A new report describes the evolution of an integrated approach to assisting young people through teaching, wellbeing and pathways support in a non-school setting.

The Brotherhood of St Laurence ‘Community VCAL’ program is a response to widespread concern about youth disengagement from secondary education. Operating in Frankston since 2010, it enables 15–18 year olds who have encountered significant challenges to undertake the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning, a course which combines classroom tuition with vocational training and work placements.

Read the report by George Myconos, Lessons from a flexible learning program: the Brotherhood of St Laurence Community VCAL education program for young people 2010–2013 (PDF file, 279 KB)

The Brotherhood was commissioned by the First Nations Foundation to evaluate the expansion phase of their financial literacy program. Piloted with Aboriginal people in Shepparton, the program was subsequently delivered under the name 'Waba Garrungu' in Roebourne, Western Australia, and as 'My Moola' in the inner city and eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The final report was written by Brotherhood researchers and Dr Nikki Moodie of RMIT University.

Read the report by Nikki Moodie, Fatoumata Diallo Roost and Eric Dommers 2014, My Moola: final report from the evaluation of an Indigenous financial literacy program (PDF file, 5 MB), First Nations Foundation, Melbourne.

A recent Brotherhood study examined the factors that affect the recruitment and retention of families in the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY), which is now operating in more than 75 sites across Australia. HIPPY is an early childhood learning and parenting program designed to enhance school readiness by engaging parents as their child’s first teacher.

Read the report by Fatoumata Diallo Roost, Nicky McColl Jones, Malita Allan and Eric Dommers Recruiting and retaining families in HIPPY (PDF file, 2.7 MB)

What role can community organisations play in developing a new narrative of civic connection?

The 2015 Sambell Oration, entitled 'The Common Good', will be presented by British social thinker Maurice Glasman at a dinner on Wednesday evening 25 March.

Find out more about the Sambell Oration progam and booking details

The Brotherhood's Damian Sullivan commented on the news of record level of household electricity and gas disconnections in Victoria in 2013–14.

Read the article in The Age 18 February 2015

The Brotherhood's current advocacy agenda includes work on energy affordability

Ten years ago the Brotherhood of St Laurence and ANZ together designed a program to encourage people on low incomes to save for their educational expenses. Since then, the Saver Plus program has helped more than 23,000 families and the participants have saved a total of $13.6 million.

The 10-year review of Saver Plus by RMIT researchers, released this month, found that the participants developed financial confidence and literacy and are therefore able to better manage their finances.

Read the report Saver Plus: a decade of impact (PDF file, 817 KB) by Roslyn Russell, Mark Stewart and Roslyn Russell

Would you like to keep up with current coverage of Employment , Multicultural affairs, Youth Education & Training or Older Adults?

We are trialling a series of weekly newsletters on these topics on BroCAP, the current awareness website run by the Brotherhood of St Laurence Library.

If you'd like to receive one of these newsletters, there is a sign up form on the BroCAP front page.