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FINAL DATE for PLATFORM 1225 to be announced
In the saga that is Event Management during a global pandemic, QYHC has decided to postpone Platform 1225 until early next year. The venue we booked for November 23rd has cancelled our registration due to it being required by government for COVID quarantine. As such we took stock and questioned the wisdom of finding another venue for the 23rd given our borders are closed to southern states where the majority of our presenters reside and what’s likely to happen in the next few weeks will be an estimated guess at best!
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We are therefore aiming to hold the event on or around Youth Homelessness Matters Day 2022. We will confirm the date in our next newsletter once presenter availability has been confirmed.
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My sincere apologies for the inconvenience. April 2022 is going ahead. It’ll be a fantastic professional development and networking opportunity. We’re looking forward to hosting you all then and working hard to make sure it’s worth the wait. In the meantime we will have a couple of mini forums and professional development opportunities, one with YANQ in November and the QShelter CEO and Senior Leaders’ Forum on November 25th jointly hosted by the Queensland Housing and Homelessness Peaks Partnership (see below).
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On the 10th December an online Forum will be held prior to our AGM. Please save the date. More information soon.
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Q Shelter CEO and Senior Leaders’ Forum
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Thursday, 25 November 2021
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309 Herston Road, Herston
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We will focus the CEO and Leaders’ Forum on the implementation of the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan, and use it as an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the success of the sector during 2021.
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We are also providing an opportunity for networking prior to the forum with a Sector Networking Lunch.
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Sector Networking Lunch 12:00pm – 1.45pm
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CEO and Senior Leaders’ Forum 2:00pm – 4:45pm register here
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AGM and End of Year Celebration 5:00pm – 7:30pm
register here
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For more information, click here
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Join QYHC as a Project Officer
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Are you an all rounder interested in improving opportunities for and responses to Queensland’s young people who experience homelessness or are at risk? If so, our Project Officer role may be for you. Read more about the position by clicking here
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September started with a celebration of children and young people during Queensland Child Protection Week 2021. The week began with recognition of several child protection stalwarts at the Awards and Launch Ceremony. Over 100 events were held around Queensland culminating in the networking dinner on 10th September.
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Poet Anisa dedicated the following poem to the child protection sector:
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Click image to watch the video. Click here for the QCPW facebook page
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New User Friendly QDN Website
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On Tuesday, 21st September, Minister for Seniors and Disability Services Craig Crawford launched a newly overhauled website for the Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) at Parliament House.
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The website has been purpose-built and designed by people with disabilities and their advocates for Queenslanders with disabilities and their carers to connect to local champions as part of a virtual community to help them access the $26.5 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme.
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“Having this co-designed and co-delivered by people with disability helps to make it more user-friendly.”
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QDN chairperson and Rockhampton local champion in Des Ryan stated:
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“Making sure that Queenslanders with disability are empowered and active citizens is important to all our work. An important part of this is having access to information. I am proud of QDN’s work that is on our website.’’
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The website covers various topics focused on assisting people to obtain information, support, resources, and tools they need around NDIS, health, housing, transport and much more!
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You can check it out here
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Shelley Birrell from Queenslanders with Disability Network presented vital information on their NDIS Targeted Outreach Project at the CHPQ Network meeting this month.
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Find more details about the project here
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AOD Resources for youth workers!
This short package created by Dovetail is designed to give workers, services and communities who engage with young people an overview of the Youth Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) field. You will learn about how you fit into the Youth AOD Sector, some key terms associated with youth AOD work, the other major players in the sector, and some basic information about working with young people affected by alcohol and other drug use. This module takes around an hour to complete. Begin here
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For more awesome AOD resources, click here
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Children and young people’s voices enshrined in legislation
Legislation now exists to ensure children and young people have input into decisions that impact them. On the 21st of September, the state government introduced new legislation to further strengthen the child protection and family support system.
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Minister for Children Leanne Linard stated that the Child Protection Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021, will strengthen the Act to ensure children will be genuinely empowered and supported to participate in decisions about their lives and the child protection system.
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“It will make Queensland the first jurisdiction in Australia to acknowledge in legislation the need for children to have a voice where they must be listened to, engaged with and where active attempts must be made to understand their views.”
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The Bill will amend the Child Protection Act 1999 to:
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- reinforce children’s rights in the legislative framework
- strengthen children’s voices in decisions that affect them, and
- streamline, clarify and improve the regulation of care.
The Bill will also amend the definition of kin, to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to be placed with people who are regarded as kin “by way of legitimate cultural connection to the child.”
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Brisbane City Council Grants
There is a Community Support category that may support some new projects for organisations that work with young people.
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The Community Support Category aims to deliver outcomes in alignment with Brisbane Vision 2031, which plans for the future of the city. Projects must deliver one or more of the following objectives:
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- support community facility maintenance and improvement
- improve community organisation governance and long-term sustainability
- provide operational equipment for community organisations
- enable projects and activities that respond to community needs.
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You can find more information below:
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You can also call 3403 8888 and ask to speak to a grants officer.
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The 11th Brisbane Mental Health Expo will be held on October 15th, at the Performance Lawn, Brisbane Powerhouse from 10.30am-2.30pm. There will be performances, activities, stalls, food and more.
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The Greater Brisbane Mental Health Expo is run by a committee of local not-for-profit and government health services. The idea behind the expo is around bringing together government, non-government and private sector services in the one place to share mental health and wellbeing literacy and resources with the community, as well as provide information, connect people to support options, reducing stigma and promote positive mental health awareness.
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More information can be found here
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Earlier this month Minister Linard announced the next round of funding for the Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Grants Program.
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The purpose of these grants is to continue to hear the truth of what happened to children in institutions, the impacts of this abuse and how we can contribute towards healing and reconciliation in Queensland. It is important that what was revealed by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is not forgotten and we continue to learn from the past.
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The program will provide funding of up to $10,000 or $15,000 for joint applications, for community groups and organisations to undertake projects related to truth, healing and reconciling histories of people with lived experience of institutional child abuse across all Queensland communities. The total amount of funding available is $50,000.
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Applications for the grants program will close on Thursday 25 November 2021.
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Activities may include projects, events and initiatives that:
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- Acknowledge and raise awareness of institutional child abuse and its impact.
- Promote cultural and community change in responding to people with lived experience of institutional child abuse and/or protecting children today.
- Initiatives that educate and share the stories of people with lived experience in a safe and supportive way (e.g. truth telling, oral histories and creative art performances) such as exhibitions of art or writing, videos or podcasts.
- Memorials, monuments or commemorative events that are of significance to people with lived experience.
- Reunions and other events that are of importance to people with lived experience.
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For more information please click here, or contact Kelly Lotz on 3097 5793 or email
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Adjust our settings
An approach to cyberbullying
In line with the recommendations of Adjust our settings – A community approach to address cyberbullying among children and young people in Queensland, Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy developed internet-based resources in consultation with QYHC. Read here
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In October 2020, the Human Services Quality Framework (HSQF) was amended to include a requirement to have anti-cyberbullying policies and procedures in place. Read here (refer to page 100).
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Calling For Case Examples
Changes to the Queensland Criminal Code: New legislation requires every adult in Queensland to report information relating to child sexual offences committed by an adult in relation to a child under 16 years of age to the Queensland Police Service. Failure to do so is punishable by 3 years in prison. The Queensland Criminal Code (Child Sexual Offences Reform) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 received assent in Parliament on the 14 September 2020 and commenced in Queensland on the 5 July 2021.
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Following information and practice forums across the Youth, Women’s and Sexual Assault sectors a Working Group has been formed to further assist organisations in implementing this legislation.
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If anyone has feedback or case examples to share, please contact the working group via Lorraine on 0448 073 463 or lorraine.dupree@qyhc.org.au
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To read more about the Laws targeting sexual offences against children, click here
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Gambling Community
Benefit Fund (GCBF)
There have been some changes to the GCBF. For the first time, annual grants of up too $100,000 will be available in a GCBF super round.
Super Round
The super round will be available to eligible organisations in the first round of 2022, which will close on 28 February.
Organisations planning to apply for the super round, should read the funding guidelines before applying for funding in rounds prior to the super round as there are some restrictions.
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GCBF encourages all organisations to apply for funding, including those from some of our under-represented applicant areas including domestic and family violence services, multicultural groups and those located in regional and remote Queensland.
Other changes to the GCBF program include:
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- Four funding rounds each year, instead of five.
- The first round of every year will be a super round, and the remaining three rounds will have funding of up to $35,000 available.
The closing dates for 2022 are:
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- 28 February
- 31 May
- 31 August
- 31 October
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Find out more about the grants and how to apply here
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MRFQ Day of Action
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Step Up for a JAB!
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A new report released today, undertaken by researchers from RMIT University, Curtin University and Monash University examines the housing, homelessness, mental health, alcohol and drug and juvenile justice service usage pathways for out-of-home care (OHC) leavers in Victoria and Western Australia.
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Using Victorian Government data from the 1,848 young people who’d left care in 2013 and 2014, the study revealed that in the four years after they’d left care, 54 per cent experience homelessness; 11 per cent were admitted to hospital for a mental health issue (and 22 per cent went to an emergency clinic due to a mental health issue); 8 per cent were admitted to hospital for self-harm; and 31 per cent had received either a custodial or community youth justice sentence.
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The research found a distinct lack of transitional planning for young people leaving OHC and that this exacerbates the fact that care leavers have few options, limited material, social and family supports, and few or no safety nets to fall back on should they experience hardship or difficulty. Read the report here.
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Webinar recording: Discrimination
in private rental housing
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The recording from yesterday’s webinar: Discrimination in private rental housing is now available to view on AHURi's youtube channel here
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The webinar included a research presentation from lead author Dr Sophia Maalsen, University of Sydney, followed by an industry response from John Engeler, CEO of Shelter NSW, and an audience Q&A facilitated by Dr Gina Zappia, Research Manager at AHURI.
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Undertaken by researchers from The University of Sydney, this report examines discrimination across age, gender, race and indigeneity in existing policy, law and practice in Australia’s private rental sector, including the impact of informal tenancies and the increasing role of digital technologies.
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The research finds there is a growing number of informal and shared tenancies, increasing the potential for discrimination. Informal tenants have few renter’s rights and those in share-housing can also face discrimination by other tenants, including via little-regulated digital technologies.
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The report also examines the role of digital housing technologies in mediating discrimination across the rental system. At present, they reflect the power imbalance between landlords and tenants, however international examples show they can be used to support tenants. Read the report here.
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Every night more than 100,000 people in our country are sleeping rough.
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Each year, Brisbane City Council and Volunteering Queensland join forces with over 300 volunteers to run Homeless Connect. This important one-day event proudly hosts vulnerable members of the Brisbane community as guests, providing connection with vital services and supplies.
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The next Homeless Connect event will be held at Brisbane Showgrounds, Bowen Hills (on the corner of Alexandria Street and Gregory Terrace) on Thursday 18 November 2021.
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View volunteer roles and express your interest here
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Public Housing Tenants
encouraged to get creative!
Awards recognising public housing tenants who garden, create and/or connect to community are available.
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Queensland Public housing tenants with a passion for gardening, arts, culture, volunteering or their community are being encouraged to enter the 2021 My Home Awards.
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Minister for Communities and Housing Leeanne Enoch noted that the My Home Awards celebrate positive contributions from public housing tenants and the connections to their homes, communities and culture.
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Entries close on Friday 29 October 2021.
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To make a submission, click here
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More information available here
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Community Legal Education (CLE) Skills Refresher Workshop - Cairns
The workshop is designed for CLW practitioners who are in the legal assistance sector, and will showcase CLE projects and resources, help practitioners build CLE skills and multidisciplinary practice, connect CLE research and theory, have practitioners participate in peer learning and reflective practice and be inspired to make an impact.
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Some experts from academia, community and legal sectors will be presenting at this workshop, including:
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- Ben Grimes - Lawyer, Linguist & CEO ADRS Aboriginal Corporation.
- Thelma Schwartz - Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS)
- Florence Onus - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Legal Service North Queensland
- Margaret Hornagold - Legal Aid Queensland
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The CLE North Queensland Working Group’s Community Legal Education Skills Refresher Workshop is taking place in Cairns at Shangri-La, The Marina, Cairns Pier Point Road.
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Date: Thursday, 7th October 2021
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More information can be found here
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National Housing Conference 2022 First Program release
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The first iteration of the NHC Melbourne 2022 program has been released and includes an overview of the five conference plenary sessions as well as the first 12 concurrent sessions. There will be more features announced shortly.
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The theme for next year’s NHC is Resilience, Connection, Transformation and the program will explore the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted society, the policy responses to the pandemic as well as some external challenges including climate change and related extreme weather events.
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Other topics that will be examined include:
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- Priority policy conversations related to affordability and availability of social and affordable housing.
- Private rental market housing.
- The relationship between housing and physical and mental health.
- Improving system linkages to better support vulnerable households, and much more.
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For more information, click here
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QuIHN Bowen Hills will be running a Treehouse parenting program starting October.
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Treehouse is a 10 week therapeutic parenting group program. It engages parents who experience substance use and mental health concerns.
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Registration and assessment is required before group starts. Call 07 3620 8111 to register or find out more.
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Find services in oneplace
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oneplace is an online directory for Queensland parents, families and professionals that lists community service throughout Queensland. There are more than 58,000 services that provide help with a range of issues including parenting, domestic and family violence, legal issues, mental health and counselling, housing, financial and food assistance. It is free and easy to use. View it here
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Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service
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Human Rights in Housing and Homelessness
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The Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) came into effect on 1 January 2020 and requires the consideration of an individual’s human rights in the delivery of government services. This includes public services delivered by non-government providers.
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QCOSS is delivering a range of engagement activities to support the housing and homelessness sector to act compatibly with the Act and increase human rights literacy. Support includes 1:1 assistance in implementing the act in your workplace with clients.
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QCOSS also recently announced their Human Rights Champions. You can read more here
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RESOURCES:
Introducing the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)
to new staff and others
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The following resources are introductory, designed to introduce the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld). These are helpful resources for staff and board member induction processes.
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My name is Sammy Leone. I am a Garawa and Butchulla man and am the Owner of First Nations People Consultancy. I am currently approaching local schools and other educators within Brisbane to offer Cultural Mentoring and Speaking Packages.
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In education, there is a lack of positive Cultural Mentors within the space and people that can share their lived experiences, stories and Cultural Knowledge or insight. I am offering keynote speaking, mentoring workshops, and healthy lifestyle programs.
If you are interested to learn more, please feel free to reach out via email or call on 0458 281 464. You can also visit my website for more information.
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Sarah Suggests
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Dr Gail Saltz is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst as well as a television commentator and columnist, who has written self-help books, one of which is ‘The Power of Different: The Link Between Disorder and Genius’. Read more here
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