2022 Opinion’s: Nurturing Community through learning to adapt

There is joy in community, and Australia’s most charitable sector understands this all too well. 

As the sector continues to adapt to the plethora of changes brought about by the pandemic, climate-driven disasters, and significant labour shortages, we observed a trend towards maintaining the community the sector serves at the centre. 

Third Sector News has gathered thoughts, opinions, and commentary from various leaders and industry experts striving to maintain positive change in Australia. The insights from this year’s opinion pieces are highlighted in this article.  

Empowering women through recognition 

While there have been tremendous strides made in women’s equality, there is still a long way to go. In the article “It’s time to accelerate women’s equality and end exploitaton”,  HerSpace Limited’s Executive Officer, Roxan Fabiano shared that modern-day slavery still affects thousands of women across the nation. An estimated 83% of women and girls are sexually exploited, forced into human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices such as debt bondage and forced marriage. 

Alleviating housing and homelessness 

Managing Director of Community Housing Ltd (CHL) Steve Bevington shared his insights on possible solutions to inadequate stock of social and affordable housing in Australia. In the article “Social and affordable housing in urgent need of replenishing” Bevington highlighted that State, federal, and local governments should be working together to propose a solution to alleviate the housing and homelessness crisis.  

Critical issues among the youth 

The pandemic has impacted the mental health of many, however in the article “NSW vaping campaign overlooks critical issues among young people”, Selim Ucar from Humanity Matters found that with the youth adapting to a new learning set up, they’ve also seemed to take interest in vaping. With the detrimental physical and mental health risks, the NSW government is worried the youth new interest can likely lead to other dangerous activities. 

Improving access to mental health care  

Due to the pandemic, the rise in demand for accessible and affordable mental health care has rapidly increased. In the article “Three ways we can improve access to timely, affordable mental health care” Founder of Rough Patch, Amber Rules talked about why many shy away from seeking help from mental health professionals, with the high cost of mental health care being one. 

Healthy workplace environment 

Over the years, jobseekers have been actively seeking our establishments that not only encourage, but foster positive workplaces. Susan Henry, head of People and Culture with the Starlight Children’s Foundation shared in the article “Positivity at Starlight Children’s Foundation” how positive workplaces encourage employees to be more creative, engaged, and inclusive. 

Similarly, in the article “Linguistic Prejudice in the Workplace” By Founder & Managing Director of Women of Colour Australia, Brenda Gaddi, we observed the effects of linguistic prejudice and how that influences how an individual is perceived at work. 

Improving Healthcare through technology 

As the need for healthcare services grows, so does the demand for seamless service delivery. In the article “Alarming allied health problems in Australia need urgent transformation”, Jay Ibrahim highlighted the importance for practitioners to be able to observe, evaluate, analyse and strategise in person. 

Promoting Volunteering 

With the dramatic reduction of the volunteer workforce as a result of the pandemic, Ruth Lee from Origin Energy Foundation calls on corporate Australia for volunteers. In the article “Calls for corporate Australia to step up in partnerships and corporate volunteering”, Lee shared that corporate volunteers, have the ability to make a significant contribution to the economic and social well-being of Australia.  

Learning to nurture growth in a sector where community comes first was difficult. But many of the industry experts shared with Third Sector that working in this sector and pushing for impactful and positive change is the most gratifying feeling.  

For updates and access to our complete list of opinion pieces from Industry leaders and experts, visit our Opinion page.  

If you’d like to contribute to our learning community, message us today. 

Menchie Khairuddin

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Menchie Khairuddin is a writer Deputy Content Manager at Akolade and content producer for Third Sector News. She is passionate about social affairs specifically in mixed, multicultural heritage and not-for-profit organisations.

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