housing

August 2021 Edition

Platform 12 25_Flyer

Shifting Our Gaze

Holistic responses to AOD use for our most at risk young people

Problematic alcohol and other drug (AOD) use amongst young people is complex particularly when the young person sees their substance use as beneficial, but harms and potential consequences are most visible to workers. It’s often a challenge for service systems and workers in how best to respond. Dovetail, Queensland’s Youth AOD training, support and assistance service, will present on strategies for responding to young peoples’ AOD related needs at Platform 12 25. The team at Dovetail has been working on a practice tool for AOD harm reduction planning. Participants will be treated to a sneak peek and be invited to contribute to the development of this resource.

Homelessness Week 2021

Homelessness Week 2021 took place from 1 to 7 August. There were numerous campaigns, events and articles on this vital topic.

In Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night, approximately one quarter are young people. Homelessness Week aimed to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness on Australia via national and local community events, including providing information on the importance of housing as a solution and educating communities on how they can make a difference.

You can watch the webinar of the Homelessness Week launch event here
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Inquiry into homelessness in Australia

During Homelessness Week, on 4 August 2021, the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs tabled its report, entitled—Final report – Inquiry into homelessness in Australia

The Committee’s inquiry has now been completed and its report, which makes 35 recommendations, is available to read on the Committee’s web page here

QYHC supports the call for a National Homelessness Strategy. Actions to solve the issues identified are urgently required.

A message from the CENSUS team:

every stat tells a story
Partners/Supporters of Census 21 - we thank YOU!
Delivering our Census to our targeted groups with Homelessness, Youth and Cultural and Linguistically Diverse groups for the South East Region was a success due to the value, support and collaboration formed with services like yours. While it is easy to be excited about all the positive feedback we are receiving from the engagement and enumeration of Census for 2021 none of it was possible without the many partnerships and collaborations we formed along the way. For this we thank you!!! Your support and guidance provided to the ABS Census team locally allowed our team to make informed decisions and deliver Census engagement and enumeration seamlessly to our vulnerable communities!

Data release
The ABS will release the data in 3 stages:
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Multicultural Queensland Month

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The state's largest multicultural celebration
held in August each year
This the role that everyone plays in contributing to Queensland’s culture and prosperity was acknowledged through the theme 'Inclusion in action'.
Multicultural Queensland Month is an opportunity for everyone across the state to connect, share, listen and learn.
Congratulations to the 2021 Multicultural Queensland Award winners! This year’s awards celebrate and recognise contributions from newly arrived Queenslanders, state champions of inclusion and belonging, and exceptional multicultural sector efforts that are innovative and intercultural. The full list of winners and their profiles can be found here
Multicultural Queensland Charter
The Queensland Government has a vision of a unified, harmonious and inclusive community. One way we will achieve this is through the adoption of the Multicultural Queensland Charter principles.
The Charter's principles underpin the theme, events and activities of Multicultural Queensland Month.
Download the Multicultural Queensland Charter Guide (PDF) to see how you can incorporate the principles into everyday life.

Multicultural Resources:
Throughout August a series of FREE webinars were held exploring topics such as racism prevention, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and gender-based violence.
Recordings of these 2021 webinars are available now:
10/08 Racism prevention: becoming anti-racist
17/08 Promoting inclusion and diversity in the workplace and beyond
24/08 Coercive control and its impact on diverse cultural groups
31/08 Respectfully challenging problematic behaviour
Brisbane City Council

Brisbane City Council Grants

There is a Community Support category that may support some new projects for organisations that work with young people.

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:
  • 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.
You can find more information below:
Community Grants currently open
Community Support Category Guidelines
You can also call 3403 8888 and ask to speak to a grants officer.
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Deirdre Coghlan Bursary 2021

In 2016, one of Q Shelter’s founders and lifelong members, Deirdre Coghlan, passed away. In honour of her memory, Q Shelter established a bursary to help those in the housing and homelessness sector access professional development they might otherwise miss out on.

Each year Q Shelter provides up to $5,000 in bursary payments to applicants. Usually, this amount has been split amongst several applications. Q Shelter has distributed $20,000 in bursary payments since 2017.

Deirdre firmly believed that housing was a human right and was passionate about helping those in the sector gain skills in:
  • Community development
  • Grassroots and lived experience engagement
  • Advocacy
  • Challenging structural and systemic issues
Applications for the 2021 Deirdre Coghlan Bursary are now open! Learn more or apply here

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

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).

Changes to the
Queensland Criminal Code

New legislation requires every adult in Queensland to report information relating to child sexual offences committed 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.

Following information and practice forums across sectors a Working Group has been formed to further assist the sector in implementing this legislation.

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

To read more about the Laws targeting sexual offences against children, click here

Gambling Community
Benefit Fund (GCBF)

There have been some changes to GCBF. For the first time, annual grants of up to $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.

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:
  • 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:
  • 28 February
  • 31 May
  • 31 August
  • 31 October
Find out more about the grants and how to apply here

Improving transitions from rehab into stable housing

Wednesday 1 September 2021 at 11am AEST

People who experience contact with a support service, particularly younger individuals with complex health, housing and social care needs, tend also to experience disrupted housing trajectories. This relationship is bidirectional, in that frequency of service contact is an indication of service demand and the complexity of individual’s health care needs.

This free webinar presents findings from the AHURI research project Leaving rehab: enhancing transitions into stable housing
This research presents policy and practice recommendations to enhance the coordination of housing, health and social care supports for individuals leaving residential treatment and strongly endorses the ‘housing first’ model, which emphasises the centrality of stable housing. Register Here
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The 15,000 payphones around Australia are now free

This month Telstra announced that local and national calls to standard fixed line numbers and calls to standard Australian mobiles on Telstra’s public payphones are now free.

The reason for this?

"I know payphones are also a lifeline for thousands of vulnerable Australians – the homeless, the isolated, those escaping domestic violence – and often provide their only link to critical support services and those that care about them.
Last year alone Australians made 11 million calls on payphones, including more than 230,000 calls to vital services like Triple Zero, so there’s no doubt payphones are already often the lifeline that’s there when it’s needed most."
Andrew Penn, CEO, Telstra
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PLEASE JOIN US IN THE GRAND BALLROOM

The Annual Child Protection Week Dinner celebrates the dedication and commitment of those working within the child protection industry.

Friday 10 September 2021, 6pm
The Greek Club, 29 Edmondstone St, South Brisbane

Guest Speakers: Hon. Leanne Linard MP, Minster for Children and Youth Justice and Minister for Multicultural Affairs & CREATE Young Consultant
Entertainment: SisterMISTER trio

BOOK HERE
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Preventing placement breakdown and promoting stability
in out-of-home care

Wednesday 22 September 2021 1pm - 2pm AEST
Presenters:
Wade Mahoney, Stacy Blythe and Greg Antcliff
Facilitated by Claire Farrugia (AIFS)

This webinar will explore the concept of stability and offer strategies for achieving positive outcomes for children and young people in care.
This webinar will be of interest to professionals working with young people across out-of-home care, housing, mental health, education and other child, youth and family services.

Register for this free webinar here

Listening to children and young people’s voices about safety in organisations

This CFCA short article outlines the findings from the Children and Young People’s Safety Project that explored children’s hopes and needs when feeling unsafe. The article also discusses what organisations can do to assist organisations policies and practices to assist children and young people to feel safe.
Read the report here
oneplace

Find services in oneplace

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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Check out courses through the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative through the Y.

Click the image for more information.
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Victim Assist Training

You're invited to join online to learn about financial assistance for victims of crime and how to assist them in applying.

Tuesday 14 September 2021, 11:00am
Trainers will present 4 common scenarios and discuss:
  • the victim's rights
  • who can claim financial assistance
  • what can be claimed
  • how to complete the application forms correctly
  • what documents to attach.
This is a great refresher for experienced staff and essential for newer staff.
Please allow a minimum of 45 minutes for this training. Extra time may be needed to answer questions at the end of the presentation. This training is free. There is no need to register or RSVP.
On the day, just click here to join the training.

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.

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.

QCOSS also recently announced their Human Rights Champions. You can read more here

RESOURCES:

Introducing the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)
to new staff and others


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.

Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Act 1991
in the 21st Century

Wednesday, 22 September, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
The Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 is 30 years old. In May, the Queensland Human Rights Commission was asked to review the Act.
They will look at whether the law:
  • needs improving so it better responds to people who have experienced discrimination
  • should have a role in identifying and eliminating systemic causes of discrimination, sexual harassment, and victimisation
  • should require organisations and workplaces to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment, and victimisation.
Join Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall and QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh as they discuss how the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 might be adapted for the 21st Century.

Ask a question live, submit it to QCOSS via your event registration or email events@qcoss.org.au by Monday, 20 September.

This event is part of the QCOSS Human Rights in Action series which seeks to improve the capacity of the social service sector to understand how they can use the Human Rights Act in their work (advocacy, service delivery and service design).
Online via Zoom, Register here

BRISSC’s podcast

Brisbane Rape & Incest Survivors Support Centre have produced a 6-part podcast series called 'Embrace' which draws on the lived expertise of survivors of sexual violence to cover topics including sex and intimacy. You can listen to the series here

Sarah Suggests

Book Review
Reading Lolita in Tehran, a beautifully written memoir about the life of the protagonist, Azar Nafisi, and her family and working life, as a Western Classics Lecturer in universities in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war and under Ayatollah Khomeini. Read more here
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