Australian Healthinfo Net - First Nations Homelessness Project & Advocacy Service

 

 

 

ABC Radio National - Jennifer Kaeshagen interviewed on concerns Indigenous children needlessly taken from families

 

 

 

SBS Living Black - First Nations Homelessness Project set to begin in Perth

 

 

 

SBS The Point - Children removed from families are highest risk to suicide

 

 

 

CAAMA Radio - 100 per cent success rate for FNHPAS - No evictions. No children removed from families

 

 

ABC News 24 - 26 volunteers in the heat preventing eviction of a family with six young children

 

"The health of a family should be measured by looking into the eyes of the children - and with this family no matter how impoverished the love is rich." ABC News 24 - January 26 - interviews Gerry Georgatos, speaking on behalf of the First Nations Homelessness Project and Advocacy Service (FNHPAS) coordinated by its stalwart Jennifer Kaeshagen - 26 volunteers gathered on January 26 to help an impoverished family, six young children, avoid eviction - psychosocially supporting them and in repairing, fixing, sorting their home. They worked from 8am to 6pm with the Perth temperature reaching 42 Celsius. People need people.

 

 

 

Mission Statement

 

• The predominant mission of the FNHPAS is to prevent the eviction of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and individuals from public rental and private rental homes and to prevent the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children by child protection authorities and to comprehensively work to keep families safe and together.

“In its first year the FNHPAS has a achieved a 100 per cent record in preventing evictions and in preventing child removals. We work alongside families to make real difference and we do not give up on families.”

• The FNHPAS advocates on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and families who are at-risk of eviction or who are at-risk of the children being removed into the care of the state or both. The FNHPAS advocates and supports vulnerable individuals and families and engages in dispute resolution and mediation, and provides ongoing psychosocial and practical support and various assistance. The FNHPAS works to satisfy housing and child protection authorities as to the safety and wellbeing of families as well as providing care and support – psychosocial and counselling – to families and individuals in order to improve their circumstances and wellbeing.

• The FNHPAS also assists where possible homeless individuals and families with the rendering of psychosocial support, goods and services.

• The FNHPAS works in partnership – with and alongside – First Nations families – towards shared goals of the family remaining housed and together. The FNHPAS is concerned by the extraordinary high rates of evictions of First Nations families and by the extraordinary high rates of child removals and is naturally concerned of the traumatic impacts of these events.

The FNHPAS galvanises assistance and support that improves the wellbeing of individuals and families, that validate people to positive pathways and to a positive self.

 

The FNHPAS support workers, advocates and counsellors do not prematurely disengage with any individual or family. 

 

The FNHPAS workers provide regular and ongoing support and various assistance and build positive, reliable relationships based on shared goals in terms of keeping families housed and together.

 

The FNHPAS will advocate on behalf of an individual or family to the Department of Housing, to the Department of Child Protection and to any other relevant agency.

 

Thus far the FNHPAS has a track record of resolving 100 per cent of the cases of individuals and families who were served eviction orders. The FNHPAS has a base of more than 900 volunteers to support vulnerable individuals and families with every imaginable support and service. Their skills sets are myriad, flexible, creative – integrated collaboratively, with the shared goal of providing support towards preventing First Nations evictions and child removals. Similarly so, the FNHPAS retains thus far a 100 per cent track record of keeping families together who had been at-risk of their children being removed by child protection authorities. The FNHPAS wraps relentless psychosocial support around families to ensure issues reported by child protection authorities are resolved, that children are adequately provided for and children who are of school age are regularly at school. The FNHPAS supports parents to achieve prevailing expectations, to validate them and improve their sense of wellbeing. The FNHPAS will ‘fight’ for any family it deems is being unfairly tasked or ‘judged’ by any authority and the FNHPAS advocates have regularly identified such instances. Advocacy makes the difference.

 

 

To find out more email:  [email protected]