From the CEO It is with great pleasure that I am sending out this mid-
year update on the national community hubs program. It
has been a busy six months for our hubs: overall, adults
and children from more than 13,000 families participated
in a hub activity nearly 140,000 times, came to job or
skills training nearly 8,000 times, and were referred to
community services outside of the hub 3,000 times.
Every hub looks and feels different, and we have tried to
reflect that diversity in this report. Our 39 hubs are
based in 37 state and Catholic primary schools and two
community centres, in 7 LGAs across three states. Our
families come from 96 different countries, and we
partnered with 288 local organisations to help meet their
needs. The extent to which a family interacts with a hub
varies from an occasional drop in, through to in-depth
engagement in English and job training, programs to
prepare children for school, and regular social activities
to build community.
Helping people to learn and improve their English will
be a big focus for hubs as we move into the second
half of this school year. We were delighted to receive
a generous donation from NAB via the Sharegift
scheme which we will invest to build a sustainable
language program across our network.
Finally, we are also looking forward to extending the
hubs network, with funding announced in the federal
government’s May budget. The Department of Social
Services remains the primary funder of the hubs
program, with nearly two thirds of hub participants
eligible for DSS settlement services. Hubs’ funding
also comes from participating schools, state
governments, and the Scanlon Foundation.
If you would like to know more about the hubs
program, please visit our website where you can
download a copy of our 2015 report (which includes
the 2015 independent program evaluation). Dr Sonja Hood, CEO
Community Hubs Australia
On average, each hub:
Pathways to employment
National community hubs program mid-year update, 2016
Cultural Isolation
Speaking English is essential for navigating life in
Australia. Language impacts on a woman’s ability to
access services, build community connections or even to
speak with teachers about their children at school. Hubs
work hard to help women develop their language skills,
no matter what their life stage. For example, one of our
hub regulars in Brimbank has been in Australia for 11
years, but only started learning English recently when
she started coming to the hub. When she came to
Australia from Vietnam, she didn’t know how to start
classes, and ever since has required an interpreter to
interact. Now, thanks to the volunteer English teachers
in her hub, her confidence is growing and she is
participating more in school activities and taking an
active role in her children’s education.
Empowering women
Hubs have a strong focus on increasing local community
participation for women. One great example is in the
City of Hume, where the hub leaders have organised an
International Women’s event for the past few years. This
year, the Hume hubs partnered with the Kangan
Institute of TAFE to help a group of women to build skills
in event management, by planning and running the
international women’s day celebration dinner. The event
was a huge success with 400 women from the
community attending to celebrate International
Women’s Day 2016. Through developing English skills,
these women felt confident to take on a new project and
build new connections into the community.
Education opportunities
Hubs provide a flexible pathway to further education,
leading to employment opportunities. For example,
women at one of our hubs in Bankstown are able to
access English, early-childhood support and higher
education. Currently, there are 11 mothers completing a
Cert IV in Education Support at the hub. This allows
them to study in a flexible way, during school hours and
near their children. The hub coordinates onsite childcare
at the same time. This ensures that mothers with pre-
school aged children can access the program.
Innovative engagement
Hubs engage families in innovative ways, not relying on
the traditional classroom setting to deliver English skills.
One example of a “soft-entry” pathway to English is at a
hub in Logan, where in the past only a small number of
women had ever expressed interest in language classes.
The hub leader knew that more women wanted to
improve their English skills, but found the formal
education setting was a barrier. Using the popular
sewing class in conjunction with English, there are now
12 women who regularly attend English sessions prior to
sewing and then use the sewing class time to practice
their language.
“Getting the families to connect through soft entry
programs is the key as once they are engaged, they are
often keen to learn new things
Nationally, there have
been over 7,000
attendances at English
conversation classes in
our hubs and 376
referrals to ongoing
education and training.
Partnerships
287 organisations partnered with hubs to support the delivery of English, computer
classes, education sessions, school readiness programs, health and fitness programs,
playgroups, homework clubs, financial literacy and vocational pathway programs.
In addition, we made the following referrals:
Where are our families from?
For more information www.communityhubs.org.au
Contact us 03 9614 3430
“I come to Australia in 2014 and I started out coming to coffee n chat,
since then have attended the playgroup with my daughter and I did a
computer class, I have completed a certificate 3 in childcare. I have taken
advice and a lot of encouragement from the hub. I have now nearly fin-
ished my diploma in childcare. I have very good friendships from at the
hub and I feel connected to my community.“
- Zarina, Hub Participant
The community hubs program is an initiative of Community Hubs Australia Incorporated, funded by the Department of Social Services and the Scanlon Foundation
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