11th Annual Report & Financial Statement - North Yarra Community ...

Health Promotion
Building Community
Capacity
Reception, Finance and
Information Technology
team reports
Health Promotion is a core component of all our programs and
services and is defined as ‘the process of enabling people to
increase control over, and to improve their health’ (Ottawa
Charter, 1986). NYCH is committed to improving the Health of
the community by incorporating Health Promotion principles
into all aspects of our planning and service provision.
NYCH has three priority Health Promotion areas:
• Families & Children,
• Chronic Illness and
• Access to Services.
A multidisciplinary approach is
adopted when selecting strategies
for addressing these issues.
The Chronic Illness Group have
implemented a "Eat Well, Move
Well, Be Well" Expo at our Centres
and at public housing estates
across Yarra. (See the photo on the
August Page). The Access Working Group is predominately
involved in improving access to our services by particular
communities that sometimes have difficulty accessing health
services, with a particular focus on improving access for ATSI,
Vietnamese and Refugee communities. The Families and
Children’s Working Group has focussed on developing
material in different languages to be distributed across the
public housing estates in Yarra, and on developing and
strengthening links with local primary schools and Maternal &
Child Health Centres.
The ‘Health Promotion in Public Housing’ project was
re-funded during the year and aims to improve health
promotion practice across the public housing estates of
Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond. The program also has
close links to the Neighbourhood Renewal Program and is an
invaluable resource to the Health and Wellbeing Committees
on the high rise estates. NYCH continues to be a key
stakeholder in the Neighbourhood Renewal Program, with
many staff involved in numerous activities.
NYCH also provides a wide range of social, therapeutic,
recreational and exercise based groups to cater for the needs
of the community. If you would like further information about
any of the groups, or if you would like to become a volunteer
at NYCH, please contact Melissa Bryan, Health Promotion
and Volunteer Coordinator on 9349 7333.
The Community Liaison Committee (CLC) is one important
element in our overall aim to empower the community and
increase participation in society’s structures. The CLC has been
a part of NYCH for nearly ten years, and its meetings are a real
highlight on our calendar of events. There are usually over 120
participants and the meetings are simultaneously translated
into eight community language - so they are definitely not for
the faint hearted! They provide an opportunity for community
members to give us feedback on our services,
receive new information, and most importantly to
strengthen community and cross- cultural bonds.
An offshoot of the CLC is the Community
Representatives Group, which includes one or two
people from each of the NYCH communities, and
enables more in-depth discussion than is possible at
the large CLC meetings. The aim of the
Representatives Group is to ensure that the voices of
Bich Ha
various communities are effectively heard by NYCH,
and Representatives are asked to think of themselves
as a conduit for information between their particular
community and NYCH as a whole.
Another important part of our work to strengthen participation
and engagement has been the Community Empowerment
Project (CEP). This project, funded by the Commonwealth
Government and auspiced by the City of Yarra, was delivered in
Collingwood, Richmond and Fitzroy. NYCH managed the
Collingwood Project and was represented on the Fitzroy
Project, (which was auspiced by St Mary’s House of Welcome).
The CEP delivered accredited training to participants, and
supported them with a variety of community strengthening
projects. These included the establishment of a Sewing Group,
the organisation of a Campaign against Centrelink Closure,
Ballroom Dancing, Reconciliation BBQs, the Laughing Group,
Photo Exhibitions and a whole host of other projects and
activities developed by the CEP participants.
The Collingwood CEP was supported by Kellie Nagle, and
she did an outstanding job!
NYCH welcomes new members and new communities. To find
out more about the Community Liaison Committee and how
you can become involved, give Bich a ring on 9411 4312.
The Reception, Finance and IT Teams are the people who keep the
wheels of the organisation turning.
Reception is well known to everyone who visits any of our centres,
as it is usually a receptionist who will make an appointment, and
provide information about our services. However, receptionists are
also the people who maintain client records, file results, archive
records which are no longer needed, and ensure that the waiting
areas are welcoming and well organised.
Our Finance staff keep track of the budget, ensure that we meet
our accountabilities to the many funding streams which make up
the budget, pay our creditors and send out invoices as required.
The IT staff maintain and trouble shoot our IT system, provide
reports on service usage, train staff in new applications and
represent our needs to sector wide forums.
Without these "front of house" and "back of house" teams, the
clinicians who provide all the services which are so valued by the
community could not do their work.
Maureen
Schleiger