MacKillop's Early Help team has been recognised for their work in the early years sector for improving the learning, health and wellbeing of children and their families.
MacKillop Family Services’ Early Help team, in partnership with Gowrie Victoria, has been recognised at the Victorian Early Years Awards, winning the Creating Collaborative Community Partnerships category. This award celebrates initiatives that deliver positive outcomes for children and families through strong collaboration. Since 2022, MacKillop and Gowrie have worked together through the Early Help program to support families living in Broadmeadows. This place-based early intervention support promotes social inclusion and reduces the risk of child protection involvement. Many of the families supported are from diverse backgrounds, which has impacted their engagement in the community and services.
The partnership has already supported more than 94 families, helping to:
- Boost kindergarten attendance
- Increase participation in early learning
- Strengthen educators’ skills in trauma-informed care.
MacKillop Community Support Practitioners work alongside the Gowrie Victoria team at their Early Learning Centre and are seen as ‘part of the team’ by the families. The partnership is a true collaboration between two agencies, resulting in greater and more streamlined support to families.
The MacKillop Early Help team build the capacity of the Gowrie team to identify families for support and build their confidence to respond to the family’s needs. The Early Help team are supported by the trusting relationships that Gowrie have with the families, which increases engagement with the program.
Once engaged in the program, families set wellbeing objectives such as securing employment or building social connections then will work alongside a MacKillop practitioner for up to 20 hours of personalised support to achieve these goals. Erin Carolan, Manager - Family & Community Services, North & South has supported the initiative to blossom and seen firsthand the positive steps and accomplishments that the hard work of all those involved has produced.
“This award is very well-deserved for the Early Help team and for Gowrie. Gowrie have been huge supporters of Early Help since the beginning of the program which has led to great outcomes for families. The partnership is built on mutual trust and respect and a genuine enthusiasm for supporting families through early intervention,” she says.