Wesley Mission Victoria

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1 Key points in this report: Wesley Mission Victoria Introduction to Wesley Mission Victoria and its services Strategic Plan and progress against strategic directions Covenant relationship with Wesley Church Melbourne Future Directions and Challenges 1 INTRODUCTION Wesley Mission Victoria (Wesley) was established in April 1893 and continues today as a community service agency of the Uniting Church, participating in God s mission to the world. Since its inception Wesley has been known for its advocacy for social reform and for its strong volunteer base which continues to greatly outnumber its paid staff. This is our first report to the Synod as we have not historically been regarded as a reporting body to the Synod. At our request this has changed and we are pleased to give account to the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. 1.1 Our Vision A community where all people can participate with dignity and hope. 1.2 Our Purpose We support people experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability to improve their life outcomes. We advocate for a more just society. 1.3 Our Values Hope Hope is the promise of a better future for every person in a fairer world. Compassion Compassion is seeking to understand the experience of others, standing alongside and being moved to respond. Justice Justice is the right of all people to be treated with respect and fairness in an equitable society. 1.4 About Wesley Lives are improved when we live in a just and inclusive society, where all people have access to quality care and support. Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.1

2 Wesley empowers people to improve their lives. We do this through a range of community services that help people enhance their quality of life and increase their social and economic participation. Our services span diverse challenges affecting lives and include community aged care, children, youth and family, crisis and homelessness, disability, employment, Lifeline Melbourne and social enterprises. We advocate for hope, justice and compassion, speaking out to influence the broader issues in our community that contribute to the challenges and inequalities people face. Wesley is of service to people of every background and has a long-standing commitment to social justice. Founded in the severe economic depression of the early 1890s, today we continue to meet emerging community needs as we face the significant social justice challenges of our times. 1.5 Expression of the Church Wesley is a contemporary expression of the Christian tradition of bringing God s life and hope to communities and individuals. The Great Commandment of Jesus to love God and to love one s neighbour provides a clear framework for our mission. The life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the ethos of the Uniting Church are open to people of all faiths and none, to seek partnerships in its community service work and to advocate for a just society. Wesley embraces the church s inclusiveness of all people clients, families, staff, volunteers and communities regardless of faith, cultural background, age, sexual orientation or gender. Wesley s work is based on a concern for vulnerable or impoverished people, particularly those who have experienced abuse, addiction or homelessness. 2 SERVICES AT A GLANCE Delivered by 800 staff and 1,600 volunteers. Delivered in 70 locations across metropolitan Melbourne and Inner Gippsland. Includes the following services: Community Aged Care Children, Youth and Family Crisis and Homelessness Disability Employment Lifeline. ** In September 2014 we divested from residential aged care services including the sale of Gilgunya Village to Wintringham who provide housing and care for elderly who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. 2.1 Some stories of how our services transform lives Joshua De Vouno is combining his Year 11 VCAL studies with a roof tiling apprenticeship at Essendon Tile Company under the Schools Based Apprenticeship and Training (SBAT) program. Joshua s SBAT was arranged through the Ticket to Work program which supports young people with a mild to moderate intellectual disability in senior secondary school. As a Ticket to Work partner, Wesley Employment Services supported Joshua and the business to establish the apprenticeship and will continue to support both throughout his employment there. Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.2

3 Lauren (not her real name) and her young daughter were referred to Wesley s Crisis & Homelessness Services (CHS) after they fled their home to escape family violence. CHS staff arranged emergency accommodation for them and provided material aid, including food from the Food for Families appeal. The ongoing support from CHS empowered Lauren to improve her situation and she now lives independently with her daughter. Lauren says We honestly would not be where we are right now if it wasn t for the support, encouragement and food provided by Wesley. I loved that they had a holistic approach and I m just so grateful for them. Foster carers Jenny and Arthur Holden have provided a safe and stable home for 18 children over the past year. In one very special case, they were invited to become official grandparents to a small baby whom they cared for at six-weeks old. With the child now back in its mother s care, the family was keen to keep Jenny and Arthur in their lives. 3 STRATEGIC PLAN Given the amount of work yet to be completed and the departure of our previous CEO (Rob Evers) in April 2015, the strategic plan was extended to 2016 to enable the incoming CEO to be part of the development cycle for the next strategic plan. Our organisation exists for our clients and in the current strategic plan our focus is on the areas we believe will have most impact on the lives of people who experience disadvantage and vulnerability. Annual business plans have been built and are still being executed using the following five strategic directions: 3.1 Improve Clients Lives Provide quality, safe, person centred services to improve the lived experience and outcomes for clients. Enable clients to have a greater voice in informing our actions Build knowledge and practice excellence that supports quality service delivery Strengthen our understanding and responsiveness to diversity Bring an outcomes focus to our work Integrate and realign services to better respond to client needs 3.2 Strengthen Our Foundations Ensure we meet our organisational responsibilities and have effective structures, systems and resources to do our work well. Understand and respond to the needs of the First Australians Be a socially and environmentally responsible organisation Strengthen our relationship with Uniting Church bodies Ensure our policies, processes, systems and structures meet organisational needs Build the awareness and reputation of Wesley Maximise the value and security for the organisation through strategic management of assets and finances. Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.3

4 3.3 Speak Out And Influence Speak with a clear voice and undertake effective advocacy to build better lives and a more just society. Advocate for change informed by our core values, our expertise and clear policy positions Position Wesley as a key player in government policy development, in our sectors and in the wider community Increase our visibility in the arena of public policy through strategic partnerships Facilitate the engagement of our staff, clients and supporters in public debate and advocacy 3.4 Value Our People Build a culture where people are supported and developed to deliver quality work in a safe and healthy organisation. Build the capacity of our people Create a sustainable and healthy culture across the organisation Ensure we have the workforce to meet current and future needs Lead a culture of shared responsibility for a safe organisation 3.5 Lead And Innovate Identify and develop new responses to better meet the needs of our clients. Develop new ways of responding using our knowledge and evidence Invest in our knowledge and research capability Lead thinking and action on partnerships for greater impact Pursue opportunities consistent with our mission, strategy and capability Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.4

5 3.6 Consolidated Business Plan Report WMV Progress Against Strategic Plan Year Ending June IMPROVE CLIENTS LIVES 3% 2. STRENGTHEN OUR FOUNDATIONS 10% 3. SPEAK OUT AND INFLUENCE 11% 48% 49% 55% 35% 33% 56% 4. VALUE OUR PEOPLE 5. LEAD & INNOVATE 7% 34% 15% 59% 54% 31% LEGEND: Delayed requiring corrective action or ceased On track as per planned schedule Completed as per planned schedule 4 WESLEY UPPER LONSDALE DEVELOPMENT For several decades now Wesley Church Melbourne and Wesley Mission Victoria have been trying to bring about a redevelopment of the Lonsdale Street site. Many of the site s buildings have fallen into disrepair and it has been a struggle to maintain the heritage buildings in a sustainable way. Wesley Mission Victoria, Wesley Church Congregation (including the Gospel Hall Congregation) and the Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) have signed a tripartite agreement embarking on a partnership aimed at reclaiming the vibrant role the Wesley Church has played in Melbourne s religious, social and political history. Upon completion the site will be rejuvenated as an inviting and restful place with much open green space, cafes and retail shops and a new tower that will house Wesley Mission Victoria s Central Office, Wesley Church Congregation s Office and the Synod Offices. The neo-gothic church building will be maintained as an active worship space and chapel for all the church s entities. It will also create new opportunities for the church to engage in city life, through the interaction of meeting places, arts and educational venues. Due to increased space requirements in an aging building that is no longer fit for purpose (Wesley House) and the impending redevelopment project, Wesley has temporarily moved its central office (including Lifeline) to Level 8, 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, until the completion of the project. This has resulted in significant benefits, with a modern office layout, all teams on one floor and a common kitchen something Wesley has not had since 1990 when the Princess Mary Club was closed. Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.5

6 Wesley is excited about the redevelopment and especially looking forward to new opportunities to collaborate more closely with other parts of the church in the Synod Offices. 5 COVENANT WITH WESLEY CHURCH MELBOURNE Wesley Church Melbourne and Wesley Mission Victoria have a long and proud shared history of worship and service, word and deed that inextricably ties them together. In acknowledging the difficulties that followed the separation and incorporation of Wesley, there was a growing desire by both parties to enter into a covenantal relationship. From mid 2013 to mid 2014 a covenant was developed to bring together the Wesley Church Council and Wesley Board. Both parties acknowledge that a Covenant has no force of law or corporate structure; however it is a higher calling agreement that expresses a mutual desire to serve together in a way that brings honour to God through our shared worship, witness and service. The signing of this covenant took place in worship on 13 July 2014 with the service led by the Rev Alistair Macrae and the Rev (Deacon) Gavin Blakemore. We continue to live out this covenantal relationship which we believe is having a positive impact on both parties, particularly around the site redevelopment and our temporary move to an offsite location. 6 ROYAL COMMISSION INTO INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND THE UNITINGCARE HERITAGE SERVICE Wesley has collaborated with the wider church to respond to issue papers put out by the Royal Commission (RC). We have also sought to respond when required to specific information requested by the RC. Rob Evers appeared before the RC in March 2015 as part of a roundtable of agencies with specific recognised expertise in this area. Wesley has undertaken much work in both our historic record keeping and in current practices to ensure our staff are well trained and supervised to provide class leading and safe services. This has come at significant cost but Wesley has seen this as an investment in our client s past, present and future. Following the commencement of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse a UnitingCare Care Leavers Task Group was formed including all agencies past or presently involved in the residential care of children. During the work of this task group it became quickly apparent that there was a need for a central heritage service to deal with care leaver requests for all agencies. As a result, Wesley has taken a lead role in establishing a UnitingCare Heritage Service on behalf of the network. As this report is being written the final approval for each constituent agency is being sought to commence a Wesley hosted UnitingCare Heritage Service in April June To our knowledge this will be the first such shared project across the entire UnitingCare network. We wish to acknowledge the significant work and resources contributed by the UnitingCare Victoria & Tasmania Unit and each constituent agency that has assisted the project to get to this point FINANCIAL SUMMARY Total revenue decline $70m $63m Net operating surplus after discontinued operations $686k Strong balance sheet $23m Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.6

7 Volunteer support 464k hours = $10.6m Strong cash + investments = $12.4m Cash inflows: residential aged care divestment 50% increase in donation income for the fiscal year 2016 Budget $55m 8 FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND CHALLENGES 8.1 New CEO Following the departure of Rob Evers in April 2015, we were pleased to welcome new CEO Paul Linossier in December His significant background in both Uniting Church and Catholic community service agencies, as well as experience in state government has been received well across the sector and within Wesley. 8.2 Unprecedented Sector Reform Probably the most significant challenges facing Wesley derive from complex and concurrent community sector reforms. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Consumer Directed Care (CDC) in aged care require all community service providers to change their models of service delivery which will no longer be block funded. Instead clients will receive funding directly and be able to choose where they obtain the services they require. Providers will have to market their services and operate in ways they have never had to before. Along with significant reform in Children, Youth and Family services, emergency relief, and Lifeline, this means the way our agency operates will completely change over the next few years. 8.3 UnitingCare Network - Disability Collaboration The roll-out of the NDIS is a major change for all UnitingCare agencies delivering disability services. Wesley is collaborating with the broader UnitingCare Network in order to prepare for the launch and to be a successful provider in this new world. As the two largest disability providers in the UnitingCare network, Wesley began this process by establishing a strategic alliance with UnitingCare LifeAssist in July By the end of 2015 this alliance had shifted to a wider collaboration under a specially formed working group of the UnitingCare Network Project Control Group. 8.4 UnitingCare Network Project Control Group Wesley has actively worked in co-operation with what was previously the UnitingCare Collaboration Project and is now known as the UnitingCare Network Project Control Group (PCG). We seek to work collaboratively with Synod and its community services agencies to provide the best outcome for people facing disadvantage and vulnerability in Victoria and Tasmania. To that end the Wesley Board at its February 2016 meeting decided to take up a PCG invitation to enter a process that would see Wesley join in the merger as a founding agency. This intention requires Synod Standing Committee approval and has a set of conditions yet to be agreed with the PCG. It is anticipated that this issue will be resolved by the time of the Synod meeting. Combined strengths, experience and a state-wide footprint in providing high-quality person-centred care and support is at the heart of this decision. Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.7

8 9 CONCLUSION Wesley Mission Victoria is a community service agency of the Uniting Church with a long and distinguished history. To remain relevant to changing and growing community need we accept the need for significant organisational change. We look forward to a future where we are well placed to continue providing innovative and quality services for those experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability as we work towards a just and inclusive community. SUE NORMAN Chairperson PAUL LINOSSIER Chief Executive Officer GAVIN BLAKEMORE Director of Mission Wesley Mission Victoria report to June 2016 Synod Section G3 G3.8