News
The River Nile Learning Centre was established in 2006 in response to the educational difficulties faced by young refugees from the Horn of Africa whose education had been severely disrupted. Its focus today is on young refugee women, especially those who are pregnant or have small children.
The River Nile Learning Centre offers a unique re-engagement program of VCAL studies to fifteen young women aged 15-21 years, individually tailored to each woman’s specific needs and personal goals. Its uniqueness lies with the fact that the women can bring their babies and young children to class with them. While the students retain the primary responsibility for their children, there are Education Support Aides to assist the young mothers. The aides are women from their own culture who are able to provide stimulation to the children, assist the students with their parenting skills and assist the qualified teaching staff to create a good learning environment. In April, the Trust awarded a grant of $25,000 towards employment of the aides.
The Trustees are pleased to announce that Mr Andrew Brookes commenced as Chief Executive of the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust on 1 March. Additionally, Andrew’s community involvements include being a member of the Melbourne Health Human Research Ethics Committee and the Melbourne Grammar School Investment Committee, a Director of LifeWorks Relationship Counselling and Education Services, Deakin Foundation and the Victoria Police Youth Foundation. Before commencing with the Trust, Andrew was the Executive Officer of Colonial Foundation. For more information on Andrew, please click here.
A unique pilot project which offers early support services to women who come into contact with the criminal justice system has been awarded a grant of $25,000 under the Trust’s Small Grants program. The Women’s Mentoring Program recruits and trains volunteer mentors to assist women in the City of Yarra who have been charged with a criminal offence and have not yet been to court, or women who are having issues with the law and are at risk of being charged. The program seeks to fill a gap in existing services and opportunities and came out of recommendations from a report commissioned in 2008 by the Collingwood Rotary Club which looked at justice and community support for women.
While there is a mentoring service for women who have been to court and who are on community-based orders or who have completed custodial sentences, there is no mentoring service available for a woman as soon as she has been charged. Similarly, there are mentoring services aimed at young people coming into contact with the justice system but none which cover the wider age range. The mentors are expected to offer non-judgemental emotional support, positive role modelling of legal and functional behaviour, and practical assistance as required including ensuring the women have legal assistance, supporting them in their court appearances and also in finding and utilising appropriate community and life-style support services.
The project is strongly supported by local legal and social support agencies, the police and the Courts, while operating completely separately from these organisations. The pilot will run until November 2011 and will be the subject of an independent evaluation.
The Wellington Collingwood is a community space and support services organisation which operates near the Collingwood Housing Estate. It provides a focal point for social interaction of residents of all cultures as well as a range of health and wellbeing programs including the recently established Women’s Mentoring Program.