Laurel Place Inc.

Due to recent organisational growth and expansion Laurel Place has a number of job opportunities across all of our locations.   Team Leader, Sunshine Coast Adult Programs Team Leader, Gympie & Murgon Services Adult Sexual Assault Counsellor, Moreton Office Children, Youth and Families Counsellor, Murgon Office Youth Sexual Violence Counsellor, Murgon Office   To find out more about any of these available positions, please visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gBK3hVmz   Please share with your networks to help us find our next valued team members.

Each year Peachester State School holds a gift drive for the children who attend Laurel Place. The families from this small local school donate a gift for an anonymous child, allowing us to spread some Christmas cheer at this time of year to our youngest attendee’s. Recently some of our counsellors attended the schools end of year celebrations and were recipients of the donated gifts which have now been shared with our clients, who were all very excited and grateful to receive them. We have also been grateful to receive very generous donations from the ladies at Headland Golf Club who do a gift drive annually for our adult clients. They also gifted our Maroochydore office a Christmas cake which has been enjoyed in our lunch room this week! We are so grateful for this generosity of spirit and acts of kindness. It is a wonderful way to remind the people who utilise our services that they are valued, not just by Laurel Place, but also the wider community.

Each year we are so honoured to be recipients of the The Sunshine Coast Business Women's Network Giving Tree, which provides gifts to pass on to the women who attend Laurel Place Maroochydore. Thank you all once again for your kindness at this time of year.

This morning a Maroochydore staff member represented Laurel Place at the Sunshine Coast Council Seeds of Hope event at Alexandra Headland. This is an annual event where community members are invited to plant a tree as an act of solidarity and support for victims of domestic and family violence during the international campaign - 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. More information: https://lnkd.in/gq94hBhs #OrangeTheWorld #16DaysOfActivism

An exciting new position has been developed at Laurel Place - Director, Counselling Services. The role will preferably be based at our Maroochydore office however an alternative Laurel Place office may be considered for the right applicant. This position is to provide high-level oversight, support, and coordination of clinical service delivery across the organisation. Applications close 5pm Wednesday 4th December 2024. Please see the link below for further information.

Today on National Survivors Day we honour the incredible strength, resilience, and courage of survivors everywhere. At Laurel Place, we stand with those who have overcome the darkest challenges and continue to thrive. Wherever you are on your journey - we believe you, we value you, we support you. To all survivors, your voice matters. Your story is important. And today, we celebrate YOU. 💖 #NationalSurvivorsDay https://lnkd.in/g4wHuNgT

The first Gympie SVAM Rally was held at Memorial Park in Gympie last Wednesday afternoon. LP Gympie staff joined other members of the Gympie Sexual Assault Action Group to call for everyone to stand together and send a clear message that sexual violence will not be tolerated in our community. We’d like to send a shout-out to local musician Karen Thomsen Onstage for donating her time and talent - providing the sound equipment for the event, along with some great music that had everyone’s toes tapping. Thanks also to Aunty Deb Bennett for honouring us with her Welcome to Country, before a panel of specialists in the delivery of sexual assault support services, provided answers to the questions that many people have about legal, medical and therapeutic processes for victim/survivors. Our thanks for their time, knowledge and commitment go to LP’s Executive Director - Dr Lisa McLean; Kirsty Edmond - Clinical Lead of the Sunshine Coast Forensic Nursing Service; Detective Sergeant Shane STIBBARD – Sexual Violence Liaison Officer and OIC of the Child Protection and Investigation Unit; Brendan Hall Manager, Gympie Child Safety Service Centre; and Shi Smith - Community Partnerships & Domestic Violence Practitioner at Community Action Inc. Inspector Brad Inskip led his QPS Officers and Volunteers on the Bbq so that everyone could enjoy a delicious sausage sizzle – big thanks to The Meat Hall for donating the snags, and to Neverfail for donating bottles of water for everyone who wanted a cold drink. For those wanting a hot drink, Matt and his team from The Hatch Specialty Coffee generously stayed open to ensure they could get the coffee of their choice. It was great to see Mayor Hartwig come along – we thank the Council for their support in making the 2024 SVAM Rally happen - we look forward to making the event even bigger and better next year!

Our Moreton, Gympie and Murgon teams had a busy week last week to close out Sexual Violence Awareness Month! Our first Moreton Sexual Violence Awareness Month Brunch on Wednesday was well attended and included speakers Deborah Aldrick, Dr Emily Moir and a performance by singer/songwriter Alys Ffion. Deborah Aldrick shared her story, excerpts of her book ‘Circling The Wagons’, and poetry inspired by her experiences as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Dr Emily Moir discussed her work and research into elder abuse. Alys awed her with her story of resilience and courage and ability to translate her experience into song. We are so grateful to them for sharing their time, expertise and voices with us. We are also grateful to those from the community who came along and showed us there is a real appetite for an event like this in the Moreton/Caboolture region – we will see you again next year! More pics and posts of our other SVAM events to follow.

We would like to acknowledge and extend heartfelt thanks to some local individuals and organisations who kindly made donations to support our recent Maroochydore Sexual Violence Awareness Month Breakfast. Thanks to: Fiona Simpson MP GAICD Bunnings Maroochydore The JOY Collective Maleny Coolum Cutting Edge Maggie Mays' Kitchen and Bar Bespoke Plants Qld VO2Fit Personal Training Tasqua Management Services Your support played a crucial role in making our event a success, and we truly appreciate your commitment to giving back to the community.