PAYTON. FOUNDATION. CHANGING LIVES.

Since 1980, SPCS has provided crisis support, financial aid, material aid and case work (advocacy, referrals, mentoring and guidance) to the most vulnerable and marginalised people living on the Southern Peninsula. Located in Rosebud, the centre supports people from Safety Beach to Portsea.

A key component is the Family Support Service which assists families with children, addressing issues that are impacting their day-to-day lives. The service is client-focussed, empowering families to be the agents of change within their own lives.

Unique in its flexibility; it is not time constrained nor is it mandated. Attending to basic needs is often the pre-cursor to more in-depth conversations about family and underlying areas of concern. In addition, it provides the social community connection that many in isolation have been missing.

Tracey, the family support case worker, can help with everything from income and entitlements assessment, household bills, budgeting, advocacy and negotiation, education and school issues, to getting connected to specialist support services, or with a specific identified need.

Advocating on behalf of families and collaborating with key agencies, Tracey ensures the best outcomes for families.

Families can often face needs that fall through gaps in available funding. Through our generous community of supporters, we’ve enabled SPCS to meet some of those gaps.

Example: 

Tracey is supporting a mother of 2 who has struggled with family violence and mental illness. Both daughters have been affected by the trauma of the family violence environment.

As a result, the eldest daughter has developed juvenile arthritis which prevents her from working, affects her mobility and her mental health. Mum is a resilient lady who continues to manage crises despite her low literacy, financial hardship and status as full-time Carer.

Their car is a lifeline that keep this family on the road, particularly supporting the daughter with juvenile arthritis to remain connected to support services.

When their mechanic identified their car desperately needed four new tires, we were able to provide the funding needed to do so.

Through our community of generous supporters, we are working on building a pool of funds to meet these funding gaps. Help respond to these critical needs in real time.

Let us know if you would like to be on a list of people we can call as needs arise.