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Family and Children Services

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”

– Anthony Brandt

Family and Children Services values the importance of building strong, resilient and resourceful family units. Melaleuca Australia provides a series of free, interactive workshops that offer information, support and skill development opportunities to newly arrived families from humanitarian, migrant, and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The workshops aim to provide information about Australian families’ rights and responsibilities; and develop the capacity and skills of the parents to help them holistically adjust to their new community and life in Australia.

Workshops

Melaleuca Australia places great importance on creating workshops where families experience a supportive, nurturing and learning environment. Content is delivered in language or with interpreters present and covers a range of topics including:

  • Positive parenting and care approaches
  • Maintaining healthy family relationships
  • Child protection
  • Domestic Violence
  • Managing Family Conflict
  • Skills to develop respectful relationships

How do the workshops work?

Applying new information through interaction is one of the best ways to learn. That’s why our workshops are so hands on – to lead to a deeper and faster learning experience for our clients. Adopting a community development approach, we draw on the strengths and wisdom of participants to explore the cultural differences between Australia and our client’s country of origin; through the exchange of ideas about dealing with Australian systems. Opportunity learn can be in informal group settings or one-on-one mentoring. Melaleuca Australia always aims to partner with existing community members – who have undergone the same or similar journey as our clients – by providing training in the workshops to co-facilitate with Melaleuca Australia. Melaleuca Australia utilises a variety of resources including Families in Cultural Transition; and Tuning into Kids and Teens.

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES IN THE HOME

Melaleuca Australia is committed to the creation of strong, child-friendly communities by providing early intervention and prevention support. Special attention is paid to supporting parents within the home to provide education around secure attachment, consistent discipline, and creation of environments that are stable, positive, stimulating, safe and secure. Melaleuca Australia collaborates with other agencies to put support structures in place for individual parents to access by identifying strategies that work in early intervention and prevention, and helping families to:

  • Improve the way they relate to each other
  • Enhance parenting skills
  • Ensure the health and wellbeing of children
  • Gain practical life skills
  • Connect peer to peer in social groups; workshops; and early learning centres.

Family and Children services is funded by the Northern Territory Government and the Australian Government Department of Social Services through Australian Red Cross.

 

Any queries?

For more information about the Family and Children Services, please contact us on 08 8985 3311 or at admin@melaleuca.org.au.