This is Stephen, Interchange WA’s 2026 Employee of the Year
Choosing an Employee of the Year from Interchange WA’s exceptional Support Workers is difficult. With an incredible talent pool who provides high-quality services to People with Disability every day, choosing just one is nearly impossible.
But a decision must be made, and Stephen was the top choice. As a Support Worker who provides support in Daily Living Skills, the impact he has made on the lives of his customers has been immense. He even caught the eye of the WA Disability Support Awards and also won the Values Award for Empowerment at the 2026 Interchange WA Employee Recognition Night.
So, we’d like to take this opportunity to celebrate Stephen, his successes, and his award win.
Good Foundations Create Good Results
“When I first meet them, it starts with a chat.”
Supporting People with Disability is a matter of understanding, not applying a one-size-fits-all approach. Stephen approaches each customer with a sense of curiosity, getting a grasp of them as a person. To get the ball rolling, they talk about their likes and dislikes, giving him a sense of personal touchpoints he can connect with and giving him the overall sense of them as a person.
After a chat, Stephen often asks to play a game. Usually dominoes or triominos, but sometimes they go putting if the customer is up to it. It’s an informal capacity assessment, because getting hands-on can tell him more about the person than what was written in their document. Plus, you can learn a lot about a person by playing together.
It’s this simple, person-centered approach that gives Stephen the insight he needs. From it, he learns what supports he can offer them that will create the greatest impact.
Outstanding Outcomes
By treating each customer as unique and capable, Stephen has been able to tailor his support to meet their exact needs.
For Liam, this meant building his skills in the kitchen and his ability to shop for himself. As Liam’s confidence has grown, so has his ability to work independently. Now Stephen doesn’t need to intervene to provide direct aid, just to enable, encourage, and monitor Liam’s work to make sure everything is safely prepared and stored.
Stephen extended his culinary expertise to another customer, but in a different way. When he was struggling to find time to prepare meals around his work schedule, Stephen set up a system of meal preparation using a slow cooker. Together, they built his kitchen skills to prepare homemade meals that he could freeze then slow-cook throughout the day so they’d be ready when he came home from work.
On top of that, they incorporated fresh produce from the customer’s own garden into his meals. When his garden beds were dying after a bad season, Stephen gave him the choice to try again. Taking a chance, he did, and it paid off. The seasonal vegetables from his garden soon became a staple of his meals, giving him an ongoing sense of accomplishment and fulfilment.
Stephen’s Interchange Journey
Stephen started with Interchange WA over two years ago. When one of his customers changed to join us, he came along so he could continue to support them.
To him, the best part of being a Support Worker with Interchange WA is the sense of freedom. He doesn’t see the responsibility he has to his customers as something that limits him. It’s a structure that gives him the ability to make a meaningful difference in ways that truly matter to the customer.
Stephen is never alone on his journey to support his customers either. He’s part of a team who are always communicating and coordinating to make sure everything runs smoothly. He knows they always have his back if he has questions or needs advice, and his team leader is Christina, a fellow WADSA nominee.
Stephen’s journey to winning his awards began with an iThink You Are Awesome nomination.
