Relationships Australia NSW

As we head towards the end of the year, data shows that people's use of stimulants often increases and many are looking for support. St Vincent's Hospital has opened the doors of its S-Check clinic, which offers adults free medical check-ups and a confidential place to discuss their use of stimulants. They take a harm minimisation approach and are guided by their clients' wants and needs - whether that’s understanding more about their use, managing use, reducing, or stopping altogether. It's based in Sydney but you don't have to be based locally to access S-Check. To learn more, visit: https://lnkd.in/gnD9-Udn St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney

Welcome to this week’s #MeetTheTeam – say hello to Business Development Manager, Brent 👋 Brent has been with us for the past two years and leads our team in finding new business opportunities and products for our clients.  Throughout his career, Brent has always focused on supporting the community, working in similar roles in grassroots football, before- and after-school care, and school-based financial literacy programs.  In his current role, Brent has played a key part in a transformative period at Relationships Australia NSW, as we seek innovative ways to strengthen workplace support for staff navigating relationship challenges. "It’s rewarding to provide professional development that helps them tackle challenges head-on, equipping them with the tools to overcome these hurdles and drive lasting positive change.” 🤝 Most recently, Brent and his team heard from clients that employees needed more support to resolve conflicts effectively. Together, with participants, staff and industry leaders, we’ve co-designed the Accidental Mediator workshop to give teams the skills and confidence to better deal with day-to-day conflict at work.  “Accidental Mediator is a great example of what I get to do in my role – we can brainstorm innovative products and work with like-minded partners to solve organisational issues. I’m able to provide something of meaning to people in their daily lives.” Outside work, Brent is the proud dad of a newborn baby boy 👶 and his two chihuahuas, Minnie and Birdie, and remains an avid supporter of the Central Coast Mariners.  If you’d like to learn more about some of our workplace wellbeing initiatives or join our next Accidental Mediator workshop, take a look here: https://lnkd.in/g5SVBZvB #AccidentalMediator #WorkplaceWellbeing

While some movies and TV shows might portray parents as devastated when their adult children move out of home, new research is painting a different picture. The Australian Seniors’ Empty Nesters Report 2024 found that 80% of older parents wouldn’t encourage their kids to move back home. Instead, they enjoyed having more time to themselves or with their partners, felt positive financial effects, or had taken up new interests. Our CEO, Elisabeth Shaw, says this feeling was quite common but not always shared aloud. “There can be a lot of peer group pressure these days on parents to allow their children to come back home,” Elisabeth says. “A lot of parents feel ambivalent about their kids returning.” To learn more about the report and its findings, take a look here: https://lnkd.in/etCSrg6G

On this day in 2018, the federal government formally apologised to victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse and the lifelong trauma it inflicted. Then Prime Minister Scott Morrison also apologised on behalf of the government to children who were not believed or listened to when they spoke out. It's an important reminder that child safety is our collective responsibility, and we must work together to prevent any future harm occurring to our children. Wattle Place, a service of Relationships Australia NSW, offers free and confidential support to adults who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse and are applying, or thinking of applying, to the National Redress Scheme. We encourage you to find out more here: https://lnkd.in/g5BNDdWq If you need help, or know someone who might benefit from connecting with the Wattle Place team, please get in touch - 1300 364 277.

After months of behind-the-scenes work, we're thrilled to launch our new program, Accidental Mediator. During the half-day workshop, you'll walk away with a practical toolkit for what to say and do when you find yourself pulled into day-to-day conflict. We were inspired to develop this course after listening to our clients and their uncertainty about how to approach disagreements at work. They're not the only ones - stats show that 85% of employees will experience workplace conflict and in Australia, over 100K working days are lost to it yearly. We want to change the narrative around workplace conflict and empower people to have open and respectful conversations. From senior leaders to people in customer-facing roles, this workshop is a must for anyone who wants to feel confident navigating difficult conversations in the workplace. Head to our website to learn more and join our next session. https://lnkd.in/g97Y5NcP #AccidentalMediator #WorkplaceWellbeing

As the cost of living continues to put pressure on individuals and families, an increasing number of couples are choosing to separate but keep living under the same roof. This emerging trend presents new challenges for everybody involved, including practitioners who are supporting people in this situation. If you're a service provider and looking to gain a deeper understanding of the topic, the Family Law Pathways Network is hosting a helpful workshop next week. You can register here: https://lnkd.in/ga7dct6P

Services for domestic and family violence are largely designed to respond to a man using violence against his female partner. But, evidence shows this isn't always the case. In up to 16% of reported incidences, multiple people involved are using violence, and the presence of more people increases the severity of the violence. This might include a partner's parents, siblings, or even family members living overseas. At Relationships Australia NSW, we have created a Resource Package for practitioners to identify and respond to abuse from multiple family members. The package plays an important role in delivering industry-leading research and relationship insights to transform how we support people in our community. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4h5vAbs #DomesticViolence #DomesticFamilyViolence #EndDomesticViolence

At Relationships Australia NSW, we run a workshop called "Accidental Counsellor". It's for people who might find themselves - personally or professionally - in positions where they often support friends, colleagues or clients "by accident". We asked one of our recent course participants, Abby, for her top takeaways, which included: 💡Specific do's and don'ts when talking to someone in distress 🤔 Being aware of when you feel like you've 'run out' of empathy 🤗 How you can hug someone with your eyes (perfect for non-huggers, clients, and colleagues) To read more about her experience, head over to our Knowledge Hub: https://bit.ly/4h6GFZA If you find yourself often helping or counselling others and want to build your skills to support them, send us a message today. We can help you learn more about Accidental Counsellor and our next group opening. 

Today, 9 October, marks Ageism Awareness Day, an issue that continues to run rampant. Earlier this year, we launched our Hidden Gems report, which reflects on abuse against older people and what the path forward for effectively addressing it looks like. Overall, the report identified that ageism continues to significantly influence society's ability to deal with this problem. Through interviews, focus groups and policy document analysis, we also found: 🔵 Many older people experienced internalised ageism, where they dismissed or diminished their own wants and needs 🔵 When approaching public services, older people were challenged with explicit ageism 🔵 Policy responses often cast older people as "problems" to be fixed rather than respected members of our society. Ending the abuse of older people in our society requires a long-term strategy to address social, structural, and institutional ageism. To learn more about our research in this space, you can read Hidden Gems here: https://bit.ly/3BCy2Ga #AgeismAwarenessDay #Ageism #AgeismAwareness

📢 Now hiring: Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner We play a critical role in helping individuals and families navigate life's challenges, including separation. As a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, you'll support people in discussing matters calmly and constructively, aiming for agreements that work for everyone, especially children. The perks and details: 🤜🤛 Permanent, part-time role 🌏 Hybrid, flexible working options 💡Generous leave options, including extra leave at the end of the year, salary packaging, ongoing supervision and career development opportunities, Fitness Passport, and more 🤝 Genuine commitment to inclusion and belonging (encouraging all to apply) and employee action groups to lead advocacy and change 🔵 Co-facilitate mediations with experienced practitioners 💚 Make a real-world impact to support vulnerable members of the community to access much-needed relationship support Want to apply or learn more? 👉 Head to https://bit.ly/3Y9tBLV or email employment@ransw.org.au for a confidential conversation. #Hiring