The Interagency provides a forum for service providers to build relationships and work collaboratively to improve outcomes for the Shellharbour, Kiama, Wollongong and Shoalhaven communities.
invite you to the upcoming inaugural Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery and Healing Conference with the theme ‘The Right to Recovery’, which the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre is hosting on behalf of the Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery Alliance. It is being held here in Wollongong, 4-5 May.
The overall goal of the conference is to highlight the importance of investing in DFSV recovery as an area that supports both healing and prevention, as well as establish a community of organisations and individuals across Australia who will collectively drive change in the way we perceive and respond to DFSV.
We will be discussing the four pillars of recovery: holistic models of health care; housing and economic recovery; centering children and young people and responsive, safe, and accessible pathways to justice – and consistent with best ethical practice, at least 50% of presenters and facilitators will be people with lived experience/expertise.
We have a range of excellent and experienced speakers and panellists, which will make this conference enlightening, educational and absolutely engaging. They include Rosie Batty AO, Tarang Chawla, Karen Iles, Dr Janina Fisher, Dr Karen Williams, Rebecca Glen, Yumi Lee, Annabelle Daniel and the Australian DFSV Commissioner Micaela Cronin, with a more extensive list here, and more on the way.
This is the first conference in Australia specifically on domestic, family and sexual violence recovery and healing – so not to be missed!
The registration link is here, and more information on the Alliance and the conference can be found here.
Lifeline South Coast is holding an information and Q&A session for people interested in joining the 13 YARN and 13 11 14 crisis support lines.
This information session is for our training course which will be held 16th to 26th May in Nowra.
Scholarships are available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for this training course, and there is an opportunity for pathway to paid employment on 13 YARN, the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis support service.
Community Industry Group in partnership with Inside Out Recovery will be holding a 2-day training session in April focusing on the complexity of both hoarding and squalor. The aim is to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of these disorders and how to support or diagnose the presence of hoarding and squalor. The training provides front line workers, psychologists, GPs, housing providers, NDIS LACS and planners, real estate agents, and others with an in-depth understanding of these disorders and how to support or diagnose the presence of hoarding and squalor.
Learning outcomes:
Understand Hoarding Disorder (HD) and Severe Domestic Squalor (SDS) from a holistic framework.
Understand the behaviours, psychology, and emotional attachments that underpin these disorders.
Effectively identify the presence of Hoarding Disorder (HD) and Severe Domestic Squalor (SDS).
Identify appropriate intervention strategies – what works and what doesn’t?
Effectively use assessment tools to inform work practices.
To fully understand the significant challenges the Community Services sector (Illawarra/Shoalhaven/Southern NSW) is currently facing, Community Industry Groupis conducting a ‘Temperature Check’ (key issue survey) to find out what issues are most concerning to you/your organisation/community and what supports may be needed.
What is the End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration?
The End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration is a group of local community organisations and government organisations working with the End Street Sleeping Collaboration to ensure no one should have to sleep rough in Illawarra.
Over the past three years Illawarra has seen a steady increase in the number of people sleeping rough. These numbers have increased from 11 in 2020 to 57 in 2022.
We believe street sleeping is solvable and everyone has the right to access safe and sustainable housing. Finding the right information about who is sleeping rough and why is vital to developing effective strategies.
In Illawarra this information will be collected during Connections Week (5th September in Wollongong /12th September in Kiama/Shoalhaven).
Their stories will be entered into our By-Name-List database enabling local services to triage the most vulnerable and collaborate across organisations to providing housing solutions and continued support services to ensure ongoing tenancy.
The goal of the End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration is to halve street sleeping in Illawarra by 2025 and end it by 2030. Our work aligns with the Premier’s Priority commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2025*
Who is part of the End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration?
The following organisations are supporting the Collaboration:
DCJ
Wollongong Homeless Hub
Neami National
St Vincent de Paul
NSW Health
Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation (IAC)
Age Matters
What is Connections Week?
During Connections Week, trained volunteers and community sector workers connect with people sleeping rough to conduct an internationally recognised survey and understand their housing and health needs. It is a week to focus on the stories and needs of people sleeping rough in our community.
From the survey data and personal stories collected a database called the By-Name List (BNL) is created. This is a real-time database of all people experiencing homelessness in our community. The data collected helps to coordinate support services, inform policy innovation, and create systems change.
Understanding this information enables the community to respond in real time.
The BNL is based on the principle that every person sleeping rough has a story to tell and that we know them by name. A story that allows them to be assisted out of homelessness, a story that can help us understand what leads people into homelessness, a story that can help us identify strategies that can prevent homelessness.
What information is being gathered and how?
The information gathered from people sleeping rough uses a survey tool – the VI-SPDAT – which combines elements of the Vulnerability Index (VI) with the Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (SPDAT).
The VI-SPDAT examines factors of current vulnerability and future housing stability. It is considered by the Institute of Global Homelessness to be the world’s best practice collection tool.
All participants will be required to sign a consent form and their private information will be strictly protected. Participants will be able to decline participation altogether or may choose to decline responding to individual questions only.
In accordance with Privacy Principles an individual may request to have their information removed at any time.
How will the information be used?
The End Street Sleeping Collaboration is an independent, sectorled and run entity and will hold the BNL and its data on behalf of local services. The BNL will be used in two ways: to immediately help individuals and to help change systems.
Organisations can use the collective, de-identified data to advocate for the change and resources needed to end homelessness in our community.
The information collected will be used as evidence to support policy and systems changes to better help those who sleep rough, and to reduce the number of people sleeping rough in the future.
Further information:
End Street Sleeping Collaboration, Graham West – CEO
The National Redress Scheme is for adults who were sexually abused as a child.
Call our team on 1800 843 929
Email info@wayfinderhub.com.au
You might get redress for what happened. You might get: • Money • Counselling • An apology
People with Disability Australia (PWDA) is a disability rights, representative and advocacy organisation. PWDA’s Redress team are available to assist people with disability to access the Federal Government’s National Redress Scheme. We receive funding through the Federal Government to provide confidential and free support for people with disability (including psychosocial disability/mental health issues) to access the Scheme, should they wish to.
The Scheme was set up in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and for eligible people offers: financial redress, counselling and psychological services, and the potential for an apology from the relevant institution. Across Australia we are seeking to form working relationships with organisations as well as working with people with disability. Our aim is to establish referral pathways, and offer services information and support in working with people who may wish to apply to the Redress Scheme.
We acknowledge the scheme is not highly advertised. One reason for this is due to the concern about possible trauma that advertising may cause a survivor. We have also found that this means that many people do not know their eligibility and are missing out. We prefer to work collaboratively with services and can provide guidance and advice in understanding how best to support people with disability access the scheme. We work this way so that people can continue to work with the services they know and trust and workers they are connected to, rather than discussing sensitive issues with a new service they do not know. We offer individualised presentations to services about the scheme, and are happy to discuss any issues, concerns and questions they may have. We also provide warm referrals to other redress services in regional communities, so we are also very keen to work with these services as well.
Please contact us if you would like any further information, would like us to present to your staff, or if you would like to talk with us about how we may be able to work together. Please find attached some brochures and information on our service. Also, you can find additional information about People with Disability Australia on our website http://www.pwd.org.au
You are invited you to be part of a new project and to join our Community Voice network (CV-net).
The aim is to reduce community harms, particularly those that are prominent in our most vulnerable communities, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, people with disabilities, youth and Aboriginal communities.
Through the CV-net we want to work with you to identify existing and emerging harms and develop workable solutions. Together we will broaden the reach of BRD harm minimisation programs and campaigns to educate and protect communities. The network will improve pathways for community feedback, and participation in the regulatory process.
Network membership for community groups and intermediaries is offered at two levels:
Informed Members are kept informed with news and information from across the three regulators that may be relevant for their communities or sector.
Members are encouraged to take part in polls, surveys, submissions etc, and to inform BRD of any risks or harms emerging in their sector.
Involved Members take a more active role, including contributing to the development of content and the delivery of harm minimisation initiatives
To take part in this initiative please refer to the Terms of Reference and Fact Sheet attached.
Please feel free to share the information within your network and other organisations you think would find the Community Voice Network beneficial especially organisations working with our culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds communities, people with disabilities, youth and Aboriginal communities.
I look forward to discussing with you further to explore how we can work together in partnership with CV-net.
In the lead-up to the national Women’s Safety Summit, we’re inviting you to explore with us where we want Australia to be in 10 years.
Imagining we are already in 2031 and asking ourselves; How did we successfully respond to the trauma suffered by the survivors of family, domestic, and sexual violence? Join us for this unusual online futuring event as we aim to create a safer, healthier 2031 for women and children.
Co-designed and presented by Illawarra Women’s Health Centre, Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, University of Sydney, and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) Australia with keynote presentations from Ash Johnstone, Dr Karen Williams, Lula Dembele, and Sally Stevenson AM.
Open to everyone and hosted by Sydney University’s Dr Clare Cooper, we will imagining….:
How we respond to the impacton the health of survivors of family, domestic, and sexual violencein 2031?
What does thelivedexperience of recovery look like in 2031?
What doesthe family, domestic, and sexual violencepolicy, planningand funding environmentlook like in 2031?
Presented by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation’s Education team, we are excited to announce our ACWA endorsed professional development online workshop providing participants with a critical introduction to the topic of harmful sexual behaviours (HSB).
You will have the opportunity to participate in activities and discussions to assist in building your capacity in preventing, identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours in children with confidence.
What will you learn?
Defining and contextualising harmful sexual behaviour.
Understanding differences between developmentally appropriate sexual behaviours and those that cause concern.
Responding to sexualised behaviours.
Basic strategies for addressing harmful sexual behaviours in a holistic, strengths-based manner.
What to do next – how to manage harmful sexual behaviours.
Audience: This workshop applies to work undertaken by any professional who directly interacts with children or child safety related roles within government and non-government organisations.
For Australian school educators, this course aligns with the following APST; 4.4, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.4 and the NQS 2.2.3.
Dates:
Thursday 22 April 2021 (school holidays)
Wednesday 05 May 2021
Wednesday 09 June 2021
Wednesday 07 July 2021
*This workshop will also be rolled out in person to each State and Territory in the second half of the year
Time: 10.00 to 14.30 AEST
TO REGISTER PLEASE CLICK HERE AND FILL OUT THE FORM
Please note: these workshops will be conducted online with limited spaces available. You will receive an email response to confirm if you have been accepted into this workshop.
By registering your interest for this workshop, you agree to receive communication from the organiser regarding this event and their other services.
Need some NIGHT TIME log book hours? An opportunity for you and your supervisor to experience a range of driving conditions to increase awareness of safe driving behaviours.
A FREE Night Time Learner Log Book Run will be held on Tuesday, 20 April 2021 between 6.00pm and 8.30pm
The Log Book Run will start at the Lake Illawarra PCYC and finish at McDonalds Family Restaurant, Warilla concluding with a PRIZE GIVEAWAY.
Learners must have at least 40 log book hours to be eligible to participate. Bookings are essential please call Jenny Davies on 4221 6124 or click on the link below.
Illawarra Interagency 