Executive Director Update - June 2022

Welcome to the June edition of Building Better Lives Together.

It’s been an exciting month for the Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL) and a transformational fortnight for Australia. 

For BSL, it’s significant to have a new Prime Minister who has himself experienced poverty and wants nobody left behind. It was equally powerful to see the emergence of strong female and crossbench candidates who have deep connections to their communities and who focused their efforts on climate, integrity and equality. BSL looks forward to working with the new Federal Parliament and the Albanese Government to create lasting change for those facing poverty and disadvantage, and a healthier democracy for all Australians.

This June, money raised will go to our programs and services that work alongside refugees, people seeking asylum and those from migrant backgrounds, to support them as they create new lives for themselves and their families in Australia. We offer services that cover the core pillars of our work – supporting children and families, and opening up pathways into employment, education and training for adults and youth.

In this edition, we showcase some of BSL programs and the people they have helped to find employment and training pathways. You will read about the Power Saving Bonus initiative and how it helped Barbara. You will learn about the community coalition calling for urgent action on Buy Now Pay Later products. There is information about the reforms following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. We also introduce a new BSL initiative, Ticket to Work, which will support young people with disability as they seek training and employment.

As always, our focus at BSL is working with those people in our community that are experiencing hardship and disadvantage, to ensure they have the same opportunities as everyone else and the resources and tools to empower them throughout their lives.

I want to thank you for your support throughout such challenging times. Our work simply wouldn’t be possible without the compassion and commitment of people like you.

With my best wishes,

Travers McLeod 

Executive Director 

Brotherhood of St. Laurence