March 16-24 is Cultural Diversity Week, Victoria’s largest multicultural celebration and a chance to raise awareness about issues of importance among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities.

 

When Yin Chen and his wife migrated to Australia in 1999, they assumed family ties were all the housing security they needed. A few years later, a relationship breakdown with the couple’s son and daughter-in-law saw the pensioners facing the prospect of homelessness. Luckily, support through not for profit organisation Villa Maria Catholic Homes (VMCH) and the Assistance with Care and Housing (ACH) Program meant the Chens were able to secure permanent, affordable housing in Hawthorn East, where they’ve lived for the past eight years.

 

 

Join Jesuit Social Services for an evening of entertainment and celebration of a shared desire to build a just society at its Annual Dinner on Saturday 16 March at the MCG Members Dining Room. Liana Buchanan, Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People is this year’s guest speaker delivering the annual Frank Costigan QC Address. Tickets are on sale now. Book here.

Wodonga resident Mikaela Reid was just eight years old when she became a carer. Her father has a mental illness and two brothers and sister live with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and anxiety. Mikaela was supported by our member organisation Villa Maria Catholic Homes for more than five years. Now aged 20, she’s giving back to the program that helped her though the toughest time of her life by volunteering as a mentor in its Young Carer Mentor Program (YCMP).