Responding to COVID-19
In 2020, resilience has been tested at a personal and societal level, and we know that the true impact of the Coronavirus crisis is yet to be clearly seen.
COVID-19 has exposed cracks in our society and its systems, and it has opened up opportunities for us to push for systemic change.
We have begun to address the impacts of COVID-19 on our communities and at a policy level.
Key BSL actions and outcomes during COVID-19 so far
In March, a program and policy taskforce was created to proactively address the effects of COVID-19 on communities affected by disadvantage.
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Through the Working for Victoria (WfV) program we’ve been able to recruit over 100 full-time positions on six-month contracts.
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Program staff quickly adapted their practice to ensure services continued and opportunities emerged to involve people in online communities.
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Many people from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds are ineligible for JobSeeker and JobKeeper.
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Our corporate partners gave support above their usual financial contributions, supplying funding and computer hardware to students at risk of isolation.
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BSL actively advocated on a range of issues, including calling for changes to our social security system.
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In May and June, our Community Programs division and our Research and Policy Centre collaborated in a listening tour of programs.
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As Victoria was grappling with COVID-19 in August, a video was sent to HIPPY Australia from the HIPPY team in Inala, to cheer everybody on.
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