Programs
Settlement Grants Program (SGP) – Volunteer Home Visiting Program
The aim of the SGP is to deliver services which assist eligible clients to become self reliant and participate fairly in Australian society as soon as possible after arrival.
SGP is funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). WHISE provides SGP eligible clients with orientation and integration, inclusion and participation activities such as;
- Casework
- Home visiting program for refugee women
- Volunteers are trained by WHISE to visit clients, in their homes, to provide settlement assistance. Volunteers help clients manage the many challenges that make adapting to a new lifestyle in a new country difficult.
- Group information sessions
Our home visiting program is unique in its capacity to empower and improve the health, equity, and social inclusion of refugee women within an environment that is safe and supportive to them.
To be referred to WHISE’s SGP you must be a female permanent residents who arrived in Australia during the last five years as:
- A humanitarian entrant
- A family stream migrant with a low level of English proficiency
Settlement Grants Program brochure (PDF: 117KB)
Photography on the Move
Photography on the Move aims to promote social inclusion, physical activity, creativity and healthy lifestyle behaviours through an 8 week program to young people with a disability in special development schools across the Southern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne.
Small groups of 8 – 12 students are given the use of a digital camera to capture images from their surroundings that represent how they perceive the world.
During sessions the students are:
- taught how to use the functions of the camera
- encouraged to navigate their way around their local area to promote physical activity
- encouraged to use teambuilding and social inclusion skills
- provided with health information relevant to their needs
At the completion of the program, students are given the opportunity to showcase their work through an exhibition which aims to increase the student’s confidence and self esteem while increasing the awareness of disability within the broader community.
The Photography on the Move program can be altered to suit the needs of other population groups such as older women, newly arrived women and young mothers.
Photography on the Move flyer (PDF: 226KB)
Talking Health
Hairdressers hear a lot about what is going on in the lives of their clients. They are often the first to hear about good things such as births and marriages; they are also the first to hear about the not so pleasant experiences such as relationship breakdown, conflicts within relationships or the death of a loved one. The Talking Health project aims to assist and train hairdressers in being able to provide support and referral to clients experiencing difficulties.
Talking Health aims to build community capacity and promote mental health resilience by:
- Working in partnership with hair salons to build staff capacity to identify clients and fellow workers’ needs
- Increasing awareness of mental health, grief and bereavement, family/relationship violence and other common health issues through conversations and written information from salons
- Developing skills & confidence in hairdressers, building on active communication skills
- Increasing knowledge of community support agencies & referral to local services
- Establishing a system for professional debriefing and support of hairdressers faced with stories of abuse and other issues from their clients and to source additional information as required
- Promoting the findings of the pilot as a basis for building community capacity to resolve health issues
GRACE (Gender, Rights and Cultural Education)
The GRACE program aims to promote inclusion and acceptance of communities from diverse backgrounds to encourage the spread of harmony.
The GRACE program recognises the diversity of the Southern Metropolitan Region and as a result has a particular emphasis on gender, culture, religion, ethnicity, rights and gender identity in an attempt to reduce discrimination and marginalisation experienced by women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
To live in harmony with such vast diversity creates a need for understanding, tolerance and acceptance. Through the GRACE program these factors are promoted through education and advocacy for an increased understanding of the nature of other faiths, cultures and the position of women in different religions and cultures.
The activities thus far have included:
- Harmony Day celebrations at WHISE
- Hindu wedding presentation
- Tour of Holy Places for schools, community groups and service providers
- Presentations to women from CALD background on the different religions in Australia and women’s positions in these religions
These activities are carried out in partnerships with Frankston Interfaith Network and Mornington Peninsula Interfaith Network.
