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If you are in need of assistance we invite you to contact our Family Support Services. We realise that it is often difficult to ask for help, and for each genuine inquiry, we strive to find a way to assist. The assistance we can provide is different from area to area, depending on the social programmes and financial resources available in your location. The normal process is that a Family Support worker will schedule a private interview to discuss your situation and needs, then make an assessment of the types of services we can provide. Everything discussed in the interview stays within the wall of the office. This interview must be conducted in person and cannot be done over the phone or via email. Please use the following links to find your nearest Family Support centre:
If you live in a regional or country area where we do not have a Family Support centre, please contact your nearest Salvation Army corps (church) via the following links:
OUR PHILOSOPHYThe Salvation Army views the family as the cornerstone of community life and fundamental to our well-being as individuals. It seeks to promote the importance of family values as part of its evangelical and social contribution to the Australian community. Through its social service and church work, The Salvation Army is acutely conscious that not all families experience quality family life. Many Australian families now live in poverty and the gap between the rich and the poor has been expanding in recent years. Salvation Army social services through their day to day contact with those in need are alarmed by additional pressures on families. We are also concerned that:
FAMILY SUPPORT AND RELATED COUNSELLING SERVICES In the past, much of the response by The Salvation Army to families was short term, such as help with food and energy bills. In recent years, it has become clear that many people who seek the assistance of The Salvation Army are in need of personal support. Often this is due to the long term impact of issues such as unemployment. Clearly modern life places pressures on personal relationships within the family which is causing more people to seek assistance. See also: Hope for Life, Suicide Prevention & Bereavement Support WOMEN'S REFUGES AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES The Salvation Army has a longstanding history of providing services for women. In recent years this work has focussed on providing refuge shelter for women escaping domestic violence. The Army's strong commitment to the family in no way blinds it to the fact that for some Australian women and children the family home can be a violent and unsafe place. Refuges operated by The Salvation Army are open to all women escaping domestic violence who are in need of safe accommodation and personal support. Our women's refuges generally are prepared to take women with additional difficulties such as those with a psychiatric disability or with drug and alcohol related problems. As has been noted, over recent years an increasing number of women awaiting refugee status are seeking accommodation in these shelters as they have no income and lack access to accommodation within the community. In common with a number of other women's refuges, The Salvation Army provides child care facilities within these services to ensure that both children and their mothers are able to be adequately assisted. See also Domestic Violence Services. ADOLESCENT AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES One of the unfortunate ironies of Australian welfare is that while a modern perspective may question service methods used during the 1920's, the network of services for children and adolescents in need of care and support was extensive. The Salvation Army was a major contributor to this network. In particular, there were a considerable number of services focussed on young women. When larger services in this network were found to be no longer relevant and were closed the resources focussed on young women also disappeared. In response to government policies based on de-institutionalisation, which were formulated in the early 1970's, and a desire to see children accommodated in more "normal" environments in the community, The Salvation Army and a number of other organisations with long standing involvement in providing services for children and adolescents progressively closed children's homes. These had formed the basis of its work in this area for more than 70 years. The Salvation Army has, however, continued to operate a small number of innovative and responsive programs for children and young people at risk in our community. As its involvement with young people in the direct care of the state has declined, its role with young homeless people has risen steadily to a point where The Salvation Army is the largest provider of services for this group across Australia. In addition to a number of children's cottages, The Salvation Army operates foster care programs and a number of adolescent units providing accommodation for young people at risk. See also Youth and Children's Services. MARRIAGE AND FAMILY EDUCATION AND SUPPORT At the moment, The Salvation Army operates only a limited range of marriage and family education and support programs. Recognising that one in three Australian marriages now ends in divorce, it is proposed that these programs be significantly extended through:
CRISIS RESPONSES By the time many families seek crisis assistance from The Salvation Army the family unit is under severe pressures and at great risk of breaking down. It is critical that crisis responses are able to support the family and that every effort is made to enable the family to stay intact. Initiatives to develop and strengthen the role of our crisis programs in responding to families and the individual needs of family members need to be actively pursued. At the same time, the implementation in most states of mandatory reporting in response to the levels of child abuse in our community is symptomatic of the increasingly difficult environment in which Salvation Army workers must respond. Important directions will therefore include:
LONG TERM SUPPORT The pressures that many Australian families are experiencing must be effectively met by The Salvation Army. Initiatives to support families in the longer term include:
Where irrevocable or temporary family breakdown occurs making certain that The Salvation Army provides safe and caring accommodation for both adolescents and children through its own network, and through links to other appropriate services. Examining the role that both social and corps based Salvation Army services can play in facilitating the resolution of family conflict, where appropriate, assisting family reconciliation, and putting in place support structures designed to avoid further breakdown.
This area of work is both difficult and complex. However, it is essential that, given its Christian commitment to the family, The Salvation Army actively involves itself in addressing the challenges of this critical work. |
© The Salvation Army 2007 all rights reserved. All requests for the use of this material in any form or by any means must be directed to The Salvation Army. Please see our Terms and Conditions of Use. Page last updated by ESTEBAN.RODRIGUEZCASEY on: 29/02/2008 1:41:23 PM Page created by ADMIN on: 17/08/2006 3:03:15 PM |
The Salvation Army provides many services that support and strengthen families and respond when families are unable to cope. Over 30,000 families are assisted each year.