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.
Damn Good Advice on Creating a COVID-19-Safe Workplace: A guide for NFP boards and managers
Not-for-profits are currently facing down one of the most challenging times in the past century. If your organisation is going to survive this pandemic, you’ll need some “damn good advice”.
As Australia tackles COVID-19, some parts of the country have been able to “flatten the curve”. For not-for-profits in those areas, that means trying to imagine what a return to the office – or the service centre, the refuge, the op shop, the place of worship, the koala sanctuary – might look like.
The second wave of infections in Victoria and hot spots elsewhere are a stark reminder that until a vaccine is available, returning to the workplace does not mean returning to normal.
This comprehensive guide sets out the steps your organisation needs to take when you’re thinking of bringing your people – your staff, managers and volunteers – back to their usual workplace. Included are template checklists you can tailor that cover:
COVID 19 Multilingual Social Media tiles – ‘Avoid family gatherings’ (additional 36 languages) and new ‘Keep yourself and your loved ones safe’ tile (49 languages).
NSW Health and MHCS together with the kind support of the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) have organised the following new social media tiles available in multiple languages.
Additional translations of the ‘Avoid family gatherings’ in 36 languages. (Initially it was translated into 13 languages)
Keep yourself and loved ones safe (22 languages and English)
Updated Appointment Reminder Translation Tool
The NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service, in partnership with NSW Refugee Health Service, has launched an updated online Appointment Reminder Translation Tool. This tool allows you to translate appointment details into your client’s language. Immediate translations are available in 43 languages.
Type in the details of the appointment within the form. The translated appointment is automatically created in a pdf document which you can either print and give to your client or directly email to them. If you have any feedback or enquiries, you can contact us by visiting our contact form
Launch of WeChat – Health resources in Chinese
The NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service has launched a new WeChat platform for Chinese-Australian community members to access the latest NSW Health information in-language, available as online posts. Follow the MHCS WeChat via the QR code to access health news in Chinese.
TRANSLATED RESOURCES – COVID-19
Note: Additional languages for translated COVID-19 resources are currently being developed by NSW Health and Local Health Districts.
Community members who complete the survey will have the option to go into the draw to win 1 of 5 $50 gift cards, drawn after the survey closing date.
*This broadly means outside of metro Sydney, but still includes areas such as Penrith. Unsure if this includes your area? Check out ACON’s Regional Map
ACON are NSW’s leading health organisation for people of diverse sexualities and genders, specialising in community health, inclusion, and HIV responses.
To help spread the word we would love for you to forward this on through your networks and via social media using the social media tile (attached).
We are delighted to announce that we will be holding our annual Refugee Communities in Cultural Transition Forum on Tuesday 15 September 2020. The theme is “Sharing our Stories, Showcasing our Successes”. The forum will enable you to participate, connect and engage with stories from refugee communities.
This year the forum will be held online from 10.00 am to 12 noon.
CiCT is a flagship program of STARTTS. CiCT assists non-funded associations and groups from newly arrived, small and emerging refugee communities to help develop their leadership and governance skills. The program aims to end the dependence of small refugee groups on large community service organizations to empower them to stand on their own.
It gives us great pleasure to inform you that our keynote speaker is Chris Sidoti. Mr Sidoti was a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Fact-Finding Mission on Rohingyas in Myanmar from 2017 to 2019. It was this mission which found sufficient evidence to call for the investigation of senior military officials for crimes against humanity and genocide against Rohingya Muslims.
There will be a number of community speakers who will be making presentations about their experiences prior to coming to Australia and their settlement here.
Attached is the flyer about our forum. Do forward the flyer to your community and friends.
Do you have experiences to share with the next generation of Community Services workers across southern NSW
As we continue with Connected Classroom delivery across Terms 3 and 4, we’re looking for experienced staff in the community sector to share their experiences with our students.
Guest speakers will join the class via Microsoft Teams.
Please express your interest by using the short form below.
Recruitment – Wollongong City Council Youth Services
We are looking for an experienced Youth Development Worker to join the team at Wollongong Youth Services. As part of a passionate and professional team you will utilise your skills in community development to provide positive outcomes for young people.
This position is permanent part time, working 18 hours per week. This role includes shift work and regular ordinary hours on a Saturday.
The successful applicant will have a passion for youth-focused community development and direct service provision and will be skilled at connecting young people with services, support and opportunities. You will use your well-developed skills to support young people living in the Wollongong Local Government Area to have a voice, to be heard, seen, valued and to belong. Your experience in the development, implementation and evaluation of programs for young people will help you succeed in this role.
Applications close 12 midday Monday 3 August 2020.
Kiama Council Health & Sustainability Grants – Round 6 are now OPEN
Closing date 10 September 2020
Kiama Council is offering up to $1,500 to not-for-profit incorporated groups or incorporated school P&Cs to drive small projects aiming to improve the health and environmental outcomes for the Kiama Community.
We are looking for ideas that will provide and promote opportunities for the community to:
Engage in regular physical activity
Improve the health of the natural environment
Develop knowledge and skills in healthy eating or active living
Develop skills in sustainable food practices (excluding community gardening)
Improve the mental health and wellbeing of residents in the LGA.
Projects can come in various forms and can include workshops, programs, expos etc.
In a positive sign for NFPs seeking funds, figures from Our Community’s donations platform, GiveNow, show donation levels have kept growing in the past financial year. That’s because even though average donations dipped, more people are giving than ever. June donations also held steady amid growing pressure on pandemic-affected budgets.
GiveNow general manager Jarred Slomoi explains: “While the recession seems to have affected the amount people give, we’ve noticed a significant increase in the overall number of donations in the past few months to causes including bushfire victims and COVID-19 support.”
The figures also show growing “stickiness” for support for local groups, while Indigenous causes are now the second highest fundraisers on the platform.
The figures could be partly a result of the growing popularity of Australia’s oldest and lowest-cost fundraising platform, which has raised $131 million for good causes since 2000, including $21 million in the past year.
The longer-term impact of COVID-19 on fundraising continues to be a major concern for Australia’s charity advocates, with surveys predicting a slump of 7-20% in donations this year.
The COVID-19 Generosity Registry matches not-for-profits with donors who want to help. To start your own fundraising effort, add your campaign to the other great causes on GiveNow.
Do you have epilepsy or experience seizures? Are you feeling isolated, need advice about your medications, or just want to chat?
Call or email the EPILEPSY NURSE LINE. It is available 9am to 5pm, seven days per week.
Each call will be answered immediately by a Registered Nurse with special training in epilepsy management. You can trust that the information you receive will be accurate and safe.
If you prefer to email, you will receive a response within 24 hours.
The service is proudly provided by Epilepsy Action Australia, with the financial assistance of the Australian Department of Health.
FREE EPILEPSY NURSE LINE – 1300 EPILEPSY (1300 37 45 37) OR epilepsy@epilepsy.org.au
INVITATION: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE
The Illawarra Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Collaborative (the Collaborative) invites you to get involved with the local co-design of the Towards Zero Suicides initiatives.
In partnership with the Local Health District and the Primary Health Network, the Collaborative, is bringing together a rich and diverse group of stakeholders to collaborate with the common purpose of designing supports that better meet the needs of people in suicidal crisis.
The initial co-design of the Safe Spaces initiative has now taken place and the service will soon be put out for tender. The next initiative to be co-designed is the Suicide Prevention Outreach Teams.
Suicide Prevention Outreach Teams
Suicide Prevention Outreach Teams (SP Outreach Teams) will provide assertive immediate and follow-up care for people in the community experiencing a suicidal crisis. SP Outreach Teams will be funded by NSW Ministry of Health, but delivered locally by non-government organisation/s.
The co-design
Critically, these SP Outreach Teams must be designed through a genuine collaboration between those who provide supports and those who use them. This is essential to making sure the new services meet the needs of our community, complement existing supports, and reach those who are struggling but not already connecting with local supports.
People with a lived experience of suicide have a particularly vital role to play in designing supports that meet the needs of the people who access them.
The co-design process is an open, respectful one where all participants are equal. All participants will have their voice heard and respected.
It will be an opportunity to:
Have your experience valued, and use your experience to help others.
Contribute your ideas about what these services need to look like in order to meet the needs of our community.
How to get involved
The co-design process for SP Outreach Teams will run from August – September 2020. There will be multiple opportunities and ways for people with lived experience and health professionals / service providers to contribute including online surveys and focus groups.
If you, or anyone you know, would like to be involved, you can express your interest via the link below:
Invitation to participate in research project exploring responses to domestic and family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers at UNSW Sydney are conducting a research study about your experiences of delivering services to people affected by domestic and family violence. The study will help us understand the important work that you do, and the impacts the distancing measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have had on your work as well as the capacity and practice of services currently, and into the future.
You will be asked to participate in an online or telephone interview, which will take approximately 20-30 minutes. We will ask you about your professional experiences and you may also be asked to give your perspective on helpful or promising interventions, policies and/or approaches that have emerged since the onset of the pandemic.
We are looking to speak with staff from services that support people impacted by domestic and family violence – including representatives health, community, legal or social services as well as from relevant peak bodies and government agencies.
If you are interested in being part of this project, we would love to hear from you – please contact the project lead from UNSW, Patricia Cullen, by email patricia.cullen@unsw.edu.au or by telephone 0410591180.
Or click HERE to get your free bag of 144 condoms.
Tired? Sluggish? Low immunity? It could be Hepatitis C-Take the quiz and find out!
Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver that is transmitted when blood that carries the virus enters another person’s *bloodstream.
It often has no symptoms, but left untreated it can cause serious damage to the liver.
Click HERE to assess your risk. All information you provide is strictly confidential.
If your results show that you have been at risk of contracting hepatitis C you can print off your results and take them to the doctor to request a blood test for hepatitis C.
Treatment is simple and effective with over 90% cure rates with fewer side effects.
As we’re unable to continue with classes, we’re taking some of our classes online and created a chat group to ensure that we remain connected, active and informed.
We know that these online sessions are never as good as a face to face interaction, but it is the next best thing for the moment while we wait for the days when our lives can return to ‘normal’ again.
You can be based anywhere and you don’t have to be a member to sign up for any of these activities which will be carried out through Zoom. However, if the events are oversubscribed, preference will be given to OWN members.
Just write to us at info@ownnsw.org.au if you need instructions of how to set Zoom up on your smartphone or laptop. It’s easy and free to join. All the activities are also free to join.
In recent times NSW has experienced prolonged drought, an unprecedented bushfire season and floods. These disasters have directly or indirectly impacted hundreds of thousands of children and young people across NSW.
The Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People went to disaster affected areas of NSW and spoke directly to more than 400 children and young people face-to-face about their experiences of disaster. This was followed up with quantitative polling of a further 1,000 children and young people.
The combined results of this research informed the development of the Children and Young People’s Experience of Disaster Report.
A report like this would not have been possible without the support of both the Hon. Gareth Ward MP, Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services and the Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC, Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women. We also appreciate the support given by the many government departments, organisations and service providers. We want to thank the 1,400 children and young people who gave their time, offered insight and shared their personal experiences on this topic.
This report gave children and young people a platform to inform decision makers and service providers about how to best continue to support their needs before, during and after a disaster.
The report also highlights the ways in which children and young people want to be included in the planning and implementation of solutions that relate to disaster preparedness and recovery as well as how to further support them now and into the future.
Underpinning this is the development of a Disaster Resilience Framework for children and young people.
Some of the key findings in the report include:
disasters and the life changes that follow have significant impacts on mental health and wellbeing
the destruction and damage caused to schools affects access to education, engagement, learning and academic achievement
disasters can impact the housing stability of children and young people including damage to homes and farms as well as displacement and relocation
disasters can create youth unemployment and heavy workloads for children and young people affected by drought and other social and economic issues
children and young people can feel invisible, forgotten and unable to influence the world around them, they wish to have a voice and be involved in disaster recovery
connection to land and community were raised as important concerns.
We look forward to working with many of you so that we can heed the voices gathered in this report and implement the recommendations that have been so generously offered by children and young people.
Regards,
Zoë Robinson A/Advocate for Children and Young People Office of the Advocate for Children & Young People Ground Floor, 219-241 Cleveland Street Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012
Meet the 16,000 children left behind by our government.
The Refugee Council of Australia are asking you to support a key campaign calling on the Federal government to ensure that children and their families seeking asylum aren’t left destitute as a result of COVID-19.
There are currently around 16,000 children in families seeking protection in Australia. Many people seeking asylum have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19, as they often work in the service sectors worst affected. People seeking asylum are not eligible for the JobSeeker or JobKeeper payments, like many other workers. They have been left with nothing. It will be hard for them to re-enter the workforce, especially in the current economy.
There are serious concerns that many families seeking asylum have been left in a situation where they have no work, no income, and no way out. Demand on emergency relief at asylum agencies has in most cases trebled, with unprecedented demand for food, medicines and rent relief.
A coalition of educators, carers and students are working to put pressure on the Federal government to ensure adequate support is provided for people in this situation. COVID-19 does not discriminate, and neither should access to a safety net or assistance during this time. We are in this together and there must be support for all who need it, regardless of visa status.
We are launching a petition in support of those educators and want to invite you to sign it in support of them!
The page above has two ways you can sign on – either as an educator or a member of the general public. I encourage you to sign the appropriate action and then share it to your networks.
We know that if we can get a significant number of educators standing in solidarity with those children and families left behind by the Federal government, then we can achieve change. We’ve seen this approach work with the Kids Off Nauru campaign, and we can see it work again.
Only with people like you can we ensure that the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston, hear a deafening call from the public. We need them to hear that leaving children and families behind at this critical time is unacceptable, and we will not stand for it.
People seeking asylum, teachers, students, parents, child-care workers, refugees, community service organisations, unions, principals and the general public. We stand together in calling for #NoChildLeftBehind
In solidarity, Kelly, for the Refugee Council team
The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) have built a Beta website to trial new myGov content and collect feedback.
The Beta website is called Welcome to the future of myGov and was released on 14 June.
An exciting feature of the Beta website, is the ‘select language’ option that offers users a choice to view the website in over 100 languages. Users must access the website via their personal device or using Google Chrome to use this feature.
Presently, the beta website offers myGov users information about government services and payments, based on events in their life. The ‘select language’ option allows customers with limited or no English to access all of this information in their preferred language.
During the beta stage it is important that the website is trialled and feedback is received so changes and enhancements can be made to improve user experience in later stages.
As such, we encourage you to promote this feature to customers and CTPOs to trial out and provide feedback. Feedback can be left on the myGov beta website by selecting Feedback from any page. The user will be prompted to go to a link where they can provide their feedback.
This is a great opportunity to help ensure this exciting new feature is functional and fit for purpose.
To access the ‘select language’ feature, go to beta.my.gov.au using Google Chrome or from a personal device, scroll to the bottom of the page and it will give you the option to select a language in the bottom left hand corner.
