Melanie Holmes and Elle Lalor joined the Kinship Case Contracting team last month.
Every night in Gippsland there are hundreds of children in need of a safe home.
A disproportionate number of these children are Aboriginal.
At GEGAC, we are driven by the belief that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children should have a safe, supportive and culturally appropriate home.
That’s why the work that our Kinship Case Contracting staff do is so important.
Their job is to make sure that Aboriginal children in our community that are being cared for by a relative or family friend are getting the safe, supportive and culturally appropriate care that they need.
It’s challenging work, and needs top-notch people that are committed to Aboriginal kids getting the best possible upbringing.
So we were stoked to welcome Melanie Holmes and Elle Lalor to the Kinship Case Contracting team last month.
Working in Out-of-Home Care is a new career step for both Melanie and Elle, driven by the desire to help young people most in need of care and support.
Elle said she was motivated to get into this line of work by her own personal experiences as a Kinship Carer, providing a home for three siblings in addition to her own three children.
“The best outcome for Indigenous kids is to stay connected to family and community,” she said. “I saw the difference that it made, being able to keep siblings together. Maintaining that connection, that sense of family, is really important.”
For Melanie, too, the motivation is personal.
“I want to help make a difference for community,” she said. “We have the opportunity to create a positive impact on the lives and the futures of our kids, and that’s really important to me.”
Us too.
You can learn more about GEGAC’s Kinship Case Contracting work, and our other services supporting children that need care, at www.gegac.org.au/home/programs/
