ABOUT US
The Gender Centre Inc
Vision, Purpose & Values
What we are here for
Transgender and Gender diverse people fall between the cracks at rates far higher than the general population. Homelessness for trans people is destabilising, and dangerous. Without a safe secure place to live employment, personal safety and hope for the future becomes nearly impossible.
The Gender Centre maintains three supported crisis housing facilities providing thirteen bed spaces and 21 supported transitional housing facilities providing twenty one bed spaces. In 2015/16 the Gender Centre provided over eleven thousand beds per night for the community.
For some trans people even a track record of paying rent, keeping house, and being a good neighbour are not enough to overcome discrimination. The Gender Centre provides tenancy support and currently helps approximately 84 trans people.
Improving Mental Health:
Adjusting and integrating to a new gender identity can be an incredibly stressful and confronting experience. Currently, the suicide rate amongst trans people is so high that almost half of all trans people attempt suicide at least once in their life[1]. The common experience is that being transgender is of itself not distressing,
[1] McNeil, J. et al. (2012) Trans Mental Health Study 2012. Scottish Transgender Alliance. Edinburgh. www.scottishtrans.org [viewed 8/3/13]
but rather suffering arises because family and society often fails to accept and support trans people’s in their identities.
In the past year The Gender Centre has offered 1289 counseling/support sessions. On average the Gender Centre offers counseling for over two hundred trans gender and gender diverse clients per year.
Helping Trans People Rise:
Helping trans people involves a wide range of services and assistance: from housing, income, health, employment, education and training, to counseling, support groups, advocacy and building the strength and resilience of the community itself. The Gender Centre is involved in all aspects of the trans and gender diverse experience. In 2015/16 The Gender Centre logged 10,500 hours of casework in support of clients.
Building Community:
Who funds us
We are part of the community
Management Structure
Board of Directors
EMPLOYMENT
Staff
- Executive Director
- Programs manager
- Family support caseworker
- Family peer support worker
- Counsellor
- Caseworker's
- GWS Caseworker
- Outreach Education caseworker's
- Communication /Resource/Information
- Allied Health staff funded by CESPHN
- Clinical Psychologist
- Clinical Psychologist
- Clinical Psychologist
- Clinical Psychologist
- Psychologist
Positions Vacant
POSITION VACANT:
Caseworker Contract Position
POSITION:
Outreach Caseworker 1 year contract
AWARD TITLE:
Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award, 2010
CLASSIFICATION:
SACS Employee Level 2 Pay-point 4 (current)
SALARY:
$ 35.14 As per award + Salary packaging
- 28 hours per week
- 3 days 9am to 4.30
- 1 day 4pm to 11.30 pm with preparedness to work flexible hours in order to accommodate client
- service provision and inter-agency events
LOCATION
Marrickville
RESPONSIBLE TO:
The Executive Director & Senior Programs Manager
DOWNLOADS:
Please download the files below
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
For more information and a guide to applying for a position at the Gender Centre contact the Executive Director on 90555341 or Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ROLES & FUNCTIONS
NGO & Incorporated Association
Our Role in the Community
The Functions We Perform
FUNDING
Who Funds Us?
The Gender Centre Inc. is both an N.G.O. or a Non-Government Organisation funded in part by the N.S.W. Department of Communities & Justice under the Specialist Homeless Service program (S H S ), and Sydney Local Area Health District, and is an incorporated association under the "Associations Incorporation Act 1984". We also periodically apply for government grants for different projects, receive the occasional donation and also hold occasional fundraisers.
Sydney Local Area Health District
The Gender Centre is generously funded, in part, by, Sydney Local Area Health District, a funding agreement that dates back many years. This funding has been provided under N.S.W. Health's "AIDS. and Infectious Diseases Scheme" and the Gender Centre Inc. is very grateful to the N.S.W. Health, Sydney Local Health District for this funding.
Over the years this funding has meant that we, as a service devoted to the well-being of transgender people, a most marginalised group within the community, have been able to promote the education and training of other service providers in the needs of transgender and gender questioning people, have also been able to operate an ever important outreach service that tends to thousands of transgender clients per year, we have been able to provide educational material including our bi-monthly magazine, "Polare", and have been able to generally operate other important programs which enhance the ability of transgender people to make informed choices.
The Gender Centre Inc. remains truly grateful for the funding that has been provided by the N.S.W. Health, Sydney Local Health District in the past and looks forward to maintaining a long and cohesive relationship in the future.
Department of Communities & Justice
The Gender Centre is also generously funded, in part, by the N.S.W. Department of Community and Justice under the Specialist Homelessness Service program (S.H S .), a funding agreement that also extends back many years. In accordance with this funding agreement, the Gender Centre Inc. has devoted this income to the funding of our residential service and associated services such as the residential case management program.
Over the years this funding agreement has meant that we, as a service devoted to the well-being of transgender people, a group that experiences a high rate of homelessness, have been able to house many hundreds of transgender people in refuge accommodation, and provide them with appropriate resources to assist with their movement through the transgender process.
The Gender Centre Inc. remains truly grateful for the funding that has been provided by the N.S.W. Health Department of Human Services, Community Services in the past and looks forward to maintaining a long and cohesive relationship in the future.
Government & Private Sector Grants
From time to time during the course of our operations, the need often arises to apply for small to medium government and private sector grants to fund individual projects that may not have been budgeted for previously. Some examples of the grants that the Gender Centre Inc. has been successful in applying for in more recent times include grants from The Aurora Group, Sydney City Council and Marrickville Council "Street Smart" and N.S.W. Clubs for projects such as the compilation of our kits and fact sheets, and the purchase of furniture and appliances for our refuge houses.
Donations & Fundraisers
The Gender Centre is registered with the N.S.W. Department of Registered Charities as a registered charity, and is therefore able to receive donations and conduct occasional fundraisers. The Gender Centre Inc. would like to thank all parties that have made generous donations to us in the past and ask that any interested donor contact the centre on (02) 9519 7599 or go to our Donation Page and make a Donation.
STRATEGIC PLAN
Our Strategic Planning Processes
Method used
The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) method was used to conduct the planning process. A combination of external and internal stakeholders were interviewed by an external consultant.
EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS: SERVICE PROVIDERS
Interviews were conducted with the following stakeholders:
- NSW FACS
- Metro Housing
- Wentworth Community Housing
- Headspace in Dubbo
- Sydney Local Health District
- Primary Health Network
- Regional LHD
- NSW Police
Stakeholders were asked to respond to a series of questions including:
- A description of their service and role.
- Their agencies relationship to GC e.g. referral, partner, funding.
- What GC services were they aware of?
- What additional services they think the agency could provide?
- What should be the agencies priorities over the next three years?
- What did they see as the overall strengths of the service?
- Were there any areas where the service could improve? If so, what were they?
- How should GC position itself to achieve long term sustainability?
INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS: GC CLIENT GROUPS
The consultant met with the following client groups:
- two clients in an interview discussion
- two clients’ submitted surveys
- Parents group – fifteen participants
- Young person’s group – 18 participants
The following questions guided discussion:
- What activities and services at GC have been helpful to you?
- How would you describe your experience of being a client at GC?
- What staff support has been helpful to you?
- Is there anything additional staff could do to assist you?
- How can GC improve its services?
- Is there anything you would like to add?
SWOT: Emerging themes from stakeholders consultation
Many of the identified strengths highlighted the GC’s, ability to provide a specialist response. This specialisation included the following: the Centre’s strong relationship with local community, passionate, friendly and skilled staff, strong advocacy skills, excellence in service provision and delivering the client centred approach into case management practice.
External stakeholders identified the GC’s strong relationships with local community positions the service in a leadership role when advocating for the dignity and rights of transgender and gender diverse people. GC’s variety of programs such as, counselling, parents group, young person’s group, case management, access to information and resources supports clients with the skills and knowledge to increase their capacity for independence and self-empowerment.
The young person’s group found access to the group particularly helpful in developing strong relationships and challenging social isolation.
The parent’s group highlighted the staff as supportive, valued the social support aspect of the group and access to information. Parents identified the support from GC as crucial to the ongoing wellbeing of their family, particularly the mental and social wellbeing to their children.