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Platform 1225 Forum 2022

Monday 24th October | Rydges Southbank

Corey White to headline Platform 1225!

With the exciting news that our home-grown talent – Comedian and Author Corey White – will headline then MC our 2022 Platform 1225 Forum, the tone of our event has been set! We are delighted to make this announcement!

There are few voices in comedy and life as unique and potent as Corey White’s. He deals with real life issues and shares his journey through trauma to reach the other side and become a much sought-after Comedian, Public Speaker and now Author of his first Novel: The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory.

Corey is real and raw and has utilised his profound resilience and humour to tell his story and build a new life and career. He understands life from his perspective as a child and young person who experienced both the care system and homelessness. He’s also lived through many of the associated issues the young people and families we work with know all too well.

There are so many reasons that I loved this book but one of them is that, while Corey’s story is extraordinary, his honesty will make it touch anyone with a heart (and that might be the corniest thing that I’ve ever written). Just read it.

Judith Lucy

Equal parts hilarious and horrifying, Corey’s story is one of the most powerful I have ever read.

Wil Anderson

Corey is an inspiration to all young people and those of all ages. He reminds us that hanging in there and being yourself whilst being true to your story really matters! In a very short time he has won the respect and acclaim of many in Australia, including our comedy greats. His comedy and political satire is loved, as is his recently released book; The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory.

2022 Program Details!

Platform 1225 Presentations

We have a number of presenters who are concerned with truth, fairness and accountability. To be beholden to these ideals is admirable. What happens when those upholding them become as traumatised as those they are advocating on behalf of? Advocacy isn’t a simple process. The following presenters tackle these matters:

Dr Alistair Ping

Human Behaviour and the Slippery Slope of Accepting Justification

How do we understand anti-social behaviours in a way that doesn’t vilify the person exhibiting these behaviours but rather, offers all a platform for understanding and alleviating the significant harm that could be caused? How do we mitigate against the offenders that are first time offenders and cause harm, without being risk averse or punitive? What are the key considerations in running organisations and systems that support decency and cooperation? How can we thwart offensive or offending behaviours?

Dr Alistair Ping is Adjunct Professor at the Queensland University of Technology’s Graduate School of Business. As he works through these questions that impact many in our society, he notes that research shows that our ability to think rationally is significantly diminished as soon as challenging personal, situational and contextual influences are added.

“No amount of training in character or values will prevent an unethical outcome if a person is willing to justify their behaviour using a flawed justification which neutralises their values. The challenge is to help people improve their ability to recognise these flawed justifications so that they can prevent unintentionally creating a bad outcome.”

Dr Ping will talk to the complexities of human behaviour and the need to stay true to ethics, advocacy, truth and decency and what it takes to do so. Strategies for ensuring organisations and systems that are focused on holistic wellbeing and positive outcomes remain true to their vision whilst recognising risk, without being risk averse, will be discussed.

View/Download Presentation
Dr Lindy Annakin

The Complexities of Speaking Truth to Power

What happens in a system that is intent on client centred service delivery and does so within a large bureaucratic environment that often adds layers of complexity to client centred practice? What happens when we are intent on implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the environments noted for causing the harm have similar impediments in current circumstances to those in place when atrocities occurred? What happens when whistle-blowers are vilified and those perpetrating harm are protected? Much as the major institutions did when faced with those who spoke out against them.

In January 2020 almost all companies were mandated to implement a whistleblowing policy – and it is recommended for all organisations. What does that mean for clients, practitioners and organisations?

When we look at truth and whistleblowing in our society, we know all too well that it is often difficult to speak truth to power, to reveal poor practices and wrongdoing to those who have authority to deal with it. Personal integrity often comes at a cost. What is the role of leadership in supporting and protecting whistle-blowers and what difference can this make?

What has actually changed in the process between abuses the Royal Commission uncovered and our realities today?

Dr Lindy Annakin unpacks these questions. She’s dedicated her life and her work to honesty and truth and finding ways through complex systems to permit those telling their stories to be heard. She enabled this process through her PhD on Whistleblowing entitled: In the Public Interest or Out of Desperation?

She’s further advanced her work through various roles in the government and non-government sector and as the lead writer of the out-of-home care chapter of the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Reponses to Child Sexual Abuse. Dr Annakin is also the Coordinator of the Children in Care Collective.

Karl Lacis – Social Worker

Dovetail – Shifting Our Gaze

Dovetail to launch their much-anticipated young people and drugs training for youth housing and residential care services. In response to concerns raised by youth housing and residential care workers regarding problematic alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, Dovetail has developed one day training and accompanying resources. This has entailed significant input from sector colleagues and young people. The training includes assisting workers in responding to high risk AOD concerns like managing intoxication, the binge/crash cycle and risky behaviours which include: criminal, sexual exploitation and injecting drug use.

The training supports AOD safety and harm reduction planning and is an important for the youth sector and all who work with clients who experience problematic AOD use.

Karl began his professional career in OoHC residential care services which he describes as a really down to earth way to get into youth work, and challenging! His interest in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) services arena led him to work in AOD residential rehabilitation settings and Karl has worked in youth alcohol and drug sectors in direct practice through to service management roles both in Australia and the United Kingdom.

More recently he has worked in Queensland’s child, youth and family support sector on workforce planning and development initiatives. In his current social work role at Dovetail, Karl enjoys travelling and meeting workers across Queensland, sharing work experiences and perspectives and delivering relevant, upbeat training.

View/Download Presentation
Chris Hartley

Shelter from the Storm- implementation of trauma informed care in Australian responses to homelessness.

Chris Hartley is a Research Fellow at CSI UNSW with a research focus in housing and homelessness and expertise in social housing policy, outcomes measurement in specialist homelessness services, homelessness and trauma, and research co-design with people who have a lived experience of homelessness.’

Chris is a qualitative researcher with high level skills in interviewing, fieldwork and qualitative data analysis. He has participated in numerous inquiries and research projects for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), co-authored the Australian Homelessness Monitor 2020 and completed evaluation for state government departments and non-governmental organisations in the areas of housing and homelessness.

Prior to commencing at CSI, Chris had over a decade of experience as an advocate and solicitor in the homelessness sector. Chris is currently on the Board of the Tenants Union of NSW, chair of the Eastern Area Tenants Service, a member of the Homelessness NSW Policy Council and a Board member of the Northern Community Gateway. 

Chris Stafford
Program Coordinator, Project Booyah – Queensland Police Service

Police Referrals –Making every contact count

Connecting at risk and vulnerable community members to external support service providers has become an embedded strategy of QPS frontline operational policing. The QPS has been providing this service for over a decade, firstly with the Coordinated Response to Young People at Risk (CRYPAR) program through North Brisbane and then Supportlink. Police Referrals commenced on 15 December 2015 introducing an automated and efficient strategy enabling early and effective interventions in relation to a broad range of social issues where referred individuals are engaged to achieve sustainable outcomes.

The Police Referral network is now made up of 500 service providers right across Queensland covering a range of social issues from child, youth and family support, mental health, drug and alcohol services; domestic violence, homelessness, supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) young people, families and communities to name a few.

Whilst the program was introduced based on a number of business reasons around improving police productivity, reducing repeat calls for service, and reducing re-victimisation and recidivism, in reality it is about caring for and supporting people through times of vulnerability and helping to build safe, caring and connected communities.

 

Chris joined the QPS in 1991 and spent 7 years in traditional reactive policing before changing to a more proactive, community engagement focus. After spending time as the District Crime Prevention Coordinator in Mackay he moved to Brisbane and the Crime Prevention Unit focussing on Personal Safety and Domestic Violence prevention. He then moved on to PCYC Qld filling the Youth Programs Coordinator and Training Manager roles. Chris coordinated the Police Referral Service for 4 years as well and has taken on the portfolio overviewing the QPS response to those experiencing homelessness. He is now a Program Coordinator for Project Booyah, a 16 week program working with groups of young people at risk of disengaging from schools.

Joseph Kolapudi
Non-Executive Director, Australian Refugee and Migrant Care Services (ARMCare)

The Invisible Divide – Societal Challenges for Young People

When dealing with isolation and homelessness, young people face some of the toughest challenges from society, especially when the divide between themselves and their contemporaries often goes unseen. In this presentation, the barriers to finding adequate housing, identifying helpful support services, and integration into the wider community will be discussed. Additionally, youth-led projects, including The Homelocker Project led by the World Economic Forum’s Global Shaper Brisbane hub, as well as other creative and innovative platforms for homelessness will also be explored.

Joseph is a young professional who currently serves with the international nonprofit ReachAcross, dedicated to engaging and equipping young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Additionally, he serves on the Youth Advisory Council for the US Consulate General, and is also a Global Shaper with the Brisbane Hub of the World Economic Forum. He currently is on the Advisory Board of the Australian Refugee and Migrant Care Services (ARMCare) orgnanisation, which provides support services and care to newly arrived refugees and migrants in Brisbane.

Pierro Kon

Pierro is a musician who has been singing since he was 8 years old, in the Choir Armee du Salut in Congo DRC. By the age of 10 he and his friends were writing and performing songs. He arrived in Australia at 16 years, completed year 12 and is currently studying a Bachelor of Business and Administration. At Platform 1225 he will be singing his 2 latest productions – OK and C’est Si Bon. His goal is to become a professional singer. He models as a hobby. He’s keen to start up an organisation for homeless young people where workers stay with young people through their journey to independence.

Chris Boyle
Founder & Director – StandbyU Foundation

Prevention through Connection

StandbyU Foundation’s focus is on connections and our purpose is clear – to prevent and address complex social issues such as abuse, domestic violence and isolation through the mobilisation of family and friends.

We do this by combining the strength of human relationships with the power of technology into our world-first solution, the StandbyU Shield.

The Shield is an immediate and tangible solution that has children, young people women and families telling us they can sleep safely at night, have gained agency in their lives and peace of mind for them and their loved ones. Research shows that connections are the single biggest factor to a healthy and happy life. Connections change lives. Connections change everything.

Chris will discuss how the StandbyU Shield and their Australian first partnership with Westfield, Magnolia Place, is providing an immediate, tangible and measurable safety solution for those at risk.

Chris is a social worker with over 28 years’ experience across the child and family support sector. He has a passion for social justice which has gained him national and international recognition. In 2012, Chris was awarded a Churchill Fellowship and travelled the world exploring ways in which systems can improve the safety and wellbeing of children, families and communities.

His journey from social worker to social entrepreneur saw him establish the StandbyU Foundation, continuing his advocacy for change through the mobilisation of families and the community for the provision of timely supports to be offered to our most vulnerable.

View/Download STANDBYU Information Pack
Aunty Sandy Angus
Committee Member

Marang ngarin (‘Good Day’ in Wiradjuri language).

I was born in Redcliffe Queensland. My ancestral links are with the Wiradjuri and Wongaibon First Nations peoples in NSW, the Nurrungi (or Narrung or Ngarrindjeri) First Nations peoples in SA and the Yuggera (or Yaggera
or Jaggera) First Nations peoples in QLD.

I have worked in a diverse range of areas in Aboriginal Health, Public Health, and Health Promotion. I have a Degree in Social Science majoring in Human Services and was the QUT Alumni Award winner in 2004.

In 1993, I was employed as Queensland’s first Indigenous Health Promotion Officer. Later and for 20 years I was employed with Queensland Health, Cancer Screening Branch. I am currently, since 2001, a member of several national
Advisory Committees with the Department of Health and Ageing.

I have also worked with the University of NSW, Curtain University WA, and Sydney University, where I was instrumental in developing the current Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion, Additionally, with The Lowitja Institute, Women’s Health Queensland Wide and with national and international Indigenous health research projects for SPC, WHO and NHMRC. More recently, as the Coordinator of a homeless youth shelter and at the Mater Hospital as a Youth Worker. I am currently employed with University of Queensland, developing, and implementing a new model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people who experience detention and when transitioning back to the community.

Hayley Langsdorf
Visual Facilitator, Author, Illustrator and Speaker

Hayley Langsdorf is a visual facilitator, author, illustrator and speaker who firmly believes that magic happens when humans connect and communicate honestly and deeply; and that this happens best by unleashing creativity and getting visual. 

From early beginnings doodling stickmen flipbooks at school, through a degree in Communication and English Literature, her journal and marker pens were never far away. Now, after more than 15 years working across Corporate Communications, Transformational Change and Innovation, Hayley’s trusty markers have still never left her side, and have in fact become the core of her practice. To this day she is still regularly surprised by how often that English Literature degree has come in handy in the corporate boardroom – no seriously, Shakespeare’s universal themes are still alive and well!

Channelling her passion for using visual storytelling to make a positive impact in the world, in 2015 Hayley founded Thoughts Drawn Out. A company now on a mission to change how the world communicates and collaborates for the better. 

Hayley believes there is a better way to work together. No more should your day be filled with soul-less acronyms and mind-numbing jargon. Because hiding within every dry set of facts is a colourful story just waiting to be unleashed and Hayley would love to talk to you about it. 

In addition to having written and illustrated two children’s books, Hayley has also deconstructed the art form of visual storytelling in her latest book Drawn Out: a Guide to Visual Storytelling for Work, Study and Life.

In 2019 she took to the TEDx stage to spread the love of visual storytelling and how it can be used to unlock collaboration. She is available to speak and teach on a range of areas including the new rules for workplace communication and collaboration, creatively at work, career mentoring on how to carve out a personal path from your unique strengths. Regardless of the topic, expect a lot of doodling and colour!

Jennifer Thomas
Executive President of The Services Union (TSU)

For 20 years Jennifer has developed campaigns to assist workers to realise their goals within their workplaces. She is an industrial relations negotiation specialist and is responsible for leading and developing the strategic campaigning direction of the TSU. 

Jennifer has been influential in the following campaigns: Equal Pay for Queensland Community and Social Workers; Queensland Assets Not for Sale;  Sustainable Councils for Local Government Members; Investing in Quality Community Services:  27 Ways and Growing: and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Jennifer has also been influential in many local enterprise-bargaining campaigns across Queensland.

As a leading advocate for Social and Community Services Industry workers, Jennifer was successful in securing funding (2018/19) through the Workplace Rights and Co-Operative Industrial Relations Grant Program to provide targeted Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) related community outreach, education and resources to Queensland workers and their workplaces. Rolling out over three years, this training focuses on the Social and Community Services Sector, Local Government, Queensland Rail and Energy Providers.

Jennifer has also led the We Won’t Wait Campaign which focuses on ensuring Domestic and Family Violence Leave is placed into Enterprise Bargaining Agreements, policies and legislation in Queensland workplaces. She has led the Domestic Violence Round Tables talks for the past three years. These important discussions bring together frontline Union Workplace Delegates and Queensland Ministers with a focus on DFV responses. 

Jennifer is the National Vice President of the Australian Services Union and is an active member of the Union’s National and Queensland Executive. She also sits on the Queensland Council of Unions Executive and Management Committee.

In 2017, Jennifer joined the Board of Jobs Queensland and was appointed to the Board of Energy Super, where she sits as a Member Trustee Director.  As well as these two roles, Jennifer sits on the Queensland Government Ministerial Housing Council and the Energy Skills Advisory Committee for the Queensland Governments Just Transition Group.

More information on additional presentations is coming soon.

Platform 1225 2022 Forum’s Purpose

Platform 1225 is an annual Forum of QYHC. Having a safe place to call home is a fundamental right. We are clear that homelessness and social exclusion is about poverty and disadvantage.

These are factors that impact many in our society from time to time and can be changed. As an organisation, we aim for holistic responses with regard to the wellbeing of all in our society and systems. This is particularly so for children and young people who experience life and our systems through a specific developmental and experiential lens.

Platform 1225 is a Forum for all to come together across government and non-government sectors to address these vital issues.

Will You Partner With Queensland Youth Housing Coalition & Become Part of the Solution?

In 2022, the focus of Platform 1225 will be “Truth, advocacy and systemic reform whilst acknowledging power imbalances and factors of social inequality”. Within this context we recognise that we are 232 years post the Colonisation of Australia, a foremost issue to address when talking about social inequality, truth and systemic reform. This will be highlighted through presentations at Platform 1225.

We also recognise that post the findings of the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in Institutions and our endeavours to ensure that such atrocities don’t occur again we need to talk about what it is that we have to offer now to make a difference to the experiences of those who speak out. What can we do today to make sure history and previous patterns are not repeated?

Practitioners and leaders in this sphere intend ethical practice from the outset. What happens to those who are taken off that path? How can we ensure that ethical practice remains a key focus at all times in our government and non-government organisations?

These are some of the issues that Platform 1225 2022 will address through the expert voices of presenters and young people.

Attend the Forum

Guest Registration & Corporate Sponsorship Options

Non-Members

$ 140

Per Person
  • Networking from 8.30am
  • Tea and Coffee on arrival
  • Forum start at 9.00am
  • Catered Morning and Afternoon Tea
  • Full Buffet Lunch
  • Event concludes 5:00pm
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MembersMost Popular

$ 120

Per Person
  • Networking from 8.30am
  • Tea and Coffee on arrival
  • Forum start at 9.00am
  • Catered Morning and Afternoon Tea
  • Full Buffet Lunch
  • Event concludes 5:00pm
Register Now

Student

$ 65

Per Person
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  • Forum starts at 9:00am
  • Tea and coffee on arrival
  • Catered Morning and Afternoon Tea
  • Full Buffet Lunch
  • Event Concludes at 5pm
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$ 500

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Gold Sponsor

$ 1000

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Calling Presenters!

This is YOUR chance to be part of Platform 1225

As part of the Platform 1225 Forum April 2022, QYHC is calling for Expressions of Interest from organisations or individuals to share innovative programs, research or other developments relevant to the wellbeing of young people. These presentations need to have a focus on advocacy, early intervention and prevention, collaboration and/or systemic reform, with the aim of improving the lives of children, young people, families and communities who face barriers to social inclusion. Expressions of Interest are due December 2021.

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