Executive Director Update - September 2022
Welcome to the September edition of Building Better Lives.
Our team is enjoying the warmer weather and longer days after a busy winter across BSL’s services. There have been several trips to Canberra with colleagues to meet with new ministers, advisers and senior officials. We’ve had positive conversations across several topics very important to BSL, including the proposed Early Years strategy and responding to growing cost-of-living pressures.
Influencing the broader reform agenda either side of the Jobs and Skills Summit has been a priority across BSL given the breadth of our activities to boost employment outcomes for jobseekers experiencing poverty and disadvantage. I’m pleased to confirm BSL was invited to attend and speak at the Summit and to participate in many of the related Ministerial roundtables taking place. Two of our employment program participants were also asked to share their experiences with attendees at the Summit.
In this edition, we learn about the funding extension for our Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) program, which means more young children and their parents will continue to benefit from this much celebrated and successful early childhood education program. We reflect on our Transition to Work program as it comes to an end, including the staff and young people the program has worked with over the years. And we’ll learn about how our BSL Jobs Victoria First Jobs Program helps young people gain the necessary skills to obtain their first job.
As always, our focus here at BSL is working with people in our community who are experiencing hardship, to ensure they have the same opportunities as everyone else and the resources and tools to empower them to thrive.
I hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter. It’s a chance for us to share with you what is happening across BSL more broadly and to keep you updated on important work the organisation is proud of.
With my best wishes,
Travers McLeod
Executive Director
Brotherhood of St. Laurence
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