Our vision is for a Sydney where everyone can participate fully in their community and at work because everybody has care and coordinated services at significant times of their lives, and those providing care are supported and values.
The 2011 Alliance listening campaign told us, the Early Education Care, Child and Family Services Team that too often, families have difficulty finding affordable, accessible, quality child care and early education services. Many families also struggle to access the support they need, due to a complex and disjointed family support system. Our research and conversations with experts in the field have identified many issues the key ones so far are, improving paternity/maternity leave conditions, guaranteeing universal early education spaces for preschool aged children and the development of a broad and connected family support system which is accessible at times of need, for all families. A great deal needs to happen to ensure that all of Sydney’s kids have the same opportunity and access to services and this is what we are going to set about to achieve.
The Mental Health Team see that as a community, we need to support individuals and families with well co-ordinated services, designed to meet the needs of people with a mental illness and their families, when and as their needs arise. We want to reverse the marginalisation of people with a mental illness so that they are no longer denied full participation as citizens, no longer inappropriately incarcerated and no longer feel the need to resort to self-harm or suicide. Experts in the area are clear – the best results are from early holistic intervention, but it is never too late to make a difference in people’s lives.
The Pay Equity team have taken an over arching approach and looked at the pay equity issues for workers in all areas of the care sector, all of which are low paid and undervalued. Key issues identified include the heavily segmented labour force, a workforce predominately filled by women, an ageing workforce and the predicted workforce shortage in the future. Solutions suggested so far through discussions with experts in the field include creating a nationally consistent framework for the community sector workers to strengthening the current industrial framework to ensure workers have bargaining power across their sector. Pay equity is an essential part of the puzzle in ensuring we have the best possible workforce to achieve best practice ,care & support for the community.
People in our communities are living longer than previous generations and this is cause for celebration. Yet while negative imagery and attitudes around ageing dominate, older people can face discrimination and disrespect. Social connection, recreation, secure housing and enough income are intrinsic to ageing well. So too, is knowing one’s rights and accessing advocacy. Older people who are carers in their families and communities should have recognition and practical support. Aged care at home, hospital or in residential aged care, should be easy to access, tailored to the person, affordable and provided by skilled and well-resourced staff. We , The Ageing and Aged Care team want to work together to improve breadth and coordination of aged care services, counteract ageism and build connections within communities and across generations.
Want to know more? Here are the Contact Details of Our Chairs
Roisin Smith Phone: 0400 990 112
Ben SkermanEmail: raymond.skerman@bigpond.com
Danielle Blanch email: dlblanch@bigpond.net.au
Meetings of the Community Care, Health & Support Research Action Team will be held regularly during 2012. Contact the chairs for more information.
Building Community Harmony: Social Inclusion, Community Care Health & Support, Transport
