As we step into autumn, it is time to share some recent highlights as well as updating you with programs and staff news from the last few months. Here we go!
A lot has been going on during this time of the year… new partnerships coming up, projects and events that will certainly prove that autumn is a season of changes and preparation for what is coming.
We want to take this opportunity to thank you personally for your generosity during this time, your support is continuously helping us to support at risk and disadvantaged young people across our programs.
February started with the latest Victorian Government announcement released by the Premier of Victoria, The Hon. Daniel Andrews, acknowledging our training program Hand Brake Turn and our social enterprise fiXit as pathways to engage disadvantaged young people across Victoria. The Minister for Victim Support and Minister for Corrections, Youth Justice and Crime Prevention, the Hon Natalie Hutchins visited our Braybrook workshop to announce $300,000 funding over two years, and had the chance to meet Kevin and AJ, two Hand Brake Turn Graduates who shared with her all their learnings of the program.
A week after the Minister’s visit, we met representatives of Bosch – the largest auto parts supplier in the world. The Bosch team learnt about the impact of Hand Brake Turn through providing young people with automotive training, and the experience that fiXit provides to create sustainable pathways to employment.
We also said congratulations to our recent Hand Brake Turn graduates in a beautiful ceremony held at Dandenong. We were delighted to have the Hon. Julian Hill MP, Federal Member for Bruce join our team in celebrating this milestone.
We are still calling for more Live-in Mentors who play a crucial role in integrating young people in the out-of-home-care system into the community. If you know of anyone who is interested please send them our way! This can be an incredibly rewarding role for the right person who wants to make a difference in a young person’s life, so please check out more details about the role in our update.
So far, 2022 has been a great year. We feel optimistic about this season as opportunities emerge, and we look forward to sharing these seasonal updates with you throughout the year.
Wishing you all the best.
Michelle Crawford
Chief Executive Officer
Concern Australia
Team Update
Congratulations to Georgette Wardan for her 6 years working at Concern Australia, and all the women within the organisation for their contribution and commitment, we celebrated International Women’s Day with an interview to Georgette and her role as a General Manager of Business Operations. Read more…
Concern Australia staff went to Greythorn Bowling Club in March to celebrate staff day, it was special moment where we set time to discuss, share and build upon values at our workplace. It was a perfect space to celebrate each other and enjoy a bit of fun playing bowls. Read more…
Alisha Yonzon has recently joined Hand Brake Turn and fiXit team as a new Youth Engagement Officer who’ll be working across our Dandenong and Braybrook locations. We are so pleased we have a young passionate person who wants to make a difference in the lives of other young people. Read more…
Activities Update
CREWY is Back… A day at FunFields!
What a way to start out new adventures with an amazing place like this one. It’s always a blessing to see our CREWY team (Creating Real Experiences With Youth) back in action.
Heading to FunFields was a real treat for a few of our young people who had never had the chance to visit a place like this before.
We couldn’t be prouder of the CREWY team for their resilience and creativity in organising engaged activities for young people in our care. They do a magnificent job of creating memorable experiences for our young people.
Where will they go next?
Partnerships Update
We strive to find new ways to continue to grow our efforts in providing support for young people, and we are grateful to Crime Stoppers Victoria for exploring new possibilities with our CEO Michelle Crawford, and General Manager of Living, Learning & Earning Richard Parker.
Representatives from Bosch – the largest auto parts supplier in the world – visited our workshop. Days later we were invited to Bosch’s offices in Clayton to observe the broad range of services they offer. We look forward to exploring how we can collaborate with Bosch in future, given our shared commitment to providing hope to vulnerable and at-risk young people. Link to the article…
Concern Australia welcomed the Victorian Government announcement, acknowledging our training program Hand Brake Turn and our social enterprise fiXit as pathways to engage disadvantaged young people across Victoria. Funding from this partnership will further strengthen our ability to provide support to more young people as they transition into education or employment. Know more…
We had the privilege of watching another class of Hand Brake Turn students graduate, this time in company of the Hon. Julian Hill MP for Bruce for the festivities. Congratulations graduates! we are excited to see the next steps of these bright young people. Read more…
Live-In-Mentor
Do you think you know someone who may be a great Live-in Mentor?
Volunteer Live-in-Mentors are the backbone of Inside Out, providing guidance and support to young people who have been part of the out-of-home care system and have often had traumatic experiences in their lives. Live-in-Mentors help build a safe sense of home in which the young people in their care can learn to tackle life independently.
One of our Inside Out mentors speaks to their own experience, “The young people I’ve been around are incredible people. They inspire me with their maturity and their humour. They’re amazing people. I feel very lucky to be living with them.”
