Starlight’s mission is to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and their families. Since 1988 we’ve partnered with Australian health professionals to develop a range of programs based on principles of positive psychology that support the total care of our children and young people.
Our Livewire program supports teenagers living with a serious illness, chronic health condition or disability. It gives these young people the opportunity to connect with others, explore their creativity and build new skills, helping to build resilience, self-esteem and confidence.
Founded in 1982, SHINE for Kids is the only national charity working solely to support children and young people affected by the criminal justice system.
The invisible victims of crime, children experience significant psychological trauma and impact on their emotional and social development as a result of their parent’s imprisonment. There are 77,000 children and young people in Australia experiencing parental incarceration. They are six times more likely to end up in prison themselves and 40% more likely to drop out of school.
SHINE for Kids works together with children, young people and families to break the cycle of intergenerational offending and disadvantage through innovative programs and service delivery, and by strengthening connection to family and community through education, support & mentoring to help them thrive.
Learning Links works with children, their families and schools offering tailored programs and services to improve a child’s learning, wellbeing and participation to help them reach their full potential. These services range from literacy and numeracy support, speech and occupational therapy and psychology-based services.
Weave empowers people to change their lives by providing a suite of holistic, tailored supports developed with and for the community.
By providing tailored support, and access to life-changing opportunities, Weave can equip people with the tools they need to achieve their goals.
Services included counselling, case management, groups, youth-led events, early intervention and skills development programs to support children, young people, women and families who are impacted by intergenerational trauma and systemic disadvantage.
For more than 30 years, Open Family Australia has been providing a range of outreach services to young people aged between 12 and 25 with highly complex needs who are disengaged from society. Open Family outreach workers go to where young people are – such as railway stations, shopping centres, rooming houses and squats.
They engage with young people to link them to services which can help them connect back into a supportive environment and a healthy community. This could include crisis support and services such as housing, health, drug and alcohol programs, family counselling, legal services, re-engagement back into school, and assisting young people to find work.
A note from Open Family Australia (Charity Partner for 2011 and 2012)
“The funds received from FICAP in March 2011 allowed Open Family Australia to continue and strengthen our Sydney Outreach programs – so thank you.
As a result, we were able to work with 232 young people on an intensive case management basis in the Sydney area. We have been able to re-engage many with their communities through ensuring their basic needs are met, such as food and housing, and working with them to gain education or employment.
The funds raised also assisted with our Chatterbox and NOSH programs where we were able to make 2,515 casual contacts with young people.”
The Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF) is a national charity which works in a number of ways to make children’s safety and welfare a priority. ACF provides a range of specialist counselling services for children and young people affected by abuse and for their families.
The organisation provides community and professional education, consultancy and debriefing programs, and child abuse prevention programs. These programs aim to improve responses to children and young people who have experienced or are at risk of abuse, family violence and neglect. In partnership with Monash University, ACF has established the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse to research the problem of child abuse and identify constructive solutions.
Bear Cottage is a children’s hospice – a very special place dedicated to caring for children with terminal conditions and their families. At Bear Cottage, we believe that every life, however short, is very precious and should be enriched, enjoyed and celebrated. Bear Cottage is a place, where cherished moments and special memories are created – a place where life is for living.
Families of a child with a life-limiting condition are often providing constant care around the clock for many years. We understand that this can be incredibly isolating and impacts greatly on the emotional, financial and physical well-being of the whole family. Time spent with us in our state-of-the-art facilities can help to alleviate some of these challenges. They do not pay for any of the services receive from Bear Cottage, instead we rely entirely on the community to keep our doors open to ensure we can continue to care for some of our sickest children and their families and create memories that will last long after their child has passed away.
Life Changing Experiences Foundation (LCEF) runs the successful SISTER2sister Program which provides mentoring and personal success development to teenage girls who are in need of support, inspiration and opportunity in their lives. Each of the girls in the program is assigned a Big Sister mentor as a positive female role model to provide support, guidance and advice, where needed, throughout the 12 month program. At the end of the 12 month SISTER2sister program, the girls have the knowledge and skills to break the cycle of trauma and/or abuse and have increased confidence in themselves and their abilities to have greater control over their lives and futures.
YWCA NSW supports vulnerable people across NSW at times in their lives when they need it most, regardless of their age, religion or gender. They help individuals, families and whole communities develop behaviours and skills to become strong and self-reliant.
Their ‘Y It Takes A Village’ strategy drives their way of working in a ‘whole of community’ approach. This is centred upon collaborating with key community and service providers to ensure assistance is coordinated, effectively targeted and achieves the best results for people and the community in which they live. This is called ‘Place Management in Community Hubs’ and it is less about doing things ‘to’ or ‘for’ communities but increasingly acting ‘with’ communities and empowering them to build capacity and sustainability.
YWCA NSW utilised the funds raised to establish the ‘FICAP Voices Program’, a program that has helped to mentor, educate and support children from Blair Mount and Macquarie Fields in south western Sydney.
Redkite is a national charity that supports children and young adults with cancer and their families through the entire cancer journey. From the moment of diagnosis and from hospital to home, Redkite is there providing real and practical support. Its vital services include emotional, financial and education support and are available to families in all major cities, regional areas and remote locations across Australia.
There are approximately 1500 teenagers and young adults on the cancer journey at any one time, of which there are 270 new diagnoses in NSW each year.
This program provides professional emotional and practical support through the entire cancer experience. The Support a Young Person Program funded by FICAP encompasses Redkite’s entire range of essential services, including:
- In hospital support – music therapy, social workers, age appropriate diagnosis support packs and access to Redkite’s Book Club
- Community outreach – financial assistance, telephone and email counselling and information, education and vocation grants
Aged care is no place for any young person. However, many young Australians are forced to reside in aged care facilities simply because there are no alternatives. This is why Youngcare has been formed. To provide relevant and dignified lifestyles for young Australians with high care needs.
Since 1970, The Shepherd Centre has assisted close to 2,000 children who are deaf or hearing impaired, to improve their quality of life. The organisation is recognised as a world leader in the field of early intervention Auditory-Verbal Therapy, providing families with assistance to develop their child’s spoken language.
Established in 1998, Mirabel is the only organisation in Australia specifically addressing the needs of children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use and are now in the care of extended family (kinship care). Mirabel supports children aged 0-17 years and works at restoring a child’s sense of self-worth.
Raise Foundation is a charity that improves the wellbeing of youth in Australia, aged 13-24 years, who are at risk of disengagement, mental ill-health and isolation in schools and across the community. Raise does this by providing structured and evidence-based mentoring programs managed by qualified counsellors. Raise programs have created a sustainable difference for 2,438 young people, their families, their mentors and the communities they live in.