Rachelle Chahoud
Hinchinbrook
Summary
Use my experience and skills to perform my job successfully and to achieve success and satisfaction in my work.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
Bilingual Guide
HSP Program
07.2019
- Accompanying newly arrived refugees to hospitals, doctor appointments, banks, and Centrelink appointments
- Complete the needs assessment forms and apply for OPAL cards
- Providing clients with basic skills and knowledge through orientation that will enable clients to build their knowledge
- Helping parents with school enrolment and childcare
- Assisting the orientation team and interpreting in the session
- Conducting surveys for refugees to check on their sense of belonging.
Parish caseworker
Catholic care
10.2019 - 01.2020
- Acting in accordance with, and staying up to date with changes to, CatholicCare policy and procedures and relevant legislation
- Networking and promotion of CatholicCare programmes, when necessary
- Keeping up to date with documentation and the use of the client information management system
- Address barriers to healthy functioning such as, mental health, domestic violence, ageing, disability, financial stress, and parenting challenges
- Making appropriate referrals
- Develop supporting documents as required.
Case Manager
SSI (Settlement Services International)
08.2013 - 10.2016
- Case Managing, clients from CALD backgrounds seeking Asylum in Australia, under the SRSS Status Resolution Support Services Program
- Handling a medium-to-high caseload of clients comprising of low, medium, and high complex needs (35-40)
- The role aims at providing a duty of care with the best interest of the client at its centre
- Undertaking a comprehensive and regular needs assessment of clients including singles, families, and children, against the vulnerability criteria for the SRSS programme
- Providing clients with basic skills and knowledge through orientation that will enable them to build their skills and knowledge
- Extensive knowledge of the legislative requirements of the Child Protection Act 1998 and Children and Young Person Act 1998 to enable understanding the responsibilities of a mandatory reporter
- Supporting clients with registration for essential services such as Medicare, and Centrelink, opening bank accounts, providing orientation in the local area, and access to the various services
- Taking clients with children for school enrolment and obtaining uniforms and other school essentials
- Monitoring and supporting the school-going children as required
- Developing holistic support plans for high-needs clients based on individual needs & strengths and coordinating the implementation of these plans in partnership with other support services to help them achieve self-sufficiency
- Motivational interviewing supports clients in identifying their strengths and setting goals to encourage psychological well-being and settlement in the community
- Maintaining accurate and complete client records in accordance with the SSI policies and procedures
- Completing risk assessments with clients and creating plans for actions for risk reduction and minimizing impact
- Completing safety plans for clients involved in DV situations and providing referrals to support networks
- Refer and liaise with law enforcement agencies and legal aid agencies to provide support to clients requiring legal assistance
- Assisting clients to obtain emergency accommodation when required, maintaining long-term accommodation, and working with the SSI accommodation team to ensure that the clients develop a positive tenancy record
- Administer RHS-15 to assess the need for mental health support such as torture and trauma, depression, anxiety, suicidal inclinations, self-harm or self-injury, DV, separation, and grief counseling
- Assess the need for mental health supports such as torture and trauma counseling, make appropriate referrals to GP’s and provide encouragement to follow up on plan actions to achieve goals set by them
- Liaise with various medical, charitable, educational, and other government support agencies for holistic planning and delivery of case management services to clients with complex needs
- Doing outreach for vulnerable clients with high needs and complex issues where the client is unable to come to the office
- Supwell-being clients, referring for employment opportunities and job readiness training, using computers and emails, filling out forms, and making appointments when required
- Client advocacy, where required, with the specialists, psychologists, SDRO, hospitals, material aid providers, and other charitable organizations
- Provide support and mentoring to new starters in areas of policy and procedures and case management through the Buddy system
- Ensure adherence to policy and procedure to adequately guide service delivery
- Actively promoted community engagement and inclusive long-term for the clients through play groups, community gardens, and community kitchens.
Education
Diploma of Counselling -
TAFE Wetherill Park Tafe
Diploma of Community Service Work -
TAFE Granville, Sydney
Statement of attendance -
Trauma informed Care Training
01.2019
Updated units of Diploma of Community Service work -
TAFE Wetherill Park
01.2019
Certificate 2 Business Administration -
Granville TAFE, Sydney
01.2010
Diploma of Interpreting Arabic-English -
Granville TAFE, Sydney
01.2004
Certificate 4 English for Further studies -
Granville TAFE, Sydney
01.2003
Higher School Certificate -
Saint Rita High School, Beirut, Lebanon
01.2000
Skills
- Work efficiently in a team or individually, unsupervised
- Accept responsibility, be hard-working, very committed, and reliable
- Be a self-starter and a quick learner
- Complete tasks/projects in a timely manner
- Maintain the standard of service required in the work environment at all times
- Fluent in Arabic, French and English
- Listening and being non-judgemental
- Work under pressure and maintain my calm
- Utilise my knowledge and skills to adapt to a changing environment
- Working with people of different age groups from CALD backgrounds
- Advanced skills in MS Office
Cover Letter
To whom it may concern,
My name is Rachelle Chahoud, and I am writing to express my interest in the case manager position at your esteemed organisation. Having carefully reviewed the selection criteria for the role, I am confident that my background and experiences align closely with the requirements, making me a suitable candidate to contribute effectively to your team. I completed my Diploma in Community Welfare from TAFE in 2013. Following this, I worked as a case manager at SSI (Settlement Services International) for over 3 years.
In my role at SSI, I was responsible for providing holistic case management support for youth, single adults, couples, and families with children who have arrived as asylum seekers from various CALD backgrounds, in Australia. I have completed working with children and understand the importance and criteria for mandatory reporting. Intervention and support in cases of domestic or family violence were an integral part of my role. Liaising with police, legal services, refugees, and other welfare organisations and NGOs to provide the required support for my clients was also part of my responsibilities. My skills in case management and apprehension of client needs provided me with an opportunity to support parents who were experiencing difficulties communicating with their children. I was able to provide them with suggestions, guide them to relevant websites, and provide clear and detailed information and practical parenting tips depending on the situation. My duties as a case manager were to undertake a comprehensive and regular needs assessment of vulnerable clients, as well as to support the client to develop independent skills, access appropriate support in the community, and assist them with registration for essential services and orientation in their local area.
My linguistic skills in Arabic and apprehension of the Arab culture, as well as a strong understanding of the needs of clients and their children, allowed me to support parents who were experiencing difficulties communicating with their children. I was able to provide them with suggestions, guide them to relevant websites, and provide clear and detailed information and practical parenting tips depending on the situation. I believe that coming from an Arabic background has facilitated my communication with clients from diverse language, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds, as I am more culturally aware by respecting differences in all their forms and adapting language to aid communication.
SSI encouraged a strength-based approach to working with clients and provided us with training to use tools such as Refugee Health Screening (RHS-15) for mental health, risk assessment, and screening tools for domestic violence and safety plans, which supported us in providing supportive case management to our clients. I also participated in playtime and the community kitchen, where case managers were able to engage with clients and their children in an informal setting while facilitating community involvement and a sense of belonging.
The contractual obligation of SSI to DIBP required us to complete all incident reports accurately and in a timely manner. The responsibility of reporting to the team leader and completing the written report and all other follow-up reports was handled by the case managers. Internal KPIs required us to complete all notes accurately related to clients on the same day as best practice and within 48 hours as a basic standard. Case managers at SSI are also required to maintain accurate digital records of clients’ services and interactions within the organisation's client database, as well as develop and implement relevant data reporting tools that will be used for internal SSI and external reporting, such as the Department of Immigration.
My skills include a natural ability to be a resourceful team player who builds good friendships with colleagues, and I consider myself to be well-respected by those around me. Strengths I possess include building trusting relationships, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to build rapport with a diverse workforce, particularly in multicultural settings.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions via email or on my mobile: 0450 019 878.
Thank you in advance for your time.
Yours truly,
Rachelle Chahoud.
Mobile: 0450 019 878
Email Address: rachelle27@live.com.au
Training
- First Aid Course & Mental Health First Aid.
- ASSIST Suicide Prevention Training.
- Child Protection: Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Training.
- Women at Risk (Domestic Violence) Case Management Training.
- DAMEC Training Drug, Alcohol Substance Abuse in Asylum Seekers & Refugees.
- Communicating clearly Workshop.
- Working with Angry & Aggressive Clients Workshop.
- Individual risk assessment and reflective practice training.
- RHS – 15 (Refugee Health Screening) Tool Training.
- Cultural awareness Training: Working with people from CALD backgrounds
Timeline
Parish caseworker
Catholic care
10.2019 - 01.2020
Bilingual Guide
HSP Program
07.2019
Case Manager
SSI (Settlement Services International)
08.2013 - 10.2016
Diploma of Counselling -
TAFE Wetherill Park Tafe
Diploma of Community Service Work -
TAFE Granville, Sydney
Statement of attendance -
Trauma informed Care Training
Updated units of Diploma of Community Service work -
TAFE Wetherill Park
Certificate 2 Business Administration -
Granville TAFE, Sydney
Diploma of Interpreting Arabic-English -
Granville TAFE, Sydney
Certificate 4 English for Further studies -
Granville TAFE, Sydney
Higher School Certificate -
Saint Rita High School, Beirut, Lebanon
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