassions of service
MAR: 20 events/ 774 occassions of service
APR: 25 events/ 443 occassions of service
MAY: 38 events/ 540 occassions of service
JUN: 27 events/ 586 occassions of service
JUL: 27 events/ 829 occassions of service
AUG: 23 events/ 307 occassions of service
SEP: 23 events/ 655 occassions of service
OCT: 29 events/ 449 occassions of service
NOV: 26 events/ 587 occassions of service
DEC: 13 events/ 354 occassions of service

TOTAL
For 2008 = 6800 ocassions of service

2009
JAN:12 events/ 420 occassions of service
FEB: 29 events/ 797 occassions of service
MAR: 38 events/ 1911 occcassions of service
APR: 37 events/ 1397 occassions of service
MAY: 38 events/ 2669 occassions of service
JUN: 27 events/ 1240 occassions of service
JUL: 31 events/ 2000 occassions of service
AUG: 34 events/ 936 occassions of service
SEP: 29 events/767 occasions of service
OCT: 30 events/1997 occasions of service