Mission Australia

Our Vision is to see a fairer Australia by enabling people in need to find pathways to a better life

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Migrants and refugees give back to Australia

Friday, 09 May 2008

National Volunteers Week 12-18 May 2008One of the country’s largest charities, Mission Australia reports that more than half of volunteers at its Migrant and Refugee Services are from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB), conflicting with recent research by Monash University suggesting that migrants from NESBs are less likely to volunteer...
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AGL/Mission Australia stage christmas party for struggling families

Wednesday, 19 March 2008

More than 80 children from disadvantaged families in Adelaide will experience some of the joy of Christmas at a special Christmas party on Tuesday, December 18, from 10.30am-3pm at a City Parkland location (see contact details for precise location) It’s the fifth year that leading community service group Mission Australia and its corporate...
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Mission Australia on Blogspot

No quick fix for rescuing kids at risk

More than 30,000 Australian ‘at risk’ kids are removed from their parents annually. There were 58,000 proven cases of child abuse or neglect in Australia in 2007 - an increase of 45 per cent over the previous five years. How do we reach out to these children, their parents, families and communities to provide them with support and help reduce such horrific abuse? Helping someone become a good parent takes time, effort and resources. There’s no ‘silver bullet’. Protecting children at risk is not going to be achieved simply by flooding the streets with child protection officers or punitive measures such as quarantining a parent’s welfare payments. One thing we should be doing is focusing more of our efforts and resources in the area of early intervention – supporting mothers and fathers from the time their children are born and helping them develop their parenting skills. No parent is a ‘natural’ – it’s something you learn over many years with the help, if you�... Read More ...

Mission Australia takes over Martin Place

Sydney’s Martin Place was awash with Mission Australia volunteers yesterday morning – all braving the freezing conditions to launch HUSH for Homelessness. Dressed in sleeping bags, the team handed out thousands of flyers to Sydney commuters on their way to work. Event organiser Mandy Jones said she hoped HUSH for Homelessness was both about raising funds for Mission Australia’s homeless service as well as awareness about the plight of homeless people. “Many homeless people feel voiceless, which is why Mission Australia is asking people to be silent for an hour on Wednesday July 2, and raise money for their efforts. “Every dollar raised will go to Mission Australia’s housing support services which last year assisted 45,000 people who were homeless, or at risk of homelessness, around the country,” said Mandy. To find out more or to register for free today click here... Read More ...

Creating brighter futures

Brighter Futures is a Mission Australia early intervention program for struggling families. Caseworker, Michelle, describes what it’s like to be in the front line of community services. As a caseworker for the Brighter Futures program, I help clients in many different ways. The job is never predictable and I have to stay on my toes to handle the many different issues that arise every day. Ultimately, my job is to support and empower my clients to overcome their challenges. Many of my clients are dealing with grief or are trying to overcome a traumatic event. Other clients are dealing with drug or alcohol issues, mental health issues, domestic violence, a lack of social or family support, or a lack of parenting skills. Most clients are vulnerable with complex needs. I find my clients to be inspiring and I have learnt a great deal from their perseverance and commitment to improve their circumstances and overcome their challenges. These families are willing to open their homes and ... Read More ...

HASI support, on the front line

Being a HASI (Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative) worker with Mission Australia is sometimes challenging, usually fulfilling, and often rewarding. Besides all the regular duties of driving people to appointments, taking them shopping, assisting with budgeting, and linking them into social, vocational or educational activities, working with people with mental health problems calls for us to use all our skills as community services workers. An essential part of our job is building a rapport, while maintaining professional boundaries, with our clients so they welcome our inclusion in their lives and are open to rehabilitation options and suggestions we can offer to improve their quality of life. I have a client who does not manage her personal hygiene very well and rarely showers or washes her hair to the point that the back of her hair was one huge tangled dreadlock. She complained that she could no longer tie her hair in a pony tail so I gently asked if she would like me t... Read More ...

Welfare to work - a failure.

Figures released today revealing more than 720,000 Australians are on a disability support pension (DSP) show that efforts to both stop the flow of people onto the benefit – and get people off – have failed miserably. Despite the efforts of the previous Federal Government, numbers have increased – 35,000 since 2003. A major part of the problem has been the failure of the Howard Government’s much touted Welfare to Work legislation – partly designed to ‘encourage’ the estimated 20% of DSP recipients capable of taking a job back into the labour market. So what went wrong? The answer is simple - too much stick, not enough carrot. When Welfare to Work was launched, Mission Australia – along with many other agencies and individuals – pointed out its flaws and suggested changes but our advice fell on deaf ears. The main problem is the difference between DSP and Newstart – the general unemployment allowance – in terms of payment levels as well as the benef... Read More ...

Coffee for a cause

For the second year in a row, the Baristas on a Mission will see six of Brisbane’s best baristas go head-to-head in a challenge to raise money for Mission Australia’s Café One on Wickham. Hosted by Di Bella Coffee, the challenge brings together baristas, Brisbane City councillors, and radio and TV personalities in a race to make as many coffees as possible in just six minutes. Café One on Wickham provides a range of services for people who are homeless or experiencing financial crisis. The café uses income derived from the sale of meals and drinks to fund programs to assist homeless people and those at risk of homelessness. Customers can not only get a cheap meal and a quiet place to relax – the café also acts as a point of referral to access crisis counselling and informal case management. Many thanks to Di Bella Coffee for their generous support! If you have a great idea to help raise money for Mission Australia, email us at communityfundraising@missionaustralia.com.... Read More ...

Woman's Day feature - MA Miller Community Preschool

There’s a great story in this week’s Woman’s Day magazine on how one of our Mission Australia services helped a mum and her young son through a tough time in their lives. The Mission Australia Miller Community Pre-School and Early Intervention service in Sydney’s South West provides a range of supports to families and children from all walks of life, but particularly children with disabilities. Julie and her son Jack came to Miller Community Pre-School when Jack, then aged two-and-a-half, started showing symptoms associated with autism – a condition that was subsequently diagnosed. Miller Community Pre-school’s staff were able to work with Jack to improve his communication and motor skills – as well as education and development – through playgroups and other activities. As Julie states in the article, “[Mission Australia has] been terrific, there’s no doubt about it. “The pre-school has been invaluable and so supportive. We’ve cried on each other’s shoul... Read More ...

Self harm on the rise

New figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which show a significant growth in the rate of self-harm among young people is cause for serious concern. According to the research, the rate of self-harm among young Australians aged 12 to 24 has risen by 43% in 10 years. And between 1996 and 2006, the number of young women in Australia hospitalised for intentional self-harm grew by 51%. What makes a young person take such a terrible and dramatic toll on themselves? Self-harm is triggered by a range of issues but it’s often daily stresses – feeling isolated, pressure at school, poor body image or low self-esteem – that play the key role, not major changes or events. Mission Australia has been conducting a National Survey of Young Australians every year since 2002. Our 2007 survey was the largest so far with almost 29,000 young people, between the ages of 11-24, taking part. Throughout the life of the survey, self-harm has repeatedly come up as an issue of ... Read More ...

Housing affordability

Housing affordability (or ‘unaffordability’ as Professor Bill Randolph from the University of NSW suggests we should re-name it,) is regularly dominating the headlines of all forms of media as well as being a major preoccupation of governments, and many members and sectors of the community. The key determinants of housing affordability are a complex mix of supply and demand for housing; dwelling prices/rents; interest rates; household incomes; and demographic factors. As median house prices across Australia reach unprecedented highs, over 400,000 lower income households are paying more than 50% of their income for housing. Important recent research by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) drills down to give more of face to who is in housing stress in Australia. Low income private renters are particularly likely to be in housing stress, even more so than lower-income home purchasers. Almost half of lower income households in stress are working households, ... Read More ...

HUSH for Homelessness

Have you ever wanted your friend or colleague to zip-it? Have you ever wanted to take time out of your day and not speak to anyone? Well, now’s your chance! Tonight, as temperatures drop and winter takes hold, almost 100,000 Australians have no place to call home. Of these people, almost 50% are yet to have their 25th birthday and 10,000 are children aged under 12! This is the reason Mission Australia is running HUSH for Homelessness; an event to raise money to assist homeless men, women and children across the country. HUSH for Homelessness symbolises the 'invisible' and 'voiceless' lives that homeless Australians lead. Mission Australia challenges you to experience what it’s like to be voiceless, by not speaking for an hour (or more!) on Wednesday 2 July 2008; and to seek sponsorship for your silence. Transform the lives of homeless Australians by signing up to participate in HUSH for Homelessness now. Or Nominate a friend to take part! For more information on HUSH for Hom... Read More ...

It’s the simple things that make a difference

On the road with Sydney Missionbeat worker, Kane Last week, Missionbeat received a call from Town Hall Police informing us there was a young male sitting outside the Police Station on George Street in Sydney. They informed us that he was drug affected and a little distressed. When I arrived at the location the police helped me identify the man so that I could introduce myself and explain how we could assist him. The client explained to me that he had an appointment with a crisis homeless shelter in Sydney to secure accommodation. He was quite distressed because he didn’t know how to get there as he had just arrived from Melbourne. I offered him transport there which he accepted. While transporting the client we began to chat. He explained to me that his partner had recently left him due to a gambling addiction, leaving him unable to afford the rent. He made a snap decision to leave Melbourne (where they had been living) to come to Sydney, which he was now regretting as he had ... Read More ...

Giving the homeless a voice

Last week, the Prime Minister used some powerful adjectives – obscene and revolting. Mr Rudd rightly described homelessness in Australia as ‘obscene’ and rightly described as ‘revolting’ the pictures of a naked 12 year old girl who is now at the centre of a storm of controversy surrounding art exhibition. The big difference has been the media attention. The art controversy has attracted top of the bulletin coverage for days on end both here and overseas, and it’s still going on. I can’t help thinking that this over the top media attention has only made things worse, including for the girl who finds herself at the centre of it. At the same time, the plight of the 100,000 Australians who find themselves without a home each and every night got little media coverage last week and sadly it has now slipped down our list of priorities once again. I think there are some important messages from the words and the stories of last week. The juxtaposition of these two stories, an... Read More ...

We can do better than this

When a 12 year old girl’s only place to call home is a piece of grass under a bridge – we need to start raising alarm bells. Rachel* is the 12 year old girl. She is not homeless by choice. Rachel’s mother left her in the care of an abusive partner when she made a decision to exit the relationship. Rather than stay in a violent household, Rachel began sleeping on friends couches until eventually, the welcome had worn out. Unable to get a job or pay rent at the age of 12, and without the means to access supported housing, Rachel ended up sleeping under a bridge. Rachel still attends school, but the basics are a challenge. Clothing, warmth, regular meals. Without a coordinated effort to combat homelessness, young people like Rachel will always fall beyond the reach of our current support system. The Australian Government’s Green Paper on homelessness is a great step towards coordination and integration of specific services to reduce homelessness. Firstly, we need better pr... Read More ...

Our local tragedy

We all feel a strong desire to help when we see the media's coverage of the recent natural disasters in China and Burma. Many of the media's images highlight the dislocation and homelessness that result from these terrible events. Many Australians, however, are far less aware that in our own country we are experiencing a different sort of tragedy – the kind that does not receive extensive media coverage and the plight of its victims is often unreported and unknown. Our local tragedy also involves large-scale dislocation. On any night, there are about 100,000 homeless people across Australia. Contrary to common stereotypes, they're not middle aged alcoholics 'sleeping rough'. Many are young (46 per cent are below 25) and they are victims of violence, extreme financial hardship, mental illness and drug addiction. Homelessness compounds their plight. Mission Australia is one of the nation's leading providers of homeless services. But we're about more than just providing a person wi... Read More ...

Through the eyes of a Missionbeat worker

Working in and around Sydney’s streets are Mission Australia’s Missionbeat workers. Missionbeat patrols the streets and responds to calls from police, ambulance officers and the community. They provide immediate care for homeless people who are in distress. In this new blog series, we’ll hear stories from the Missionbeat workers – direct from the streets. It’s about more than shelter A story from Community Services Worker, Phillip Late one evening I was patrolling the area around Star City Casino in Pyrmont. I noticed a group of people sitting in the park just opposite the casino. I parked the Missionbeat van and went over and introduced myself. Only a couple of people in the group knew about Missionbeat, so I ended up speaking with the rest of the group for about an hour to explain how we could help them. It was also a good opportunity to have a chat to them about their issues and concerns, why they ended up homeless and what sort of help they might need. The thing ... Read More ...

Family Fun

Up to 1,000 parents and families will come together in Miller, NSW, tomorrow to celebrate Families Week Community Day. Parents and children will be entertained by farm animals, pony rides, a ferris wheel, train rides, clowns, face painting, line dancing and performances by The Jollybops. The event is a great opportunity for local families to spend quality time together while enjoying a fun day out. The Families Week Community Day is an initiative of Mission Australia’s Miller Pathways Communities for Children (C4C) Program; funded by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The C4C program provides funding to community service providers to develop parenting and child education programs for people with kids between the ages of 0-5. ... Read More ...

Volunteers from all cultures contradict research

Monash University recently came out with a research report which suggested that migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds are a lot less likely to volunteer than Australian born people and migrants from English speaking countries. Mission Australia’s experience with volunteers at our Western Sydney migrant and refugee support services largely contradicts this research. Of the 509 volunteers donating their time to Mission Australia’s Home Tutor and Enhancement Program and our Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS), 267 – or 52 per cent - are from non-English speaking backgrounds including the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Our Home Tutor and Enhancement Program volunteers teach English and other basic skills to migrants in their own homes to help them adapt to life in Australia. Mission Australia’s IHSS volunteers help newly arrived refugees settle into the country by connecting them... Read More ...

Aussies Help House the Homeless

Last week, Australians proved how concerned they are about homelessness. Just days after the launch of realestate.com.au’s House the Homeless campaign on 1 May – over 100,000 Aussies had visited the http://www.housesforthehomeless.com.au/ website and had helped raise $100,000 for Mission Australia’s housing support services. On behalf of every visitor to the House the Homeless website, realestate.com.au donated $1 to Mission Australia to reach a target of $100,000. We achieved our month-long goal in just three days. The campaign will continue to run for the entire month of May, with the continued aim of raising awareness about homelessness and further funds through personal donations for Mission Australia’s housing support services. A giant thank you to realestate.com.au for your generosity and thank you Australia for your overwhelming support. Every dollar donated by realestate.com.au will go directly to Mission Australia’s housing support services in New South Wales,... Read More ...

Houses for the homeless

Realestate.com.au believes that everyone deserves to have a place to call home. More than 100,000 Australian men, women and children are homeless on any given night. Of these, half are younger than 25. Homelessness occurs for a number of reasons including domestic violence, unemployment and the inability to continue mortgage repayments. In fact, overall, there are 1.7million Australians experiencing housing stress right now. These problems can affect any one of us. They are not restricted to age, race or gender. realestate.com.au has partnered with Mission Australia in a month long campaign – House the Homeless – to raise both funds and awareness of the plight of homeless people in Australia, and more specifically, Sydney. For each person who clicks on housesforthehomeless.com.au, realestate.com.au will donate $1 to Mission Australia, up to a total of $100,000. 100% of every dollar raised will go directly towards helping house the homeless so please make a difference ... Read More ...

Regulation needed for charity sector

Recent allegations of misusing donor dollars by Australian charity, Just Enough Faith and its Founder, Jeff Gambin, further highlights the need for more national and consistent reporting standards for the charity sector. At this time, in terms of fundraising transparency and accountability, Australia’s charity sector is not a level playing field – often, measuring the financial results of various charities is like comparing apples and oranges. This is not good enough – Australia’s donors need to be able to make informed decisions about which charity they should support. Mission Australia would support a range of measures to improve transparency in the sector including the establishment of an Australian Charities Commission. Similar to what is found in Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand, the Australia Charities Commission would be an independent body that regulates the sector. Charities should also adhere to one standard of accounting and corporate governance – s... Read More ...

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