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Moving Forward with Queensland’s new government
Congratulations to the Palaszczuk government on being elected for a third term. This has been a trying year for leaders, one that has given us all a multitude of opportunities to show up and stand up. As the country breathes a sigh of relief with the second COVID-19 wave in Victoria successfully smothered and as we look across the globe at what could have been our own stories, we have a heightened awareness of our fortune here in Queensland to be able move around with relative freedom. We are grateful for Premier Palaszczuk’s leadership during this health, social and fiscal crisis. We applaud the rapid work early in the pandemic ensuring that a funded and targeted response to homelessness was enacted swiftly to ensure those who were sleeping rough or living in shared crisis accommodation were able to access self-contained accommodation. This is a testament to the combined hearts and hands of the government and non-government sector uniting with a fixed goal.
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We congratulate all the Members of Parliament across this state who have retained or gained seats and welcome the new Cabinet. We look forward to collaboratively supporting the needs of homeless and at-risk young Queenslanders in a way that taps into both local knowledge and state wide wisdom to ensure our advocacy processes are truly representative of the diversity of experiences across our vast state. Read more here.
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Young People Finding Home Forum & QYHC AGM
Last week QYHC held our Young People Finding Home Forum and AGM. It included the official launch of the First Time Renter video and resources. We were privileged to have Dr Phil Crane as our guest speaker. Dr Crane spoke to notions of home and what home means to young people. This segued into our Hindsight is 2020 video presentation, an emotional and authentic glimpse into the perspectives of some young people from Queensland’s Specialist Youth Homelessness Services. We are humbled and grateful for these insights.
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‘It’s opened up the waterworks of what’s going wrong and what we need to change, a pandemic shouldn’t be the reason why we’ve come to these conclusions around identifying the issues, but we need more services, we need more funding, to make sure the services that do work are being funded to the best of their abilities to support our young people.’ (Jordy, Hindsight is 2020) Read more here
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First Time Renter resources and video link can be found here.
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Hindsight is 2020 video link can be found here
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TRACTION
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TRACTION is an innovative, hands-on, early intervention program aimed at capturing young people whose learning styles might exclude them from finding their voice and confidence in the traditional classroom setting and whose life circumstances have left them at risk of disengaging from school, peers, and community. To paraphrase a colloquialism, TRACTION seeks to build a fence at the top of the cliff rather than parking the ambulance at the bottom.
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Communify
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Communify (Brisbane) are seeking Christmas donations of non-perishable food items, yummy Christmas goodies, toiletries, (new) gifts and toys. For more information, contact the Neighbourhood Centre team on 3198 4410 or hub@communify.org.au
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Youth Advocacy Centre have put together an update of the COVID rules. Go here to read them. Rules are current as at 18 November 2020. Keep checking for changes.
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Dine Smart 2020
Street Smart have introduced Dine Smart in the lead up to Christmas. This is a month long campaign that gives diners the opportunity to add a donation to their meal - dine in or takeaway.
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Money raised will provide meals for vulnerable people who may otherwise not have eaten. This campaign runs from the 1st December to 31st December. For more information click here
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National Homelessness Conference 2020
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The 2020 National Homelessness Conference is going ahead, online, on 1st and 2nd December.
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The conference program will examine the impacts on our sector from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic as well as the catastrophic climate disasters of last summer.
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The program will also cover the major challenges and opportunities in homelessness policy and practice that were in play before and will continue to be important after the pandemic.You can find the program here and register here
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2020 Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Child Protection Awards
The 2020 Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Child Protection Awards will be streamed online on Friday 11 December 2020. The Awards are to recognise and acknowledge exemplary leadership, advocacy and practice excellence within the Community Controlled Child Protection Sector. The 5 award categories are Cultural Leadership, Practice Excellence, Innovation within the Sector, Youth Advocacy and Family. Congratulations to all the nominees for your awesome work and a special shout out to the nominees for the 2020 Youth Advocacy Award:
- Connie Pearson Darumbal Community Youth Service Inc
- Michelle Jarrett Central Queensland Indigenous Development Ltd
- Nyoka Fetoa’i, on behalf of the team at Darumbal Community Youth Service Inc
- Saraiyah Pilot Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane
- 2019 Winner Tom Gower REFOCUS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation
- Travis Coyne Kurbingui Youth and Family Development
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For more information and to register click here
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Training Opportunities
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Want to find out more about how government works? A training opportunity for members of the community services sector who haven't worked in government. The course aims to putt people in the shoes of government decision-makers to understand what they’re looking for in advocacy and advice. Find out more here.
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Aboriginal Pedagogy
A great resource about working relationally with Aboriginal communities. 8ways is something that grew out of a particular ethic, a way of working that goes beyond cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity and even cultural responsiveness.
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It is all about relational responsiveness, a protocol of attending to relational obligations to the field you're working in, relating and responding holistically to people, land, culture, language, spirit and the relationships between these with integrity and intellectual rigour. 8ways is a point of entry into this way of knowing. It is a way to develop relationally responsive practice in the way you work with your Aboriginal community.
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Learn more about 8ways here
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Learning Opportunity for Young People
Clemente Australia is an academically approved university course for Australians who would otherwise be excluded from tertiary education opportunities. Classes are small and held in community locations or on campus. It is delivered in partnership with ACU and is a free university course. There are no associated costs for textbooks or learning materials. Students become ACU students and can access all services. Clemente students need to be:
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- over 17 years old
- eager to learn
- able to read and discuss a newspaper article
- able to write cohesive sentences (does not have to be at an academic level)
- able to commit to a 12- to 14-week program.
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Students undertaking the Clemente program are effectively studying a Certificate in Liberal Arts.
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The program gently reintroduces students to the discipline of study, and to techniques for reading, writing and thinking. Students study first-year humanities subjects such as history, sociology, literature, philosophy and art.
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For more information or expressions of interest, please call Janine Quine on (07) 3623 7768 or email Janine.Quine@acu. edu.au For more information on Clemente Australia, visit the Clemente website here.
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PUBLICATIONS, REPORTS AND CAMPAIGNS
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Parity Contribution
The planned February 2021 "A New Direction Home: The Future of Leaving Care" edition of Parity follows on from the two previous editions of Parity devoted to the nexus between out of home care, (OoHC) and leaving out of home care, homelessness and the risk of homelessness.
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The “A New Direction Home: The Future of Leaving Care" edition will examine and discuss the changes that has been made in the management and regulation of OoHC in different state and territory jurisdictions since 2016, in particular, in those jurisdictions that have already embraced extending the age of leaving care till 21, that is, Tasmania and Victoria.
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Deadline for contributions is COB Friday, 12 February, 2021. Find out more here
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Last Thursday 19th November was a National Day of Action to Raise the Rate for Good. But it’s not too late to take action. You can still take part – go to the Raise the Rate page here to see ideas for action.
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Policy coordination and housing outcomes during COVID-19
A significant government response to the pandemic was that around 8,000 homeless people across Australia were provided with accommodation to self-isolate. Indeed, for the first time, rough sleeping was briefly eliminated in some jurisdictions with vulnerable people housed in a combination of hotel and motel accommodation. A new scoping study has been released by AHURI looking at the government response to COVID-19 in the area of housing and homelessness.
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With the ALP Government now re-elected for another 4 years, the Make Renting Fair in Queensland Alliance have a commitment from them to a number of our policy asks . You can read the Government's response to our questions, from Deputy Premier Steven Miles, here
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Since we all know that the "devil is in the detail", we will be working hard over the coming months to ensure the Queensland Government lives up to its commitments and to ensure a good outcome on behalf of all Queenslanders who rent their homes.
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Each year, from 25 November to 10 December, World Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism campaign calls for action against one of the world’s most persistent violations of human rights – violence against women.
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During the 16 Days of Activism, people around the world will unite to raise awareness about gender-based violence, challenge discriminatory attitudes and call for improved laws and services to end violence against women for good.
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In 2020, the campaign has a dedicated focus on informal women workers whose lives and livelihoods have been acutely impacted by COVID-19 and the unprecedented economic crisis that has followed. Visit the International Women's Development Agency here to find out more.
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Human Rights Month is an annual campaign run by the Commission to highlight the importance of protecting and promoting human rights. It runs from 10th November each year, culminating on International Human Rights Day on 10 December.
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Last week was Trans Awareness Week! If you want to find some great information and resources to continue building social inclusion and advocacy for trans folk, minus18 has a great website here.
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Social Inclusion week is from 21st to 29th November. See what's happening in your neighbourhood for social inclusion week.
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For more information click here
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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Volunteer Role: On-site Caretaker for BABI share house
The on-site caretaker is primarily an observational role. The role is to provide an adult presence at the property, particularly after hours, to monitor the wellbeing of the young people and provide feedback to the Housing Case worker.
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Applications close Wednesday 2nd of December 2020. Please email BABI Administration on admin@babi.org.au OR contact Housing Program Manager, Allan Mitchell: Email-housing2@babi.org.au; Phone - 3393 4176 ext 14 to obtain the application kit.
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You can find more information here.
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