As the team at IGFF have become accustomed to working from home, our case workers have been ensuring that client support and advocacy continue with as little disruption as possible.
This newsletter outlines just a few of our key activities during this this time of physical distancing, from supporting Survivors through this month’s intense media coverage to our Mutual Aid Database, helping grassroots and established organisations work together to support our communities, as well as plans for upcoming activities.
More details on how IGFF is tackling working from home and COVID-19 can be found in our letter from last month, available here.
IGFF’s Response to the April High Court Decision
This has been a hard month for Survivors of institutional abuse, their families and their supporters. In response to the High Court decision at the beginning of April, our CEO Clare Leaney wrote:
IGFF will continue to support and work with Survivors to ensure that they have the practical support needed to come to terms with this decision.
I would like to specifically acknowledge and recognise the incredible strength and courage displayed by the complainant and families throughout this entire process. You are strong, you are heard and you are believed.
The pursuit of what’s right is not a straight road. There will be setbacks. But our resolve is absolute, and our fight is too important to rest until justice has been served.
To all Survivors: we hear you, we see you and we believe you.
Messages of Solidarity
Supporting the Supporters: Mutual Aid Database
As Australia faces the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, there has never been a greater need for grassroots support organisations and services.
In Good Faith Foundation is working with community support organisations and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition to create a ‘Mutual Aid Database’ of different community groups and mutual aid organisations across Australia.
You can access the database here: http://tiny.cc/9ibhlz
The key focus of this is to provide a networking tool that can be accessed remotely by organisations and individuals to assist in providing practical welfare when existing services are under pressure. It also feeds into the Helpful Neighbours map, which can be useful in locating specific groups in your local area: https://www.helpfulneighbours.com.au/find-mutual-aid
We know that our emergency support services are already working at capacity and that demand for these services will only increase.
Now is the time for established foundations like In Good Faith, to be supporting these grassroots efforts to ensure that no one is left behind. By implementing our Mutual Aid Database, we hope to take some of the pressure off essential support services and help empower grassroots organisations to support their communities.
Access the Mutual Aid Database here: http://tiny.cc/9ibhlz
Upcoming Activities
We would like to confirm that we will be seeking to hold Melbourne Victims’ Collective meetings electronically during this period of physical distancing, and we will update the Collective on the specifics soon – in the meantime, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
The IGFF team have been discussing possible ideas for linking people experiencing social isolation with video chat based social groups or activities. Some suggestions so far have included:
- ‘Crafternoon’ activities, like crochet or knitting,
- Book club or movie discussions, with films found on free-to-air services,
- Topics to talk about (or debate!) and trivia nights,
- Yoga sessions,
- Jigsaw puzzles or multiplayer games – potentially even storytelling games.
If you have any suggestions for activities we could run through video chats, or would be particularly interested in any of these suggestions, please do let us know!
