Helping Families Access Financial Supports and Clothing at Doveton
Our Place is helping families in Doveton to access the recent Government Power Saving Bonus Scheme and receive winter clothing donations.
Reducing barriers to claiming financial support
The Victorian Government’s Power Saving Bonus (PSB) of $250 was something that many families in the Doveton community wanted to receive, but found it very challenging to understand and access. Some families, particularly those with English as an Additional Language (EAL), could not comprehend the scheme and did not possess the digital literacy or digital resources required to submit a claim.
Initially, in June 2022, the PSB was only available to people who met specific eligibility criteria, and the claims were able to be processed by local neighbourhood houses. Doveton’s English EAL teachers are employees of a partnering neighbourhood house, and many of their students met the eligibility criteria, so Our Place supported these students to submit claims.
The first step in being able to provide this support required the Our Place team understanding the eligibility criteria and further discussing the submission process with the neighbourhood house. Our Place attended the various EAL classes and explained the PSB and how we could assist participants to receive it. Participants then came to their following classes with the required paperwork for the submissions, and Our Place worked one-on-one with them to submit their claims. The EAL participants expressed their appreciation for the support and guidance received, and as of today many have begun receiving the funds into their accounts.
As the PBS scheme is now available to all Victorian residents, the Our Place team will further assist EAL participants who were not eligible in the beginning to access this, as well as extend offers of assistance to the wider Doveton College community.
Winter Clothes Drive
As the EAL class prepared to embark an excursion that required rugging up for the winter elements, some families shared with the EAL teachers that they did not have access to warm clothes. As a winter clothes drive was happening through a partner organisation, Our Place and the EAL teachers worked together to arrange for some donations to be delivered to the EAL classes.
Those who were in need of items went home from class that day with warm jackets and jumpers for themselves and their children. Families also expressed their appreciation of the additional support and care that they often receive at Doveton.
Aligning with the Our Place Approach
At Our Place we recognise that families are often experiencing challenging circumstances and barriers that hinder their ability to access and receive support. In this example, Our Place has played the role of ‘The Glue’ to ensure that families are supported to become aware of, access and engage with available resources. ‘The Glue’ is essential to the Our Place Approach as it connects all of our evidenced-based elements and enables the success of the approach.
To learn more about the Our Place Approach Click Here
