Southside Good Beginnings Volunteer Home Visiting Program, ACT
Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin No.5 Autumn 2004 p.25-26
First glimpse - project responses to a series of questions
The project setting
Southside Good Beginnings Volunteer Home Visiting Program, based in Canberra, is auspiced by Southside Community Services Inc and supported by the National Good Beginnings Office. Southside Good Beginnings is a service for families with children under the age of six years, living in the inner south suburbs of Canberra, including Griffith, Kingston, Oaks Estate, Narrabundah, Red Hill and Symonston.
Why is this project needed?
Research has shown that early experiences and the quality of nurturing and cognitive stimulation received by children in their early years have a significant impact on social, behavioural, physical and cognitive development. Ideally, a network of friends, other family members and a range of community services support families in their parenting during the early years. However, many parents today feel isolated and lack social networks to help them in their role of parenting. The majority of requests for assistance received by Southside Community Services are from parents with little or no family support.
Isolation for families living in the inner city suburbs of Canberra can be caused by social, cultural, health, economic or geographic factors.
Social and geographic isolation
- No telephone
- Lack of awareness/knowledge of local resources
- Transport difficulties
- No access to extended family or friends
- No contact with family, friends or neighbours
Child and/or family with additional needs
- Frequent pregnancies
- Multiple births
- Teenage parents
- Premature or low-birth weight baby
- Recent arrivals/refugees
- Child/family member with physical disability
- Family member with a mental illness
- Family member with special
Disadvantaged socially and economically
- Limited education
- Financial stress or inadequate or unpredictable income
- Unemployment
- Frequent moving or no established residence
- Inadequate housing
Reasons why program may not be suitable for the family
Every referral will undergo an assessment. Appropriate support for families and the safety of the Community Parent is a priority.
- Families living outside the inner south of Canberra
- Parent(s)/carer(s) with a current drug-related dependency (excluding those whose medical condition requires medication such as epilepsy, diabetes)
- Parent(s)/carer(s) with severe untreated or unmanaged mental illness
- Parent(s)/carer(s) with severe post-natal depression or puerperal psychosis
- Confirmed or suspected child abuse
- Domestic violence (depending on discussions between agency and program coordinator)
What are you trying to do in the project?
The Southside Good Beginnings Program hopes to reduce parents' feelings of isolation and encourage good parenting practices by fostering social and community support for families with young children.
How are you going about it?
Volunteers, called Community Parents, are recruited from the southern suburbs of Canberra. After completing a six-week comprehensive training program, they are linked to a family where they offer friendly, informal social support and home visits as well as help the family access community services and social groups.
Southside Good Beginnings celebrates
the graduation of its first group of
Community Parents.
To ensure the program has local ownership and relevance, a reference group of 10-15 people from the Canberra community informs the Southside Good Beginnings Program. Individual reference group members consult with their individual networks and offer the coordinators honest and constructive feedback on the planning, reporting or promotion of the program. The coordinators network and liaise with community groups, agencies and families within the Canberra region to identify the needs of families and look for ways to make agencies more accessible and effective for families.
Gunghalin Young Parents Peer Support
and Education group (GYPSE)
spokespeople
talk about the needs of
young parents during a Volunteer
training session.
