With a number of major initiatives coming to a close in June, our focus has shifted to building enduring connections that can be sustained beyond the life of specific project investments.
We shared these plans with members as part of the November/December 2022 network meetings – for anyone who missed those, the four-slide summary is available here.
We are now busy working with partners and collaborators on a range of outreach activities. Fuelled by the extensive array of approaches and resources resulting from co-design efforts, our outreach activities aim to:
- Strengthen links with local financial counselling agencies
- Complement partner activities
- Create platforms for ongoing engagement
- Collect evidence and support for the hidden, or unmet, need for financial counselling.
Two of these outreach channels were described in the November issue of Devil’s Advocate – Money Check Up and Pathways for Carers. Aimed at strengthening the connection between local financial counselling agencies and other local community services and supports, each channel is enabled by an external-facing webpage targeted to the specific outreach activity. At the Money Check Up page, local primary, community and mental health and wellbeing services can request a briefing and can continue to access and download resources which assist them in identifying people who might benefit from financial counselling and connect them to a local service. At the Pathways for Carers page, walk coordinators can request a local financial counsellor to attend one of their walks and provide a short, informal talk on a topic of general interest at the end. These light-touch engagements help community members understand what financial counselling is, whether it may be able to assist them, and how to get in touch.
FCVic coordinates each outreach channel and liaises with team leaders to organise mutually convenient engagements. Money Check Up is an example of a light touch engagement, requiring no preparation on the part of attending financial counsellors. Pathways for Carers is medium touch, and we are currently preparing some briefing materials and resources which attending financial counsellors can use for these sessions if they wish. Watch out for the release!
Additional outreach channels are under development. Externally focused webpages that may be of interest include:
- Carer Pathway – information for all unpaid carers on how to get in touch with a financial counsellor or build financial capability
- Older and Wiser – Standing Strong – information for older Victorians and people who work with them.
If you have any questions about our outreach activities, please contact Suzy Goldsmith at [email protected].