Brotherhood of St Laurence

BSL welcomes today’s announcement of a new independent national centre, Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment (PLACE), which focuses on community-led work across Australia. With backing from the Federal Government and major philanthropic foundations, this initiative will assist many communities nationwide tackle complex issues like socioeconomic barriers, early childhood development and job support programs. We know from experience how important it is for communities to have a say and guide efforts locally. Our National Youth Employment Body (NYEB) is a great example. It has helped break down barriers to youth employment in nine communities around Australia, improving job support for young people. Place-based initiatives are collaborative, long-term approaches to building thriving communities. We’re delighted that the establishment of this centre will focus on expanding the great work of place-based community-led initiatives.

Thank you Melbourne Fashion Week – what an honour and delight to be part of the program this year. Our Friday night show featured the original designs from our incredibly talented Retail Operations Manager, Carys Whitfield as project lead and Hunter Gatherer Fitzroy Manager, Sam Willersdorf as creative director, Retail Assistant, Amelia Rafferty and our team at our Bentleigh store. And a massive thank you to all our stores, who collaborated to ensure donations made the way to our head office for #upcycling into new creations! If you love to show your unique style, head into one of our 23 stores to buy #secondhand and extend the life of #preloved clothing. At the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, our vision is for an Australia free of Poverty. Profits from BSL Op Shops and Hunter Gatherer stores help fund life-changing community programs. #MFW30 #MFW #MelbourneFashionWeek #UpcycledClothing #Reuse #Remade #CharitableReuse  

This week, we celebrated 21 years of our flagship financial education and matched savings program, Saver Plus, by officially launching the ‘Saver Plus at 21’ report. Established by BSL and ANZ and delivered in partnership with Berry Street and The Smith Family, Saver Plus helps lower-income people in Australia develop their financial skills and to date has helped more than 61,000 participants build lifelong, life-changing savings habits. Highlights from the impact report include: • 84% of former participants still save more than 7 years after completing Saver Plus, including 71% still save regularly. • 74% reported that their total assets had increased. • Financial wellbeing scores of participants increased from 35 out of 100 before Saver Plus, to 66 out of 100 following involvement in the program. These transformative results wouldn’t have been possible without the ongoing dedication of participants and support from our partner organisations, past and present. We’re excited to see what the next 21 years and beyond brings for the program and participants – if you want to learn more about how Saver Plus builds resilience that lasts, visit https://lnkd.in/dGrgrB66

Such a great initiative helping young jobseekers into a career!

Maiy Azize, spokesperson for the Everybody's Home Campaign, explains that the unfair distribution of properties is a major issue no one talks about when discussing homelessness in Australia.    Watch the full BSL Talks webinar 'Locked out: Poverty and the Australian crisis' now at https://lnkd.in/gEDSWzzc

The Hon. Kevin Bell AO KC explains why we need to implement and not just talk about fairer housing policies, and hold our governments accountable. Watch the full Anti-Poverty Week edition of BSL Talks ‘Locked out: Poverty and the Australian housing crisis’, now at: https://lnkd.in/gvRu7w7B

Today (17 Oct) marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The theme for this year is ‘Ending Social and Institutional Maltreatment Acting together for just, peaceful and inclusive societies’, shedding light on idea that poverty has multiple dimensions – some visible and others hidden – but all interlinked. Earlier this year, we invited Professor Sabina Alkire from the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford to deliver our 2024 Sambell Oration, where she suggested Australia should consider a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), "not to induce guilt, paralysis or a dread and feeling nothing can be done" but because that process might make poverty "visible in ways that can be linked to action." Around the world, 156 countries have official poverty measures – either an official income measure, a multidimensional measure or both. Australia has neither. It’s time that changed and BSL wants to help drive that change. You can watch the 2024 Sambell Oration here: https://lnkd.in/g6Akqzhv and find out more about the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty here: https://lnkd.in/d33ahMb

Missed our latest Anti-Poverty Week edition of BSL Talks? You can now watch BSL Talks ‘Locked out: Poverty and the Australian housing crisis’ on YouTube! A big thanks to Dr Dina Bowman for hosting and to our guests The Hon. Kevin Bell AO KC, Juanita McLaren (advocate) and Maiy Azize (Deputy Director Anglicare Australia, Chair Person of @verybody's Home) 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gbARHPrw

BSL seeks to engage a suitable supplier to implement an integrated Customer Relationship Management and marketing automation system to grow fundraising income and support effective relationship management across our organisation. We’re inviting suppliers to submit a proposal that meets the requirements in the tender documentation, which is available on Tenderlink. Submissions are due on 15 November 2024. To find out more, please register at this link: https://lnkd.in/g3f-5gPv If you have any questions, please get in touch with Ivy Kuang, BSL’s Procurement Manager by emailing Ivy.Kuang@bsl.org.au

Our Social Policy and Research Centre is exploring the impact of the ‘couple rule’ on women in Victoria, which involves Centrelink assessing relationship circumstances.    We're seeking input from women on JobSeeker, Parenting Payment Single and Disability Support Pension who have had their relationships assessed when applying for these payments.   This research is part of our Sustaining Economic Empowerment and Dignity for Women (SEED) Project and builds on Lyndal Sleep's work. It highlights concerns about domestic violence and the rule's enforcement.    Your insights will go a long way in helping us advocate for better policies.