Helping families thrive

Family Preservation (formerly known as Brighter Futures) is a program aimed to improve outcomes for children, young people and families by ensuring they receive individually tailored, evidence-informed and culturally responsive services.

Child & Family Practitioner, Freya, is the intake worker for this program in Southwest and North Sydney. She tells us more about the important work she does.

Freya smiling
Pictured above is Freya

What’s your job in a nutshell?

We work alongside families to overcome issues such as domestic violence, substance misuse, mental health, and parental concerns. We aim to prevent children from entering out of home care, corrective, or mental health services.

As part of the Family Preservation program, we support families through case management, safety planning, parent coaching and ensuring they’re connected with services for their mental wellbeing. Our primary clients are the children; so our focus is ensuring that they’re safe, nurtured and healthy in their home environment.

I also do intake for our Child, Youth & Family directorate in South-West Sydney and the Pediatric Clinic that runs at the Liverpool Hub. My job is to liaise over the phone with people who want to refer families and children to these programs.

I look through the referrals to make sure they’re eligible and then bring them to our weekly intake meetings to discuss and allocate them to a caseworker. I also take down self-referrals and call back people who are reaching out for support. Part of my job is to help them find an appropriate service if they’re not eligible for the Family Preservation Programs.

What made you choose your career path with The Benevolent Society?

I did the graduate pathways program last year with the Brighter Future's Program. I was keen to be involved with a program that would let me see different areas of the organisation, as well as ease me into full-time social work. I also really resonated with the values of The Benevolent Society.

What do you think are the most important skills to have in your job?

I think an important skill in my job is being able to effectively communicate over the phone. Most of my interactions are over the phone, so it’s important to be a positive, understanding, and comforting voice for people who are reaching out for support.

Another important skill is being able to work with people to support them; to get the help they’re wanting or needing. This can involve advocating for them to be accepted in one of the programs at The Benevolent Society or trying to find another service that will be able to give them that support.

What do you love most about your job?

I love that I can interact with lots of different people, and advocate for clients in the initial stages of the referral process. I think my role is amazing because I’m able to give people the space to tell their story and to find the programs that will best be able to support their different needs.

For more information on our Child, Youth and Family Services, visit our website here.

What’s your job in a nutshell?

What made you choose your career path with The Benevolent Society?

What do you think are the most important skills to have in your job?

What do you love most about your job?

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