The Mildura LGA is ranked as the third most disadvantaged LGA in Victoria. 70% of residents hold a Health Care Card and 54.7% of adults have not completed Year 12 (‘State of Mildura Report 2018’). Further, Mildura’s teen pregnancy rate is 15.5 per 1000, almost three times the state average of 5.58 (ABS 2019). A Zoe Support client wellbeing survey in January 2023 found 61% of participants had been unable to pay their bills within the last four weeks. Zoe Support’s social enterprise, Little Sprouts Op Shop, aims to alleviate financial pressure on young mothers by providing affordable secondhand baby and children’s goods. Little Sprouts currently:
This project will contribute to the daily overheads, including wages, rent and utilities, of Little Sprouts from 1 December 2023 – 30 June 2024 to ensure the service can remain open.
We expect the following outcomes with improvements measured through onsite data collection at Little Sprouts.
We conduct daily onsite data collection to measure increases in:
We also collect qualitative feedback from clients and the community through online surveys. Previous feedback:
Zoe Support Australia is a not-for-profit Community Service Organisation operating in Mildura, VIC. We are dedicated to the benevolent relief of social isolation, poverty, ill health, destitution and distress of young mothers
aged 13-25 and their children in order to re-engage mothers in education, employment and social programs.
Our primary objectives are for mothers to break cycles of welfare-dependence, increase mother-child attachment and family stability, improve mental health and physical wellbeing, decrease incidents of family violence and substance abuse, engage in higher education, and find employment. We currently support 70 clients with 77 children.
We have established four Zoe Centres and Little Sprouts Op Shop to provide:
-Integrated Family Services for high-risk clients
-Family Day Care provided by qualified Early Years educators;
-Transport assistance provided by three ‘Butterfly Buses’ to take mothers and children to education, medical and other appointments;
-Practical and housing assistance, including the provision of clothing, furniture and baby items and support to complete rental and public housing applications;
-Pre-accredited courses in a wide-range of subjects, including cooking, baking, art and job readiness through our status as a registered Adult, Community and Further Education Learn Local provider;
-Advocacy and referrals with partners in health, education, welfare, employment and housing;
-Study Hubs;
-Supported Playgroup.
It is what the MCC groups are all about: men being accountable for learning about and responding to inequality and, importantly, supporting women who have been leading the charge for decades. Like many men, I am a newcomer to these issues and am learning as I go.
Australians Investing in Women acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
Also known as Australian Women Donors Network (ABN: 28 141 197 471), Australians Investing in Women is a registered charity endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR1) under a special listing, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.
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