On behalf of everyone at Community Support Frankston we would also like to pay special mention to the CSF Caseworker, Tracey Byrne, whose position finished due to cessation of the DSS Vulnerable Groups funding at the end of June. Tracey was able to provide intensive support to CSF clients who often fell through service gaps and assisted numerous individuals and families with positive outcomes.
In the 2014 Annual Report we mentioned the CSF Board of Management had committed to using some of the agencies limited capital to provide an additional office space. The addition of a second financial counsellor from Good Shepherd has added a tremendous service‘ wrap around’ for CSF clients and volunteers.
During the past 12 months Community Support Frankston has also had significant involvment with community projects, including the Pets in the Park( PITP) program and Voices of Frankston( VOF) Choir. The PITP initiative originated in Sydney and is the first program of its kind of Melbourne, now proudly in Frankston. The program has brought together local vets, vet nurses, service providers, the Frankston City Council and other volunteers to provide health care for the companion animals of those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
The Frankston Community Appeal distributed a record 550 Christmas Hampers with food and gifts being allocated to those in Frankston experiencing financial hardship. A total of 1661 people were reached through the appeal, including 932 children. A total of $ 13,871- our largest fundraising amount in more than a decade- was raised for the 25th anniversary of the appeal in 2015.
Community Support Frankston has also taken steps to expand and diversify its food program, from mainly tinned and dried goods, into perishable items. This enables us to provide more choices and work with a larger cohort of community partners to source alternate food options for those in need.
On an advocacy front CSF also provided a submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence and provided statistics and anecdotal feedback to correlate increased instances of Family Violence with the need for further Emergency Relief resources and community based support.
Access to emergency relief must always be considered a universal right for people who fall on hard times and despite the Federal Government cutting Emergency Relief funding over the coming financial years, Community Support Frankston remains committed to providing a quality service and legitimate‘ hand up’ to those in need. A Frankston family or individual will continue to receive support at CSF based on the merit of their crisis, be treated with dignity and kindness, with no presumptions or pre-determined dollar amount applied to support.
On a personal note from the manager, I would like to extend my thanks and admiration to all our volunteers, new and existing, and my team of paid staff who have been through a number of changes this year and have been up for the challenge. I feel excited and privileged to be continuing on as manager and would never find a better group of people to work with.
Thank you on behalf of Sue and I.
Sue Smith
Steve Phillips
Community Support Frankston | Annual Report 2015
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