The Morelander Edition 5 2021-22

Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Moreland

EDITION 5|31 AUGUST 2021

THE MORELANDER

SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE IN MORELAND

Ginetta Mammarella on YHOP and its support for homeless young people in Morelan

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Award of Excellence for Club Bulletin 2018-2019

Moreland Rotary acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct our business. Moreland Rotary respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging. Moreland Rotary also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

Cover photo: Youth Projects

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Ginetta Mammarella and supporting homeless young people in Moreland Given Rotary Moreland’s support this year for the work of Youth Projects it was great to welcome Ginetta Mammarella to speak at a recent club meeting.

Ginetta told us that young people reveal that they really want the lockdown to be over but struggle to get out of the house or go to school during a lockdown. This is a source of great concern and expression of many frustrations, requiring YHOP to keep in touch with affected young people

Ginetta is an Employment Manager at Youth Projects and works on the ground with young people with the Youth Homelessness Outreach Project (YHOP) which originated in the City of Hume and has expanded into Moreland.

Rotary Moreland recently advocated for and obtained funding from Rotary District 9790 to help support YHOP's extension into the City of Moreland, in response to a growing need for YHOP’s services.

YHOP is an assertive youth outreach service working with young people in Moreland and is already making a positive impact. It is currently working with twelve young people and has accepted referrals from schools, community services and young people themselves as well as from a range of agencies.

YHOP is a 26 week program working with individuals and also with schools, other services and families. Part of the program involves developing a mentoring plan and looking at the young person holistically trying to cover all relevant issues of concern, for example examining questions including: What’s home like? Do you want to work? Are you in school? What are your friends like?

The parts of Moreland currently covered by YHOP Moreland program are Pascoe Vale, Coburg and Fawkner. The partnership with Moreland Youth Services (part of Moreland Council) is also very important.

YHOP engages young people to investigate and address whatever the needs of clients e.g. shelter and job finding. The process involves working with homelessness services in Moreland to find safe and secure housing, and provide other support services. Other assistance may include driving young people to jobs and to school.

If they are disengaged with school then YHOP works with the school to help the young person relate better to the school environment. YHOP also builds relationships with other relevant services to ensure maximum coverage of assistance.

Four young people are currently on the waiting list and the main issues which constantly arise are mental health and social isolation. Between the ages of 12-15 years friends are everything so social isolation at present during the lockdowns is high therefore being the number one issue along with mental health. So many have had their programs interrupted with the stop and start nature of lockdowns and the constant fear and uncertainty of whether they will be long or brief.

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A critical part of the YHOP service to new clients is to undertake a quick response to their needs. Working with referrers and families is also a very important upfront task. Ginella gave an example of one family YHOP is working with at present where there was an experience of a family breakdown, raising major issues for the young person's wellbeing. It is important for the whole family to know and understand what the young person is going through so that all can play a part in addressing their challenges.

One example of where YHOP sought to work with a community group was before the current lockdown with the Fawkner Football Club. The club contacted YHOP. They were working with the Moreland City Council and needed some more intensive support such as one young person who was self harming). In this case, rather than go straight to the young person to talk about the issue, YHOP planned to take a more indirect initial approach holding a BBQ with prizes and games and then talk more generally talked about YHOP and how it provides support in the hope that individual support of for the young person would follow.

Youth Projects have a community support van (see photo above) and YHOP workers take young people out in these as a way of engagement.

They also run a school program “Off the Couch”. Off the Couch is a program engaging young people back into school and is currently running in the City of Hume. It supports young people who are disengaged from school and at risk of homelessness. VincentCare is a partner in this work and the services offered include securing housing, support in the private housing market and life skills for housing, bills, rent, cooking.

YHOP is offering virtual vouchers during the lockdown and are doing the best they can but physical contact is obviously better though.

In summary, the principal purpose of YHOP is engaging young people at risk, making them feel safe and getting them to talk about their issues so that they can plan a way forward. The risk is that we can allow a cloud of despair to overwhelm them. Overcoming this builds resilience which is of benefit to the young people and the community they live i.

We thanked Ginetta very much for her description of the much needed work of Youth Projects with the YHOP programe, which served to reinforce the value of the Rotary funding contribution.

TEXT: DAVID REDFEARN AND TREVOR MOYLE

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PROJECT MANAGER WANTED FOR THE BACKYARD FARMERS PROJECT

Moreland Rotary Club has been supporting the local community organisation Growing Farmers over the past year to establish their Backyard Farmers Project.

We have a shared vision for stronger communities and healthier environments.

We're pleased to say that they are now recruiting for a Project Manager to run the Backyard Farmers Project. Local Moreland and Fawkner residents are encouraged to apply.

Find out more at the Growing Farmers website. CLICK HERE or type in: https://www.growingfarmers.org. au/work-with-us IMAGES AND TEXT: GROWING FARMERS THE MORELANDER

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About Rotary District Governor's Newsletter

"Our District, Our Voice" is the monthly newsletter of District Governor Anne Reid in 2021-22.

There is a lot of information about the many Rotary projects and events across our District. Simply click here to read the latest edition Members of Rotary are part of a diverse group of community and professional leaders working to address community and international service needs and to promote peace and understanding throughout the world.

Rotary districts are a way of grouping a number of clubs in a particular geographic area. The area covered quite often crosses state and even international boundaries.

Rotary District 9790 encompasses the northern Rotary clubs receive a charter suburbs of Melbourne and from the worldwide organisation - stretches north and north east of Rotary International.

Victoria to the Murray River and up into parts of NSW. A Rotarian belongs to a particular Rotary Club often near his/her For more information about home or work or sometimes Rotary District 9790, click here because of the club meeting time.

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Rotary Leadership 2021-22 Rotary International: President: Shekha Mehta(Susanne) , Rotary Club of District Governor: Anne Reid , Rotary Club of Alexandra Assistant Governor Group 2: Emma Davis, Rotary Club of Moreland Rotary Club of Moreland President: Emma Davis Club Service Roles 2021-22

President President Elect Secretary Treasurer Community Service Vocational Services Membership, International Service and Assistant Bulletin Editor Rotary Foundation Youth and Assistant Secretary Club Administration and Governance Environment and Bulletin Editor Australian Rotary Health Public Relations Club History Valued members Honorary Members

Emma Davis TBA Rosemary Freeman John Hoffmann Rosemary Freeman Brian Bennett Trevor Moyle Rosemary Freeman Silvana De Pretto Nino Galgano and Lee Garwood David Redfearn OAM Rosemary Freeman Russell Stuckey and Brian Bennett Nino Galgano Elly Gardner, Jo Connellan The Hon. Kelvin Thomson, Helen Bailey, John Awler, Richard McCarthy

District 9790 /Multi District Roles 2021-22

Assistant Governor, Group 2 and Director, 2023 Convention Host Organising Committee District Community Service Chair and Australian Rotary Health District Legal Officer District Bulletin Editor and Peter Toomey Community Police Award Shine On Awards

Emma Davis Rosemary Freeman Nino Galgano David Redfearn OAM Brian Bennett

WHEN AND WHERE WE MEET:

Moreland Rotary Club meets most Wednesdays at 7.30 for a 7.40 am start.

We meet at the Sorrento Bar, 801 Sydney Road, Brunswick, 3056 HOW TO GET A COPY OF THE MORELANDER:

If you would like to receive our bulletin via email each week, email our editor at: dredfearn@vtown.com.au WHERE TO SEND FORMAL CORRESPONDENCE:

Attention: The Secretary, Moreland Rotary Club, PO Box 219, Coburg, Victoria, 3058

Chartered 14 August 1996 - Sponsor Club Coburg Rotary Club | Incorporated 13 August 2019 Designed using Canva - www.canva.com

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Images by David Redfearn and logos from rotary.org unless otherwise specified.

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Upcoming events and meetings A standing invitation exists for all readers of The Morelander to attend Moreland Rotary Club meetings and some of our other events. Please let us know if you intend to join us by ringing David Redfearn on 0448 852 747 or emailing on dredfearn@vtown.com.au (click on email address).

Upcoming speakers/events

1 September: Nada Stojovski, Volunteer Coordinator, Royal Botanical Gardens (Zoom) 8 September: Monthly Board Meeting (Zoom) 15 September: TBA 22 September: TBA 29 September: TBA Our Guest Speakers

Moreland Rotary Club invites speakers to our club both from our local community and further afield. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and are invited because they hopefully inform and stimulate our members and guests. We feel that this is of value in fostering a deeper understanding of our diverse community and even providing guidance as to the types of activites and projects our club may engage in. However the opinions expressed by our speakers do not necessarily reflect any official viewpoint of Moreland Rotary nor those of individual club members. Irrespective of this we always offer a warm Rotary welcome to all of our speakers.

click here @RotaryMoreland

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During the pandemic we sometimes only meet via Zoom on Wednesday mornings from 7.30-8.30 am but, when we can, we meet in person at our usual venue (listed on page 6). You should contact us beforehand in case restrictions are in force but you can always join us on Zoom at any time and the link is below.

We always aim to have great guest speakers whether meeting in person or virtually!

Why not join us one morning? Simply ring David on 0448 852 747 the day before to RSVP or go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3068589175 just before the meeting to join in.