Supported people in our programs affected by Melbourne’s lockdowns

BSL services maintained a face-to-face presence, where necessary and found new ways to connect, empower and engage with people virtually, through online workshops, meetings and information sessions, online carer support groups and online capacity-building opportunities.

null

We assisted tenants in the Flemington and North Melbourne social housing affected by Melbourne’s hard lockdown

BSL staff wearing face masks in a socially distanced group outside — Bicultural BSL staff assisting at the Flemington housing estate

A woman wearing a face mask and carrying bags of food — BSL team member, Tsion Girma, at the base of the Flemington housing estate

A lockdown by the Victorian State Government across the North Melbourne and Flemington housing estates prevented 3,000 people, across nine towers, from leaving their homes for 14 days from 4–18 July 2020. Where hotspots were identified, the lockdown was longer.

From the outset, our Community Programs and NDIS teams were on the phones conducting wellbeing checks with participants in our programs who were residing in the towers.

BSL participated in the Yarra Community Working Group consisting of the Department of Health and Human Services, local organisations, community leaders and residents. Through resident-led ideas and solutions, the working group sought to minimise the spread of COVID-19 between residents living at the Fitzroy, Collingwood and North Richmond housing estates.

NDIS participants

We continued to support people with disability to get the supports they need during lockdown

A boy in a wheelchair smiles and raises his hands — Noah who is receiving support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

The BSL NDIS team completed over 2,524 participant phone calls to check that people with disability - identified as vulnerable or isolated - had the supports they needed. In addition to these calls, we maintained our regular check-ins, supplied online services and kept the offices open, providing support through face-to-face appointments for those who could not utilise online services.

Children's Programs

We supported children and families under stress from lockdown and remote learning and helped them stay connected with schools

4 young boys stand in white lab coats in class — L-R: Santino, Ruda, Riek, and Jaikor, who engage in our Homework Learning Support & Initiative, which is part of the Frankston North Children’s Program

Lockdowns and remote learning left many parents in our Children’s Programs confused and concerned that they were unable to support their children. Our bicultural workers reached out to many Cultural and Linguistically Diverse families during the lockdowns, ensuring regular telephone communication in the family’s own language to strengthen trusted relationships and provide the ability for families to share their concerns.

The teams provided support with home online schooling and assisted families to access financial support where this was available. BSL provided translations of materials and through the support of a generous BSL corporate donor, laptops were provided to help students connect with their schools. WhatsApp groups were also set up to enable a continual flow of accurate and immediate tailored information, catering to various languages.

Aged Care Services

We ensured that people using our Aged Care Services could stay safe and connected and receive the supports they needed

A man sits at a table painting on paper — BSL Aged Care Clifton Hill resident, Mark Taylor

BSL’s Aged Care team stepped up to the challenges and adapted community aged care programs to ensure that people using our services were able to stay connected and receive the supports they needed, even with our day centres and community respite being closed for extended periods.

Our team employed a range of alternative approaches to ensure communications were maintained. This included telephone support sessions and online group activities in place of those normally carried out in the community. Virtual visits to art galleries, museums and various other outdoor locations were experienced with the help of internet conferencing and virtual reality technology.

Services that had to be delivered in-person were provided by our staff equipped with personal protective equipment and training, to ensure both staff and those engaged in our services were kept safe.

At our BSL Aged Care residence in Clifton Hill, visits were restricted to maintain safety. To ensure residents could stay connected, our staff used Zoom catchups, window visits and phone calls to allow residents to stay in touch with their loved ones. Additional staff were employed in the Lifestyle Program and the range of in-house activities was increased to ensure that boredom never crept in.

Share this page

Next section
Amplified the voices of those most affected by COVID-19