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Children & Families

 Two Parents Learning Together supported playgroups, - one in Fitzroy and one in Moonee Valley -  were established as part of the BSL's Child & Family services with the aim of assisting experienced former HIPPY parents to develop individual programs for subsequent children utilizing skills gained from their experience as a HIPPY parent.

In June the keenly awaited Family and Children’s Hub was officially launched. Located at the Atherton Gardens housing estate, on the corner of Brunswick and King William streets in Fitzroy, the Hub will enable families in the City of Yarra to provide their child with the best possible start to life.  In partnership with the City of Yarra and Broadmeadows UnitingCare, the BSL will operate the first fully integrated child and family service centre in Australia.  When the Hub opens in 2013 it will include: 117-place Early Learning/Childcare Centre, offering long day care and occasional care and a dedicated space for playgroups; Pre-school; Family Services; Family Day Care; Maternal and Child Health; Refugee Child Outreach Support Program; Homework Centre; Out of School Hours Care; School–Parent Education Engagement Program; Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY); Early Childhood Intervention Services; Breakfast Club; and consulting rooms for visiting paediatric specialists. The development will also link with employment and training initiatives including the BSL’s Centre for Work and Learning (Yarra) (Wynne 2010 Atherton Gardens Family and Children's Hub Launched).

Family and Children’s Hub (Artist's impression)

With the aim of improving early childhood education and development outcomes for Australian children, the Brotherhood is part of a not-for-profit consortium (with Mission Australia, the Benevolent Society and Social Ventures Australia) under the name of GoodStart Childcare that formally took control of 570 early learning centres previously operating as ABC Learning Centres.  The remaining centres were to be transferred at a later date. Media Release for formal handover

HIPPY Graduation for children in the Fitzroy program was held at the Atherton Gardens Community Hall on 12 November when HIPPY families were presented with a certificate to acknowledge the commitment and hard work undertaken to complete the two-year program (In The Hood November 2010). 

The position of Barr Research Fellow - Early Years, a BSL-University of Melbourne position, was established through the generosity of the Barr Family Foundation, with Dr Nadine Cameron as the first appointment. 

Community issues

The BSL undertook extensive community research and conducted a series of consultation with all sectors of the community and concluded that it was timely and appropriate for the BSL to have a physical and program presence in the Melton East growth corridor.  The BSL Youth Employment Project, based in Caroline Springs, was established to address intergenerational unemployment, limited career aspiration and participation in the labour market of young people who live in the Melton East corridor (Advertisement for the position of Project Manager Youth Employment Project, Caroline Springs, May 2010). 

A Consumer Credit Fund (CCF) grant was received from Consumer Affairs Victoria for the action research project Financial life in a new setting: the experiences of the Afghan and Burmese communities in Australia, the first collaborative research within the BSL between the EMC (Ecumenical Migration Centre) , Financial Inclusion and the Research & Policy areas of the BSL.  This research program seeks to provide a detailed picture of the social and cultural practices which influence how new migrant and refugee groups from Afghanistan and Burma manage their finances in Australia, and offer policy recommendations for practitioners and policy makers for the design and implementation of tailored financial information and education for these groups. 

The Care, Social Inclusion & Citizenship Symposium was hosted in collaboration with the Social Policy Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, The Centre for Work + Life (University of South Australia) and the Centre for Public Policy (The University of Melbourne), addressing the needs of carers. A keynote speaker was Emeritus Professor Ruth Lister. (25 October)  (For an interview with Professor Lister see http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2010/3041571.htm)

Employment & Training

Within the Centre for Work & Learning the BSL established the position of Work & Learning Advisor/Business Engagement Coordinator. Covering Fitzroy and the Doveton Neighbourhood Learning Centre, this position included procuring business development opportunities with local providers and, in Doveton, engaging local residents to access the centre and providing jobseekers with opportunities to locate sustainable employment to increase their social and economic participation.  (In the 2010 Victorian State Election the Liberal-National Coalition promised to support the pilot development of Work & Learning Centres on five public housing sites in partnership with the BSL. This proposal also included supporting the development of 3 "Youth Foyers" providing accommodation and training facilities in metropolitan and regional Victoria in partnership with Hanover Welfare Services and the BSL.)

The Line of Sight project commenced, developing new models for getting highly disadvantaged job seekers into employment (BSL 2010 Annual Report). 

The BSL's Business Leaders' Lunch entitled Australia’s future: a vision for greater workforce utilisation held on 31 August featured SEEK's joint CEO, Paul Bassat, offering his unique overview of the Australian labour market. (SEEK operates seek.com.au and seek.co.nz, leading employment websites in Australia and New Zealand, and a major player in the vocational training and education market in Australia.)  Tony Nicholson, Executive Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, discussed the Brotherhood's vision for a fully utilised Australian workforce which would benefit both business and those individuals not yet taking part in the mainstream life of our community and Jane Wilson, Grocon’s Corporate and Government Affairs Manager, spoke about Grocon’s experience of diversity in employment.

Through the involvement of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, WestVic Dairy, the Victorian Government (Victoria Works), the Helen McPherson-Smith Trust, WestVic Staffing Solutions and the NCDEA, the In2Dairy program was developed for the dairy industry - a two-week pre-employment program that includes help looking for a job and the option to take up a traineeship.  Dairy farmers who employ In2Dairy trainees receive help with the recruitment process, a S1,000 honorarium for their role as a trainer, optional access to training through The People in Dairy program and free personal protective equipment for their new trainee ("Dare to dairy" in Australian Dairyfarmer, Friday 1/10/2010, p.38). 

Fundraising & Resources

Second Edition, a café bookshop concept store and a new Social Enterprise for the BSL opened in Glenferrie Road, Malvern in July. "The café component, new territory for the Brotherhood, seeks to bring a great cup of coffee to Glenferrie Road and one where the social conscience behind the product goes well beyond the fair trade beans. The profits from each cup of coffee and book sold go back to the BSL.  The recycled bookshop acts as a retail front for another of the Brotherhood’s social enterprises Brotherhood Books. Second Edition represents a positive first step towards greater integration between the various social enterprises.  Second Edition also has an employment and training aspect, offering a minimum of four traineeships in retail and hospitality per year to job seekers looking to gain skills in these areas. Trainees will be sourced by the Brotherhood from the long-term unemployed and the unskilled labour market."  (Due to a combination of factors the traineeship program did not eventuate and the store closed at the end of 2011.) (Media Release)

Material & Financial support

The Brotherhood's Saver Plus program  expanded from 20 to 60 locations nationwide  (May-June). This was made possible by funding from the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, while ANZ still provides funding for the matched savings. Media Release (BSL Annual Report 2010). 

The BSL's Community Resource Bank moved to 6-8 Rosella Street, Frankston (11 January)

Organisational aspects (BSL)

Projects approved for allocation of discretionary funds in mid-2010 included the Employment & Training Strategy, continuation of the Equity & Climate Change project, Youth First Centre Caroline Springs and the Atherton Gardens Child & Family Hub.

Once again EMC was on the move – this time from 67 Brunswick Street down to 121-123 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

A new committee was established to oversee the work of Social Enterprises

A review of the role of the Craigieburn Centre was carried out in light of projected population growth in the northern corridor and other changes

A framework to measure the impact of the Brotherhood’s work was developed, based on research of best practice reporting systems.  The framework aims to assess the BSL’s impact on the three objectives of the organisation:
     1. Poverty prevention and alleviation
     2. National Voice on poverty and disadvantage
     3. Innovation to meet unmet needs
The process involves a self assessment of each transition and horizontal theme based on a number of key indicators and available data for each objective:
     1.    Gather available data
     2.    Conduct a self assessment based on the data and our knowledge and experience (to be conducted through workshops with the Executive Team and Senior Managers)
     3.    Obtain an objective external assessment (from an external "critical friend" with relevant knowledge and expertise).

New project to establish a Centre for Practice Knowledge & Research within the Brotherhood began in November. Funded through the BSL's Pru Myer Fund, this initiative is a joint organisation-wide project overseen by the General Managers of the Research & Policy Centre, Aged & Community Care and Community Services.

A Staff Engagement Survey (SES) 2010 was conducted within the BSL in September by the global consulting firm Towers Watson, with results of the SES to be communicated to all staff in December 2010.

The BSL's Indigenous Strategy was reviewed & redrafted by the Executive team in conjunction with workshops of staff working with or who have experience working with Indigenous communities and senior managers to consider what has been achieved since the last strategy was developed, reflect on the external environment and the possible future focus.  Discussion of a first draft of key directions by the Brotherhood Board in November is to be followed by consultations with Indigenous and non-Indigenous external stakeholders plus follow up work early in 2011 to develop an Action Plan.  A key element of this will be to re-instate cultural awareness training for all staff early in 2011 (In The Hood November 2010). 

The years of service of 15 staff members were celebrated at the General Staff Meeting in December.  Gifts of appreciation and a recognition award were distributed to staff members who have completed 15 or more years of service with the Brotherhood: Marsha Collins (Retail, 32 years); Melanie Nazareno (Accounts, 19 years); Paul Brophy (Aged Care, 19 years); Gail Harris (Brotherhood Community Care, 17 years); Darren Ryan (Retail, 17 years); Jason Edlington (Aged Care, 17 years); Eileen Buckley (Community & Family Services, 16 years); John Worthington (Property, 16 years); Geraldine Bonello (Retail, 16 years); Lisa Pownall (Information Centre,15 years); Robin Fuller (Aged Care, 15 years); Elaine Shelbourne (Brotherhood Community Care, 15 years) (In The Hood January 2011). . 

A service of Thanksgiving and Commitment was held at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, on 8 December, the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the Brotherhood of St Laurence.  During the service, the BSL was re-dedicated to its mission by the current Executive Director, Tony Nicholson:

Media Release 03/12/2010 , Programme

People

Father Peter Thomson AM, a Chaplain of the Brotherhood from 2001 - 2008, died on 16 January 2010 Peter_Thomson_in_TheGuardian_2010-1-25.pdf

Presentations & Publications

The thirtieth Sambell Oration Towards an Inclusive Society was delivered on 26 October by Professor Ruth Lister, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough University, Leicestershire UK. 

Publications:

• Life Chances Study – Stage 9: Turning 18 Pathways and Plans Janet Taylor & Nina Gee (February).  The Life Chances Study has followed some 140 young people from diverse backgrounds since they were infants.  In 2008 they turned 18: many finished school, while others were already launched into the world beyond.  This Stage 9 report examines their Year 12 completion and their ENTER scores, and also provides important glimpses into the lives of young Australians at a key point of transition, from school to university, TAFE, apprenticeships, work and, for some, unemployment.  The report considers some implications for the social inclusion policy agenda. .For ABC interview transcript see http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2829300.htm  
• Making work pay and making income support work Eve Bodsworth
• Financial inclusion in Australia: Towards transformative policy Zuleika Arashiro
• Women on the move: evaluating a refugee mentoring pilot project Sharon Bond
• Work and learning in Fitzroy, Richmond and Collingwood: survey of public housing residents, Lauren Siegmann 
• Integrated Service delivery for young people:  a literature review Sharon Bond 
• Community activity and service delivery models: and overview of Brotherhood Centres Sharon Bond 
• Recycling rising high: an evaluation of the High Rise Public Housing Recycling project George Myconos
• Training for work: insights from students and trainees at the Brotherhood of St Laurence Dina Bowman and Nicole Souery
• Evidence and experience: report on the Individual Placement and Support project for disadvantaged job seekers with mental health issues Dina Bowman and Jyden Lawlor
• From participation to leadership: evaluation of the Community Service Leadership Program Martina Boese
• A taste for learning: evaluating a pre-Community VCAL program  George Myconos
• Public dental care and the first Teeth trial: a history of decay Sharon Bond 

Young people

The Community Service Leadership Program (CSLP) is a partnership program between the BSL, the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Collingwood Alternative School and other educational settings. It aims to encourage community services participation and leadership skills and increase the wellbeing of disadvantaged young people by empowering them as active creators of positive change in their community. Part of the VCAL curriculum, the program builds on young people's confidence and skills, and benefits the community at the same time.  In 2010, students worked closely with the City of Yarra Leisure Centres to organise, promote and support the Stepping Out in Yarra Over 50s Fun Run.  The Brotherhood's Coolibah Centre also benefited from the program, when students applied their woodwork skills to build furniture for the Centre, following close consultation with staff and members ((In The Hood January 2011).

A team of BSL research and services staff conducted the first of three professional development workshops for teachers in the Frankston Mornington Peninsula area, an important collaboration between the BSL, the DEECD and its Southern Metropolitan Office and focusing on Disengagement from secondary education in the Frankston Mornington Peninsula Region.  With the aim of helping to develop strategies, collaborations and also explore the role of alternative education providers, they drew heavily on the experience gained by the BSL in running its education re-engagement program at the Frankston High Street Centre, notably the Community VCAL course.  Presenters included Ian Claridge, General Manager, DEECD Student Wellbeing, Bob Stephens, Assistant Regional Director, DEECD Southern Metropolitan Region, Dr. Damian Blake, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Deakin University, and Dr. George Myconos, Senior Research Officer, BSL.  Two follow-up workshops are planned for 2011, one on the student experience in an alternative education program and the final one on transitioning out of the program to employment, and the interface between education and employment.