In the news
20 February 2012: Education, the Golden Ticket (PDF 222.83 KB, opens in a new window)
Manager of Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service's Social Policy and Research Unit Dr Kathy Landvogt calls for government response to Gonski review to address disadvantage in education.
14 February 2012: School costs on the rise (published in Star newspaper group, PDF 2.69 MB, opens in a new window)
Workers from community organisation Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service have noticed increasing numbers of people approaching them seeking assistance to cover costs like school fees, text books and uniforms.
14 Febuary 2012: Brimbank residents consulted on housing plan (published in Brimbank Weekly, opens in a new window)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service speaks up for disadvantaged residents of Brimbank in development of Council housing strategy.
6 December 2011: Olive a symbol for garden hopes (published in Westernport News, PDF 684.88 KB, opens in a new window)
An olive tree symbolising peace, welcome, new beginnings and longevity is the centrepiece of our new community garden in Hastings.
15 November 2011: D-day for payday lending (published in Brimbank Weekly, opens in new window)
This article covers the discussion between Minister Bill Shorten and financial counsellors at our St Albans office into new legislation to better regulate pay day lending practices.
9 November 2011: Bill Shorten MP meets financial counsellors to discuss legislation changes (media release, PDF 45.25 KB)
At Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service's St Albans office today the Assistant Treasurer met with financial counsellors from across the sector to discuss proposed changes to federal legislation to regulate pay day lending practices.
1 November 2011: Cost pressures leave students on outer (published in Brimbank Weekly, opens in new window)
Our St Albans financial counsellors and the Financial and Consumer Rights Council speak about the crippling costs of education during Anti-Poverty Week 2011.
17 October 2011: Afternoon Show ABC Radio 774 (MP3 3MB, opens in new window)
Dr Kathy Landvogt discusses the findings of our Microfinance and the Household Economy research.
17 October 2011: The hidden costs of payday lending (published by RMIT, opens in new window)
Our new research report, Caught Short, shows people in receipt of welfare payments are using payday lenders to meet regular living expenses and are then trapped in a debt spiral, continuously indebted to one or more loan companies for considerable periods.
16 October 2011: Microfinance and the Household Economy Report Launch (media release, PDF 241KB, opens in new window)
Research launched on Sunday October 16 by Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service and
National Australia Bank (NAB) found that people on the poverty line are good money managers but must constantly juggle finances to make ends meet.
15 October 2011: Interest free loans for families to beat carbon tax (published in the Sunday Telegraph, opens in a new window)
Minister Jenny Macklin announces at our Anti-Poverty Week 2011 event that no interest loans will be offered to struggling families to buy energy-efficient washing machines and light bulbs.
20 September 2011: Hip Hop Till You Drop (published in Brimbank Weekly, opens in new window)
A group of newly arrived young people in St Albans, who attend Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service's RAP3021 program, are already making an impression.
13 September 2011: Demand high for a special kind of love (published in Brimbank Weekly, opens in new window)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service's Manager of Family Services, Simone Rutherfurd, dons Rainbow hair to mark Foster Care Week in the Brimbank Weekly.
26 August 2011: Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service welcomes proposed fringe lending reforms (media release, PDF 211KB, opens in new window)
In response to the proposed reforms announced yesterday by the Honourable Bill Shorten, Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service reiterates its strongly held belief that financial inclusion can only occur within a policy and regulation framework that protects consumers from exploitative lending practices.
26 July 2011: 3CR radio interview on Women and Money DVD (MP3 6MB, opens in new window)
Jacinta Waugh from our Social Policy and Research Unit was interviewed on 3CR about the Women and Money interactive DVD.
19 July 2011: The Afternoon Show ABC Radio 774 (MP3 6MB, opens in new window)
Dr Kathy Landvogt talks to Richard Stubbs about our Filling the Gap model that aims to improve services for women and children fleeing violence.
19 July 2011: Pathways to change starts in St Kilda tomorrow (published in Port Phillip Leader, opens in new window)
In an interview with the Port Phillip Leader, Manager of Women's Services, Gendrie Klein-Breteler, speaks of the programs we run from our St Kilda Centre for women experieincing isolation, exiting street work and battling drug and alcohol addictions. Gendrie shares her experieinces of how these women are leading change in their own lives.
11 July 2011: Media release for Filling The Gap (PDF 212.05 KB, opens in new window)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service releases a new model for supporting women and children fleeing family violence. The model addresses a number of long-standing gaps in existing service provisions which make it harder for many women leaving situations of violence to rebuild their lives.
5 July 2011: Settled at Last (published in Star Group newspapers, opens in new window)
Ho Zar, an Afghani refugee, shares his story of the difficulties he and his family faced settling into life in Australia. Our financial counselling service in St Albans assisted Ho Zar to understand his financial rights, find stable accomodation and overcome financial hardship.
14 June 2011: Rattling pots, pans and pain (published in Brimbank Weekly, opens in new window)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service is providing women from a variety of cultural backgrounds with support through a cooking class. In this article in the Brimbank Weekly, class participants talk about their involvement in the group, how it's helped bring them together to share good food and talk about their experiences.
25 May 2011: StepUP and NILS launches in Dubbo and Wellington, New South Wales
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service's microfinance programs launch new programs in Dubbo and Wellington, New South Wales
Launch of StepUP program in Dubbo
Launch of NILS program in Dubbo
Launch of NILS program in Wellington
7 May 2011: Federal Government budget announcement (PDF 212.87KB)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service welcomes the announcement of $60.6 million for financial inclusion projects across Australia.
3 May 2011: Credit where it's due (PDF 214KB)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service welcomes refocus on areas of high need in the Budget 2011/12 announcement.
3 May 2011: Providing care across the continuum (PDF 214.54KB)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service sees promise in coalition government's budget announcement.
27 April 2011: Fostering twins bring twice the fun
Our foster carer Natalie Jenson talks to the Melbourne Times Weekly about her experience of fostering twins and how it's brought her family closer.
May 2010: Rights to care, safety and respect (PDF 142.43KB)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service encourages budget allocation to continue to keep individual rights and respect for all as fundamental principles.
December 2009: Melbourne University launches Pathways website
On 3 December 2009, the first version of Pathways www.pathwaysvictoria.info was launched at the University of Melbourne. Pathways is an online resource for people who as children were in out-of-home care in Victoria. Pathways tells the story of institutional 'care' in Victoria from its beginnings in the 1840s through to the present. It includes stories and images that describe key institutions and auspicing agencies, public figures, legislation, policies and events, with links to significant publications and record holdings.
You will not find personal information or private records in Pathways.
October 2009: Investing in the future (PDF 31.86KB)
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service welcomes the announcement of the Prime Minister and Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs of $18.5m to microfinance programs coordinated by Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service and NAB.