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Wesley's Research and Social Policy Unit conducts research into all of its services and prorgrams.
Healing StoriesHealing Stories was a participatory project carried out in partnership with community Aboriginal Elders, Deakin University and Wesley Mission Victoria. It has gathered stories from Aboriginal people in north-east Melbourne on their emotional, physical and spiritual experiences of health services, and their use and non-use of services. Recommendations from the participants, established and reviewed through community consultations, emphasised the importance of respectful dialogue within and between communities and the importance of listing to Aboriginal voices in the development, provision and delivery of services to communities. Download the Healing Stories report here.
It's a Wellbeing ThingThe aim of this project was to deepen Wesley’s understanding of wellbeing and socially isolated people in later-middle and older age through listening to the views and experiences of Do Care service users. This project aims to provide insight into how this group perceive, understand and experience their own wellbeing and explore what contributes to positive ageing and positive wellbeing. Download the It's a Wellbeing Thing report here. Download the Sense of Community Amongst Socially Isolated Older People summary report here. Burwood House ReviewBurwood House was established in February 2008 to provide a residential leaving care service with a therapeutic focus to young people from 16 to 18 years. Burwood House was one of the first residential care services that takes a holistic, therapeutic focus to be established in Victoria. Burwood House is unique in that it is the first residential facility established specifically to address the leaving care needs of this older age group of young people. Burwood House provides medium to long-term accommodation to support to child protection residents who have been residing in out-of-home care on either a Custody to the Secretary Order or a Guardianship Order. Burwood House can accommodate four young people in the main house, and has scope for another two young people in an independent living unit attached to the property. Young people can stay in the program after they turn 18, and receive outreach support after they leave the service. The aims of this evaluation were to: identify the key elements of the program design and establishment process; and determine whether the service is meeting its aim of supporting young people to transition out of the care system with the skills they need to sustain independent living.
Download the Wesley Burwood House Review here Download the Wesley Burwood House Good Practice Guide here Wesley 121 Youth Refuge Review
Wesley 121 Youth Refuge is managed by Wesley Mission Victoria’s (WMV) Child, Youth and Family Services Eastern Region (CY&FS) Program. Wesley 121 receives funding from the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), an initiative funded jointly by the Federal and State Governments under the National Partnership Agreement (NPA). This service review was conducted within short timelines and a limited budget and the data collected and the findings produced are not as comprehensive as a full service evaluation could provide. Nor was this study designed to provide comparative data with which to compare Wesley 121 with other youth refuges to determine a comparison of the effectiveness of service delivery. Download the Wesley 121 Youth Refuge Review here Download the Wesley 121 Youth Refuge Good Practice Guide here
Mental Health in the Independently Living Elderly and the Role of Volunteer Befriending: Evaluation of the Wesley Do Care Program
Faced with an ageing population, health professionals in Australia who focus on aged care are paying attention to the conditions that enable older adults to age ‘in place’. The meeting of social needs, which are known to impact on mental health, are an important component that facilitates successful and independent ageing. The Wesley Do Care volunteer program has a framework that prioritises social needs but as yet has not been evaluated. It was the aim of the current study to investigate the impact of the Wesley Do Care Volunteer ‘befriender’ program on their client’s depression and loneliness.
It was found that although the clients reported no change in their experience of loneliness, their depression reduced as a function of the length of time involved with the program. It was suggested that the reduction in depression was the result of the quality of the confidante relationship between the volunteer befriender rather than being due to the increase in their social network. It was further suggested that the Do Care Volunteer befriender program provided a dignified, non-service based source of support that was successful in providing an effective buffer against depression because the structured volunteer friendship is not encumbered by the mandate of reciprocity associated with traditional peer friendships. Download the Evaluation of the Wesley Do Care Program report here
No Vacancy ReportThe ‘No Vacancy’ report is the result of an evaluation study done on Wesley’s family crisis unit over an 18 month period. The family crisis unit is an alternative to motel accommodation for families experiencing the immediate and acute crisis of homelessness in the eastern region of Melbourne. Download the No Vacancy Report here Talking it Up! Aboriginal voices in the formulation of policy that worksThe ‘Talking it Up’ research report is the result of a collaborative project between Wesley Mission Melbourne, Deakin University, and Aboriginal elders associated with the Maya Healing Centre. The project came out of the elders’ work with Aboriginal people over many years, which identified that Aboriginal people in metropolitan Melbourne felt that they had no voice in decision making processes, in particular when it came to identifying and addressing the issues associated with their health.Talking it up’ stresses the need to listen to the voices of Aboriginal consumers directly, not just through the voices of Aboriginal organisations, in the formulation of health policy. It emphasises the importance of seeking out and including the voices of Aboriginal consumers in Government health policy development. Download the Talking it Up Report here CIAO ReportChildren in out-of-home care are changing schools often, repeating grades, dropping out early and suffering higher rates of mental and physical health conditions which limit their participation at school a new report from Anglicare Victoria and Wesley Mission Victoria has found.
The report, Care-system Impacts on Academic Outcomes (CIAO), is one of the most detailed studies into education outcomes for children in care undertaken in Australia. Download the CIAO Report here. Social Inclusion & Belonging PolicyWesley Mission Victoria is committed to a socially inclusive approach in the services it delivers and in its advocacy for social development. This approach applies to all Wesley's activities, and guides the work of staff, volunteers, consultants and contractors who undertake work for Wesley.
View Wesley's Social Inclusion and Belonging Policy here
For more information please contact: Research and Social Policy Team
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