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Catholic social services - making a positive difference across Victoria

Catholic social services make a substantial contribution to the social fabric of Victoria. Services range from alcohol treatment, crisis housing, Indigenous ministry and prison ministry, to the protection of women and children escaping family violence, refugees and asylum seekers and those impacted by human trafficking. More than 200,000 people were supported by Catholic social service organisations during 2016-2017, with the total number of occasions of support being in excess of 400,000. The total expenditure in assisting these people was more than $700 million and included 6800 employed staff and at least 17,600 volunteers.

“Our sense is that everyone is vulnerable, but at the moment the more acute presentations are the Let Them Stay cohort,” says Dr Tram Nguyen, medical director of specialist mental health services at Melbourne’s Cabrini Asylum Seeker and Refugee Health Hub. This comes in the aftermath of the Federal government's decision to end Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) for several thousand asylum seekers on bridging visas, which came into effect in 2018.

Co-designed by young people with disability, the latest research reveals 4 key aspects to keeping safe - being safe in your body, having your access needs met, being safe in your feelings and feeling like you have control.  A timely reminder for all policy makers given the introduction of the NDIS Quality and Safeguard Commission and the damning findings from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Read more here.

Mandatory sentencing, improving care for vulnerable children in Victoria, workplace spirituality and prayer, upcoming workshops for parish communities to help respond to family violence, and to assist asylum seekers. Find out about these news items, and more events from Catholic Social Services Victoria, and our members, here.