About Social Outreach and Advocacy Services
Social Outreach and Advocacy Services reach out to people
experiencing disadvantage to improve health and wellbeing. Our
broad range of community-based services are located across
Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. Social Outreach
and Advocacy Services are available free of charge or at minimal
cost to people accessing them and aim to bridge gaps in
pre-existing service provision.
Aims of Social Outreach
and Advocacy Services
Our Social Outreach and Advocacy Services strive to improve health
and wellbeing for the people who need them most. We aim to tackle
disadvantage by removing barriers to better health care.
Disadvantage can take various forms including poverty, prejudice,
stigma, disability, lack of access, powerlessness or
marginalisation and this often prevents people from living a full
and rich life.
The key objective of our Social Outreach and Advocacy Services
is to improve health and wellbeing where our expertise can make the
most positive impact on people’s lives.
In our quest to meet community need, we operate a diverse range
of services, covering the following areas:
• Early Years
Services for pregnant women and families with young
children up to the age of four: Raphael Centres in six locations
across Australia specialise in perinatal and infant mental health
services; Strong Family, Strong Culture promotes maternal and child
health in Aboriginal communities across the northern part of
Western Australia; and St John of God Waipuna provides a range of
support services for young parents in Christchurch, New
Zealand.
• Youth Services
provide a wide range of interventions for young people aged 12 to
25: Horizon House provides accommodation, care and intensive
support for young people who are at risk or homeless; various youth
mental health and drug and alcohol services also provide vital
support in communities across Australia and New Zealand.
• International
Health programs focus on development of healthcare
practises and facilities in East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Tonga;
building the capacity of local health services to deliver long
term, sustainable health improvements.
• Counselling and
Support services draw on the core theme of
capacity building to enable communities and individuals to better
manage their own health and wellbeing, including Aboriginal health services, counselling
(focussing on mental health issues) and drug and alcohol support
services, and disability services including St John of God Accord in Melbourne.