Supporting young people in care to be their best – MacKillop residential care staff recognised in Victorian Awards

MacKillop Family Services staff were commended for going above and beyond to support vulnerable children, young people and families at Resi ROCKS, an annual event that brings together residential care workers from across Victoria. Resi Rocks recognises and celebrates practice excellence and cultivates a culture of learning and innovation and the sharing of knowledge and ideas.

MacKillop’s Dennis Street KEYS Program was awarded the overall Residential Care Team Award, and the Matthew Street team received the First Nations Cultural Engagement Award which recognises individuals or teams that demonstrate a commitment to providing best practice and culturally appropriate care to First Nations Young people.

Other accolades went to Lauren Rodgers, MacKillop’s Eastern Residential Coordinator, receiving an Honourable Mention in the Leadership Award and another MacKillop team received an Honourable Mention in the Residential Care Team Award.

David Tyrrell, MacKillop’s TCP Case Manager in the East was awarded a Further Education Scholarship, which will help support David as he works towards completing his Bachelor of Social Work and one of MacKillop’s homes in the East also took out first place at the Annual Victorian HEALing Matters Awards, which celebrate residential care houses that do exceptional work in encouraging healthy lifestyle behaviours of young people.

One of the young people in residential care with MacKillop was chosen as the winner of the Resi ROCKS Hoodie Competition. The judges said their design beautifully embodied this year’s theme, Nurturing the Spark for Education, highlighting the profound impact of community on personal and collective growth.

The Resi ROCKS Design + Win Hoodie Competition invited young people currently residing in Residential Care or supported by a Residential Care agency in Victoria to showcase their artistic talents. Entrants were challenged to illustrate the transformative power of education through their designs. It was fantastic to see their amazing artwork on display!

Dr Robyn Miller, CEO of MacKillop Family Services said, “These awards are an incredible recognition of the quality of work, dedication and commitment to the families, children and young people and communities we support. My heartfelt congratulations to all who received awards and to the16 other MacKillop staff and teams who were nominated.”

Dr Miller added, “ We know we have so many exceptional people and teams across MacKillop, so it is always heartening when the amazing work they do every day is recognised in sector-wide industry awards.”

This artwork which was chosen for the design of the Resi Rocks hoodies, which go to all attendees at the event. This was the chosen design from a competition open to young people in residential care who were asked to illustrate the transformative power of education through their designs. The young person whose design was chosen is in residential care with MacKillop Family Services.

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