Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of women in the Southern Metropolitan Region, especially those disadvantaged by gender, CALD background, creed, location, income, gender preference, violence, disability, etc.

We always obey following key words for our work practice.

  • Knowledge = power
  • Walking beside, not doing for
  • Support and encouragement
  • Informed choices
  • Independence not dependency

  
Advocacy  

WHISE works at several levels, in advocating for improved health and wellbeing opportunities and services for women in the Southern Metropolitan Region. These levels include:

  • System change - State, Federal, Local
  • Service system change
  • Communty and cultural change
  • Family and relationships change
  • Self change
 
Health Promotion
  • To health professionals and service providers
  • To community meetings
  • To special interest groups
  • To families and individual women
  • To work places
  • To support and self-help groups
Community Services
  • Intake and referral services
  • Home visiting for newly arrived women and their families
  • Respect Protect Connect - school program on relationships, violence and bullying
  • Friendly Faces - volunteer home visiting program for older people
  • Public Internet Access Service
  • General health information and resources
  • No Interest Loan Scheme program -(Cockatoo, Doveton, WHISE)
  • Networks
  • Projects working with families of different cultures, to help them settle into the Australian society more easily

Training & Education
  • Women's Leadership Program
  • Gender and Diversity Program
  • Volunteer and Peer Educator training
  • Training tailored to specific groups, workplaces, health professionals and service providers(eg: outreach health promotion to work places)
  • Special training programs (e.g Financial literacy for CALD women)
  • Competency Based Training model
  • Basic computer training

Health Services
  • Movement program (Strength Training, falls prevention, fitness for work, general exercise and movement: aiming for young mums/ ante and post natal exercise.)
  • More services focused on young women and young mums
  • Wellbeing activities: meditation, yoga, art, craft, community kitchen
  • Movement for aged women
Support and Self-help Groups

Self-Help Groups supports and encourages women affected by common issues and similar backgrounds to meet and address issues in a safe and supportive environment.

  • We help them start
  • We train some members to lead the group
  • We work with the group for about 6 months
  • We then let them "fly" on their own - checking occasionally to see that all is fine

In this way, the Support Group moves to the Self-Help Group status.