Celebrating NAIDOC week with your children!
13 November 2020
NAIDOC Week is finally here, and we could not be more excited! On this special week, we celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for young children to learn about the culture of Australia’s First Nations people, and to build stronger connections with their local Aboriginal and Torres […]
Building our Next Door community
2 November 2020
One of the largely unspoken impacts of the COVID-19 crisis has been on our ability to network and build our communities. Between restrictions on travel and visiting friends, the cancellation of most events, and the general concern around interpersonal interactions, we have lost much of what used to bring us together. That’s why, as we […]
One year of Next Door: Lynette’s story
7 August 2020
For the first anniversary of our Next Door program, we wanted our client’s voices to be heard. This is Lynette’s* story. For you, the reader, to understand how amazing the Next Door Program and appreciate how amazing the staff has been to me and the many women they have helped, I need to share with you, just […]
One year of Next Door: Wendy’s story
7 August 2020
For the first anniversary of our Next Door program, we wanted our client’s voices to be heard. This is Wendy’s* story. I was in a pretty bad situation before Next Door. I had moved to Canberra after six years of caring for my daughter with disabilities in WA. I had gotten her set up in her own […]
One year of Next Door: Helen’s story
7 August 2020
For the first anniversary of our Next Door program, we wanted our client’s voices to be heard. This is Helen’s* story. I was pretty desperate before I encountered Next Door. I had been living with my ex-partner for around three years. It was toxic, but I didn’t have the resources to move out, either emotionally or financially. […]
One year of Next Door: Mary’s story
7 August 2020
For the first anniversary of our Next Door program, we wanted our client’s voices to be heard. This is Mary’s* story. A few years ago, I decided to lodge an application for public housing because one by one my children are leaving Canberra for a better job: one to Melbourne, another to Sydney. My youngest also decided […]
One year of Next Door: Cheryl’s story
7 August 2020
For the first anniversary of our Next Door program, we wanted our client’s voices to be heard. This is Cheryl’s* story. When I was referred to YWCA Canberra’s Next Door program, it’s no stretch to say it was a life-changing moment. As a homeless mature-age woman, I’d held onto the last shred of my dignity […]
Free Tax Help 2020
16 July 2020
Our Mura Lanyon Youth and Community Centre (MLYCC) is offering free tax return help. If you’re earning a low income, you can get free help filling out and submitting your tax return from our Tax Help volunteer, Dennis, on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 29 July to 26 November 2020. What is Tax Help? Tax […]
Redefining ‘normal’ in a post-COVID world
13 July 2020
In this time of COVID-19, there is no question that many of us now lead very different lives than what we are used to. From issues of mass job loss, increased mental health problems, and financial instability, it is evident the virus has affected us all in more ways than one. But as we begin […]
Tips on how to deal with re-entering society
8 July 2020
Living through lockdown has been challenging to say the least, but for many it has provided a sense of security and comfort in a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty. But as we begin to move towards a more relaxed state, many of us will again experience a new sense of anxiety, as we begin […]