Imagined Futures Annual Story

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2023 marked the 10th year anniversary of the Imagined Futures partnership.

It is a remarkable milestone given that, despite delivering on strategic priorities, most of its work sits outside of established funding pathways. Remarkably, four members of our Leadership Group have been on our journey since the beginning – Michael Piu, Leanne Hartill, Julie Mitchell, and Claire Heffernan. Many others have served for several years. Michael Piu, in his role as Chair, has made an especially significant contribution by embodying the qualities that underpin collaborative working and in doing so, leads by example.

The ongoing commitment of our members towards working beyond the scope of their individual agencies toward shared objectives is the foundation of the partnership’s success.

This Annual Story is a testament to the vision and shared commitment of them

 

South Metropolitan Regional Homeless and Housing Plan

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Imagined Future is proud to present the South Metropolitan Regional Homelessness and Housing Plan, which guides a whole-of-community approach toward improving outcomes for people experiencing, or at-risk of experiencing homelessness in the south Metropolitan Region.

As in other parts of the State and indeed Australia, the South Metropolitan Region of WA is experiencing record low post-pandemic vacancy rates coupled with the challenges wrought by increasing inflation and cost of living.  These pressures are disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable people in our community.  In such difficult circumstances it is vital that all parts fo the community rally togethr to identify and implement solutions.  This strategy represents a practical tool to underpin collective efforts.  For a copy of the plan click here:

IMA1524 Regional Housing Plan Report_Final_digital

Imagined Futures Annual Story 2022

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Imagined Futures is delighted to present its Annual Story 2022.

The impressive array of achievements delivered over the course of the year is a demonstration of the dedication of the Imagined Futures partners to collaborative working, even against the headwinds of demand in their primary sphere of work. Together, we have achieved so much throughout 2022, however it has been particularly gratifying to see the increasing connection with the broader community.

We often hear the aphorism that the answer to many of the challenges facing us require a “whole of community response”. It is hence reassuring that, in our place-based way, we are providing a mechanism as well as building the capacity of the community to engage constructively in addressing some of these challenges.

Investing in the business of relationships

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Imagined Futures Executive Officer, Leigh Sinclair, presented to the WACOSS conference on the importance of investing in the business of relationships as a way of tackling some of the toughest social challenges impacting our community.

In her presentation Leigh argued that creating conditions that allow relationships to flourish is a purposeful endeavour in and of itself. In recent times we have seen this knowledge begin to translate into practice. Funders are realising that if we are to move from an outdated transactional approach to a contemporary relational one then they must invest in mechanisms that drive this change. We have seen such an investment in relationships deliver dividends in the South West Metropolitan Region of Perth. In this community three of these mechanisms come together to focus their collective efforts on same geographic community. The Fremantle Rockingham Family Support Network (FRFSN), the Suicide Prevention Coordinator program (SPC) and the Imagined Futures District Leadership Group all have different but intersecting remits, yet they all have the business of relationships at their heart. Over the turbulent pandemic years, they have leveraged their relationships to unlock the strength that exists in the community. They have worked together to deliver several collaborative projects including: improving support for people experiencing depression, enhancing connections for Aboriginal children in care to their family, culture, and community, and testing innovative ways of connecting people new to seeking support to the right support at the right time. Their experiences are a heart-warming testament to the collective power of community to rally together to tackle the most complex of challenges.

Davis Park Recipe Book Volume 1

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The Davis Park project is run by Imagined Futures who have been operating in Davis Park since 2014. Imagined Futures work with the community to create a community where residents feel safe and supported; where children and young people are engaged in educational, vocational, and recreational activities. We work together to create a good place to live.
A sausage sizzle has been held at Davis Park for several years, providing a place and time for residents to meet and connect. It is at these gatherings that local community matters are discussed, problems and joys are shared. In 2022, we came up with the One Pot Wonder idea – where we would cook up a healthy, affordable, and yummy meal once a week that could be cooked in one pot. Each week, we come together to prepare and cook a one pot wonder to share. We love our Fridays in the park and we hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we have! Our recipe book can be found here!

Snapshot of Homelessness and Housing in the South Metropolitan region

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The Imagined Futures Housing and Homelessness working group was formed to support the State Government’s 10 year Homelessness strategy with place-based interventions.  To be able to deliver on the high-level directions laid out, the working group identified the need for the development of a regional plan for the South Metropolitan region to foster alignment, generate clarity and guide key directions and actions.  Consultant, Pauline Logan, has been engaged to lead the process.

As part of the preparations for the development of the Plan, Pauline has gathered insights via consultations, information gathering and a desk top review to provide a Snapshot of the region. The Snapshot seeks to inform the differing levels of awareness about what is happening across the region and recognises that the regional context is impacted by the wider homelessness and housing system.  It also seeks to inform different roles and interests of stakeholders.  A copy of the Snapshot can be found here

Connecting people to the right help at the right time!

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The Where’s the Door? Project was initiated in 2020 in recognition that COVID-19 was impacting increasing numbers of people who were new to hardship and vulnerability and didn’t know about available community supports and services.

The Where is the Door? project aims to improve and test new ways of connecting vulnerable people to available supports and:

  • Enable timely access to services by ensuring people are aware of the supports available to them and how to access relevant supports.
  • A broad understanding and increased literacy for community members to help support and link family, friends, and neighbours to available supports.
  • Build on existing knowledge and approaches and develop the best approach to ensuring people seeking assistance across the Southwest Metropolitan region receive the right help, at the right time, by identifying and engaging early with people seeking or needing assistance.

Imagined Futures commissioned consultant Pauline Logan to explore how the Imagined Futures partnership could strategically build on existing knowledge and approaches to develop the best model for ensuring people seeking assistance across the South-West Metropolitan region receive the right help, at the right time, by identifying and engaging early with people seeking or needing assistance.  Pauline documented her findings into a report which can be found here by clicking on this link.

Imagined Futures Annual Story 2021

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The Imagined Futures partnership is pleased to present their Annual Story for 2021.

In launching the report Chair of the partnership and CEO of St Patrick’s Community Support Centre Michael Piu said:  “During a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continued to challenge the community, and in turn those providing support, I am particularly proud to note that these trying times served to galvanise the partnership even further.”

Over the course of 2021 more than 60 partners came together to respond quickly to coordinate efforts around issues such as “Tent City’ in Pioneer park and the Accelerating Aboriginal Vaccination Drive, while at the same time delivering its strategic collective impact projects through working groups.

“We are entering the 9th year since the Imagined Futures partnership was established.  Over this time, relationships have been cemented and trust developed.  It is hard to overstate the value of this foundation when working in a place-based way that seeks to deliver strong outcomes for our communities than what could ever be delivered separately” Mr Piu said.

To read the Annual Story click here

 

 

 

Joining Forces to Tackle Depression

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A partnership of government, businesses, philanthropists and community service providers called the Imagined Futures Alliance Against Depression*, is spear-heading a local public awareness campaign designed to reduce stigma for people experiencing depression and encourage people to reach out for support.

With COVID-19 now at our doorstep many people are feeling anxious and uncertain about the future but are unsure where, or if, they should seek help.

“We’ve seen a spike in mental health issues in our communities. At the same time, we know the earlier people reach out for support, the easier it is for them to find relief,” Imagined Futures Executive Officer Leigh Sinclair said.

However, stigma and lack of awareness of mental health issues, and confusion about what supports are available, can stop people from reaching out for help and accessing treatments.

“If our campaign can help prompt people who are struggling to reach out for help and, if necessary, access treatment, the evidence tells us we will reduce suicide in our community” she said.

The focus is on raising awareness about depression because it is one of most common mental health conditions in Australia and is a contributing factor in almost half of all suicide deaths.

“We want to convey that depression can affect anyone, at any age, but can also be treated with the proper support”.

AFL Dockers player Alex Pearce, an ambassador for the Alliance, knows this all too well.

“From my own experience of depression, after reaching out for help, I now have the tools in place to maintain my mental health.”

The Alliance has developed a Mental Health Support Resource of free or low-cost services for people of all ages living in the local government areas of Cockburn, Fremantle and Melville to accompany the campaign.  The services, which range from crisis help to online, phone and face-to-face providers, can be used alone, or complement advice from GPs, and assist people who also might be on a waitlist to see a psychologist or psychiatrist.

The Alliance encourages everyone to get behind the campaign and is offering free campaign packs to businesses, services, clubs, workplaces, and community groups in the Cockburn, Fremantle, and Melville areas.

 

To receive your free campaign pack, email ifaad@stpats.com.au call 08 6372 4873.

 

For more information about Imagined Futures AAD go to https://imaginedfutures.org.au/mental-health/alliance/

 

* The group’s work is informed by the grassroots Alliance Against Depression (AAD) framework to help combat suicide and depression in our community. Developed and tested in Europe, the AAD has been shown to reduce suicides and suicide-attempts by 24% over a two-year period.
Founded in 2014, Imagined Futures is a collective impact partnership auspiced by St Pat’s Community Support Centre. The partnership brings together human service agencies, businesses, philanthropists and community members to tackle complex social issues across the local government areas of Cockburn, Fremantle and Melville. www.imaginedfutures.org.au