Diocese_Of_Sandhurst_YearInReview_2021

18 CatholicCare Victoria On 1 January 2021 we celebrated the coming together of CatholicCare Sandhurst, Centacare Ballarat and CatholicCare Melbourne/Gippsland to create CatholicCare Victoria (CCV); the culmination of many months of careful collaboration and due diligence. This heralded a momentous strategic alignment of the social service agencies of the four Catholic Dioceses in Victoria; an amalgamation that will help advance the ministry of Catholic charitable and social services across the state. CatholicCareVictoriawasinauguratedinaCommissioning Mass on 24 March 2021, blessing the organisation and entrusting staff and partners with CatholicCare Victoria’s mission to strengthen families and communities. Archbishop Peter A. Comensoli of Melbourne was principal celebrant of CatholicCare Victoria’s opening Mass at St Anthony of Padua Parish, South Melton, which was concelebrated by Bishop Paul Bird CSsR of Ballarat, Bishop Shane Mackinlay of Sandhurst, Bishop Greg Bennet of Sale and distinguished clergy. In addition to welcoming CCV’s founding Board Chair, John Sheldon and founding CEO, Agnes Sheehan, CCV also welcomed its new Board, including the appointment of John Murphy and Sarah McAdie who live in the Sandhurst Diocese and have been members of the CatholicCare Sandhurst Board. CCV’s Board meetings rotate across the state. In 2021, meetings were held in Shepparton, Warragul and East Melbourne but due to COVID lockdowns two of our Board meetings were held via Zoom, with local staff presenting to the Board on their programs. As well as the welcomes, 2021 has also seen us farewell some dear friends. Rhonda Lawson-Street (Executive Director, CatholicCare Sandhurst) retired on November 5, 2021. We will be forever grateful for her significant contributionto thedevelopment anddeliveryof programs offered by CatholicCare, her passion for supporting local community and her leadership supporting the change associated with coming together. NewOrganisational Structure and Integration Program One year has passed and we have been very busy – running a comprehensive integration program to bring the three agencies together – on top of our Mission as usual service delivery commitments – and in the midst of a pandemic! In July we presented the proposed new organisation structure to our Board who gave us the green light to take the proposal to staff for consultation. After extensive consultation with our people, a final organisational structure has been implemented that will position CCV well for the future. We have transitioned to functionally aligned streams and service delivery models that prioritise partnering and enablement. Clients remain ce t al to all th t we do! Regardless of the complex transformation projects underway to integrate our systems, clients remain at the heart of all that we do and core to our Mission to care for, uphold and honour the inherent dignity of every person. CCV is a leading provider of child, family and youth services, family relationship services, school counselling and pastoral care services, refugee services, social housing, employment and advocacy services. In 2021, CatholicCare Victoria supported over 27,000 people across more than 60 programs, 25+ locations delivered from offices – or via outreach – across Victoria. We employ 500 staff and work with many volunteers. Ensuring our client and community programs meet needs in the local communities of the Sandhurst Diocese In 2021 CatholicCare Victoria’s 63 ‘Sandhurst region’ staff, supported: • 2,156 Sandhurst clients plus additional clients across Integrated Family Services, Parents Next and Youth Justice who were not captured in the above data. An additional 925 children were supported in four Primary Schools: Epsom, California Gully, Heathcote and Quarry Hill. • Of the Sandhurst Diocese clients captured in our Penelope database: - 87.8% were adults and 12.2% were children - 7% identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander - 12% of clients have a disability - 2% come from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds. National SchoolsChaplaincyProgram– SandhurstDiocese Chaplains supported the school communities in the Sandhurst Diocese mentioned above with the challenges of lockdowns and home schooling. As well as COVID related lockdown support, chaplains have been assisting children transitioning to/from out of home care, distributing food relief boxes and providing referrals for students, families and staff to additional services as needed. Demand from school staff seeking individual debrief/support was also high in the schools, highlighting thetrustbuiltbytheChaplainwithstaff. Chaplainsnotonly work with individual children but offer group sessions during lunchtime and class time such as Friendship Groups, Art Groups, Stormbirds and Seasons for Growth. Communities for Children (CfC)– Shepparton The Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CfCFPs) is a place-basedmodel of investment supporting children and families in 52 disadvantaged communities across Australia. CatholicCare Victoria is the facilitating partner in Shepparton to facilitate a whole-of-community approach to support early childhood development and wellbeing with a focus on children from birth to 12 years and can include children up to 18 years and their families. Some 2021 achievements include: • Shepparton CfC renewed funding agreement for five years (until June 2026) which is extremely pleasing, given annual renewals recently, and commenced implementing Collective Impact principles to our way of working. • Over $700k was distributed to community partner organisations to fund aligned activities with additional funding to our highly successful Professional Practice Seminar Series. REPORTS