Cabrini Research Committee Year in review

Message From The Chief Of Mental Health And Cabrini Outreach

Throughout 2021-22, Cabrini Outreach was proud to continue delivering care to some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Through our unique mix of services within Australia and internationally, we continued seeking ways to address social disadvantage and contribute to the development of more inclusive, equitable and compassionate communities.

Our work was guided by the mission, vision and values of Cabrini Australia and by the organisation’s 2021-25 strategic plan, which sets out our future direction. As part of this plan, Cabrini Outreach identified two key focus areas, which we believe will deliver Cabrini’s mission, meet unmet needs and provide quality, compassionate care.

• Asylum seeker health service delivery and advocacy

• Health capacity strengthening across the Cabrini community

Throughout 2021-22, we continued taking steps to achieve these plans.

Delivering care and services to asylum seekers remained at the forefront of our work. There are more than 38,500 people seeking asylum and applying for temporary or permanent protection visas in Australia and throughout 2021-22 we noticed many people experiencing continuing distress because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and sought to provide meaningful support.

We continued into our second year of partnerships in regional Victoria with Project Sihat to expand mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic and Clinic Sihat opened in Shepparton in June 2021, in partnership with Primary Care Connect (PCC), the local community health service. The aim of the clinic was to provide weekly GP and practice nurse services to people seeking asylum (particularly those without Medicare or income) and newly arrived refugees.

A rewarding moment during the year, was receiving the Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence in Health 2021. It was humbling to receive feedback about how our service addresses a “pressing unfunded gap in primary healthcare and specialist mental health services for people of all cultures, faiths and ethnicities seeking asylum” and how we strive to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care. This award was a well-deserved acknowledgement of the hard work of the team, who go above and beyond to provide individualised care that meets the needs of the people we serve.

We are proud to be part of an international family of services inspired by the spirit and vision of Mother Cabrini and the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and during the year, we continued supporting Cabrini missions around the world through services in Eswatini, Ethiopia and New York City.

In 2021-22, there were more than 10,362 visits to Cabrini St Phillips’ Missionary, Eswatini, providing access to much needed quality health services for vulnerable clients. More than 6800 patients were cared for at Cabrini St Mary’s Catholic Primary Hospital in Dubbo, Ethiopia. In the spirit of the Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Patroness of Immigrants, Cabrini Immigrant Services in New York City helps newest Americans realise their dreams, with the goal of providing vital advocacy for changes in policies that will help the immigrant population. In 2021-22, our service continued to provide legal services, social services (case management and counselling), immigrant services and community education.

While undertaking all of this work, we remained guided by the spirit and vision of Saint Frances Cabrini – a compassionate, visionary women who sought to make positive change in the world. As we take this time to reflect on the year that was and look to the future, I draw your attention to a poignant quote from Mother Cabrini:

Whether it is supporting our global communities or extending our care and service to those less fortunate, I am proud to be leading a team at Cabrini Outreach, who seek to provide care and services where there is a need.

I would like to acknowledge the dedicated and compassionate team who work at Cabrini Outreach, for their hard work and ongoing commitment to addressing social disadvantage. I thank our pro bono workers, who generously give their time to support our service and the people we serve.

We are fortunate to also be supported by many other organisations who share our passion and commitment to creating a better, more equal society and I thank everyone who has supported us through the provision of goods and services, financial support, fundraising and partnerships. A full list of these organisations can be found in this report.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Cabrini Board, led by Chairman Sylvia Falzon, and Cabrini Australia Chief Executive, Sue Williams, for their guidance in both developing our 2021-25 strategy and for their continued support in helping us achieve our plans.

Sharon Sherwood Chief of Mental Health and Cabrini Outreach

*Refugee Council of Australia - RCOA, November 2022