Congratulations to our 2024 Semi-finalists

4 Voices

Since March 2020, 4 Voices has been addressing the “Pandemic of Disconnection” which COVID spawned. Lockdowns, social distances, fear of disease caused all of us to become lonely at some point and pushed every single one of us towards digital devices like phones or computers, rather than be face-to-face with another human being. One in eight Australians are not on-line. Many are indigenous Australians, and women who experience domestic violence. Even though these women may have access to technology they may choose not to use it out of fear of being tracked or stalked.

4 Voices provides its free frontline services from 4 off-grid vans at 30 locations (Brisbane x 16, Gold Coast x 6 and Sydney x 10). Each mobile connection hub is equipped with a TV, mobile phones, laptops, printer, scanner, copier, Wi-Fi, hot water and a fridge. Each frontline service is 3 hours, supported by at least 3 volunteers and is at a community location supported by local volunteers. We currently do not currently operate in the North Sydney LGAs, our one Sydney van is fully occupied in the inner suburban suburbs. So far this year we have helped 3346 people in NSW and provided 6227 cuppas and supportive conversations.

IMPACT100 Sydney North funding will assist 4 voices in purchasing another mobile connection van to provide free frontline services in the region. Within 12 months of launching the new service they would be able to establish 10 new frontline services (weekly 3-hour shifts) and support at least 5 people at each location per week (5 people x 10 locations = 50) for 50 weeks – potentially 2500 people.

KidsXpress

Founded in 2005, KidsXpress i a specialist children’s mental health organisation addressing mental ill-health stemming from exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including forced migration, natural disasters, exposure to violence, grief and poverty. Without help, these children can suffer psychological, emotional, and developmental consequences that affect their schooling, employment prospects, and relationships for the rest of their lives. Their service delivers trauma-focused Expressive Therapy for 4-12 years olds, alongside parenting support for carers, education services for teachers, and trauma-informed practice for welfare workers and other carers.

KidsXpress has a new school partnership with Merrylands East Public School in south-western Sydney. They will work with all 340 students, plus 26 teachers and staff, plus carers. 90% of students speak a language or dialect other than English at home with over 40 socio-cultural backgrounds represented – predominantly Islander, African and Middle Eastern communities. The vast majority of students are only beginning to learn to speak, read and write English upon starting school. 17% students have either a social, emotional, cognitive, physical or intellectual disability. 

IMPACT100 Sydney North funding would support this partnership including individual and group sessions for students identified as needing targeted support (using art, music, play & drama therapy); counseling for students; peer conflict support; classroom observation to identify trauma responses in students; professional learning workshops for teachers and support staff; 1:1 teacher consultation and mentoring, behaviour policy reviews with school leadership; individual education and therapeutic behavior support plans and parenting programs including “Tuning into Kids and Circle of Security”.

Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter

Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter (NBWS) provides crisis accommodation, transitional accommodation and outreach support to women on the Northern Beaches and Mosman area. Currently, they turn away on average 25 women per month, over 300 women a year, and this number is growing. NBWS is on a mission to raise funds to access more accommodation, so they can give more women the option to leave domestic violence and abusive relationships, and reduce homelessness on the Northern Beaches. 

NBWS have been gifted a property in Narrabeen as an in kind donation for a 2-year period. The property has 90 rooms that are fully independent. The facility was previously a fully operational retirement village. The site has all the internal equipment needed to commence operation and the units are ‘move in’ ready, some with furniture some without. NBWS has been providing accommodation and transitional housing support successfully for 14 years. They have also provided case management in their Mosman House for women over the age of 50 for the past 4 years. The successful Mosman House project model will be used for the proposed Narrabeen house. This will provide accomodation for up to 90 women and children at a time, over a two year period.

IMPACT100 Sydney North funding will enable NBWS to recruit a Project Coordinator for Narrabeen House to work along side the already established leadership, NBWS team, volunteers and case managers.

One Meal

One Meal addresses the issue of food security for people who are homeless, vulnerable or impoverished. The 2023 Foodbank Hunger report revealed 3.8 million Australians had run out of food in the last year. Each month, 337,000 households in NSW/ACT receive help from food relief organisations and 45% had someone in the family in paid work. The cost- of -living crisis is exacerbating the challenges faced by vulnerable people. 

One Meal’s mission is to provide dignified access to healthy, nutritious food relief to support vulnerable, marginalised and at-risk members of our community, and in doing so, also create opportunities for positive connection, conversation and engagement. One Meal supports 13 Women’s Shelters, school students through its food program at 15 schools (up from 9 in February), as well as families and individuals, providing nutritious, hot, fresh or frozen meals and fresh food and pantry hampers delivered to people referred by social service agencies and community groups. Their food delivery program targets those who may otherwise ‘fall through the cracks’ – people with restricted mobility, mental health challenges, communication/language barriers or challenging family situations, including domestic violence. Over 700 meals a week are cooked by volunteers in their own home, or in their warehouse, while schools often contribute cooked meals, and Recipe Tin Meals provides 2500 meals a week. One Meal is 100% volunteer run providing free community food programs supporting more than 3 000 homeless, vulnerable and at-risk people.

IMPACT100 Sydney North funding will be used to replace their aging refrigerated truck, a key component in providing food relief, and vital in meeting food safety requirements. 

ReLove

ReLove addresses a social problem with an environmental solution. They support women and children escaping domestic violence, youth at risk, people experiencing homelessness or coming out of incarceration and people seeking asylum, by providing them with good quality pre-loved and excess furniture and household items. When people in crisis access social and transitional housing, they often have few possessions and a limited capacity to furnish a new home. The step between leaving crisis accommodation and entering transitional or long-term housing is a crucial time for people to move towards independence and economic empowerment, but this requires significant material support. The current systems of support can be slow, filled with red tape and require people to retell their trauma multiple times. Often, once housing has been accessed, families have no choice but to sleep on the floor while waiting for further assistance.

ReLove’s model is designed to respond quickly to the urgent needs of people in crisis as they transition into safe housing. They work with over 50 charities that refer clients, and within a few days of making an appointment, these clients are warmly welcomed into ReLove’s Free Store. Their Free Store is filled with beautiful, great quality furniture and household goods rescued from corporates, hotels, companies with excess stock and community donations. ReLove’s clients are empowered to handpick their furniture and home furnishings, all provided to them free of charge. This provides the dignity of choice to select everything needed to set up a new home, right down to the artwork, rugs, cushions and candles. After the furniture has been chosen, ReLove prioritises the prompt delivery and set-up of the furniture and household to ensure people can restart their new lives as quickly and stress-free as possible.

IMPACT100 Sydney North funding will allow ReLove to support an additional 200 families (over 440 people including children). It costs ReLove around $500 to supply and deliver $10,000 – $15,000 worth of furniture and home furnishings to set up the home of a family.

SMART Recovery

SMART Recovery is a simple four-step, evidence-based recovery program that provides ongoing support to people experiencing substance dependencies and problematic behaviours, as well as the communities of care who interact with them. Their Innovation programs focus on supporting people and communities who experience marginalisation and additional barriers to recovery support, including families and carers, First Nations, LGBTIQA+ and youth. Nearly 13% of young people aged between 16 and 24 will struggle with problematic substance use during their crucial formative adolescent years. In addition to alcohol and other drugs, young people also face significant challenges with addictive behaviours such as gaming, sexting, pornography, phone use, gambling and more.

The SMART Recovery Youth program is designed specifically to support young people experiencing the
challenges of addictive behaviours or substance dependencies. Underpinned by cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing techniques, their secular harm reduction method helps young people understand and address their problematic behaviours, and build the necessary self esteem and confidence to take responsibility for their actions – including making changes that may not align with those of their peers. Each week, SMART Recovery currently supports approximately 3,500 people seeking to understand and self-manage addictive or problem behaviours through 354 face-to-face and online meetings across the community, private health, and justice spaces. Of their 354 meetings, 11 are youth-specific, supporting approximately 110 young people every week.

IMPACT100 Sydney North funding would enable the engagement of a dedicated 0.6FTE National Program Manager – Youth to spearhead the strategic growth of the Youth program through targeted training partnerships, research initiatives, and cross-sector collaboration, helping reach approximately 1,000 more young people in need of tailored recovery or addictive behavioural support.  

Success Works

Success Works commenced its services in 2019 as a pilot program under the auspices of Dress for Success Sydney. After three years as a successful pilot program, on 1 July 2022 Success Works Partners moved to operate as a social enterprise and independent not-for-profit organisation. Approximately 800 women are released from prisons in NSW every year. Many of these women have faced domestic violence, homelessness, mental health challenges and discrimination. Women with a criminal record are severely disadvantaged in the labour market. Without essential workplace skills and stable employment, a significant number of these women return to criminal activity and life in prison.

A stark example of this is the recidivism rates for women in NSW have risen 50% in the last ten years. Success Works Partners provides employability skills development, and specialist support through one-to-one mentoring for women while they are looking for work. They partner with employers to find these women jobs based on skills and experience, along with removing discrimination based on their criminal record.

An Impact100 Sydney North grant would enable Success Works Partners to establish the Digital Skills Enhancement program, and to change the lives of 20 women though participation in the digital skills enhancement program in the next 24 months. 

Women and Children First

WACF is addressing the critical issue of financial insecurity and housing instability faced by women and children fleeing domestic and family violence (DFV). These women and vulnerable families often face significant financial barriers, including the inability to afford rental bonds, which hinders their transition from crisis situations to long-term, stable housing. The economic abuse many women experience exacerbates their financial dependency, preventing them from securing safe and permanent accommodation.

Founded in 1974, Women & Children First (WACF) tackles domestic violence-related homelessness through their Fast-track to Independence Program, emphasising empowerment and independence. This initiative provides microgrants for rental bonds, aiding families transitioning from crisis to long-term accommodation. Developed in response to critical needs identified through their intake assessments and case management, the program aligns with the National Plan to End Domestic Violence, focusing on innovative strategies for homelessness and social housing for DFV survivors.

IMPACT100 Sydney North funding will support the Fast-Track to Independence Program to run for two years, benefiting up to 25 eligible families, including 25 women and their children.