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Najidah is a nonprofit secular organisation in Australia dedicated to reducing societal tolerance of abuse and the development of safer communities. Located in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast, it was founded as "Jacana lodge" (a homelessness service) in the early 1990s before becoming an incorporated association in 1999.
The Najidah Prime Statement:
"No form of abuse is acceptable. Every individual has the right to live in a safe community."
Najidah Community Development practices work for the reduction of societal tolerance of abuse; and Najidah Service Delivery contributes to the development of safer communities. All Najidah responses adhere to the Najidah Philosophy, which is contextualised in the United Nations Bill of Human Rights.
The name Najidah is of middle eastern origin. Its simple meaning is "to succour with courage" . Mythologically, Najidah was a dancer and entertainer of rich and influential men, who used her position to rescue women and children from life-threatening situations, spiriting them away to safety.
Najidah founded its first service, Jacana Lodge in partnership with the Women's Crisis Service in 1993. In 1999, Najidah became an Incorporated Association and received Federal and State Government funding to provide accommodation services to families escaping Domestic Violence (DV). In partnership with the Queensland Departments of Communities and Housing, Najidah established the first specialist DV accommodation service in the Sunshine Coast region.
The organization expanded accommodation services in 2003 and again in 2005 to include medium term accommodation services and as a result, in 2006 Najidah provided in excess of 14,000 nights accommodation to homeless families. Further growth and development included a host of ancillary programs and the development of a unique accommodation service in Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast of Australia. During this time Najidah developed a national profile as an innovative, boutique organization known for high levels of effectiveness and several national best practice awards.
As the government funding Najidah received for its accommodation services requires a focus primarily on adults, such funds were not widely available to accommodate the needs of children. Najidah affirms and adheres to the national standards for working with children exposed to DV and therefore has taken steps to fundraise sufficient resources to provide a range of award-winning "child focused" programs to children in Najidah services.
Najidah's early responses to help the homeless focused primarily on accommodation. However, the problem of homelessness, in general, is far more complex and could not be solved by such measures alone, so Najidah's scope and services have broadened accordingly.
Over the years of its operation, Najidah has dealt with barriers that impede people in overcoming homelessness, by offering an holistic, integrated case management approach. This includes supporting families to address issues in the areas of health and well-being; education and children's needs; legal matters and financial matters, as well as accommodation. Using an empowerment model based on power relations theory, the Najidah approach focuses on living an independent and self determined life.
The 2003 establishment of the Najidah Community Development department broadened Najidah's operations through a series of partnerships to develop whole of community responses to homelessness, abuse and violence as well as the many social factors that create the environment in which such problems can flourish.
Accommodation Services
Through the Regional Accommodation Service, Najidah provides accommodation to families affected by Domestic and Family Violence. Services are delivered with varying levels of support and length of stay, depending on circumstance.
Accommodation options include:
Service users are supported to develop and implement a plan of action to develop necessary support networks and resources for independent living. This includes planning to resolve issues in the areas of:
Head High – Young people living beyond suicide
Provides support and information for young people (and people working with young people) – who have lost someone to suicide. Winner of national youth suicide prevention awards from Suicide Prevention Australia in 2006 and 2007.
Kids Club
Kids Club is an activity-based support group for past and present resident primary school aged children at Najidah. Kids Club is a 2006 winner of the national crime and violence prevention awards.
Tiny Tots
A playgroup styled program for resident families at Najidah.
Clever Cookies
Clever Cookies provides support around developing healthy and nutritious menus inexpensively.
Family Support Program
Family Support Program provides individualized support to families.
SCIPS
SCIPS develops integrated systems of community support to children, families and staff in primary schools.
Community Ink
Community Ink is Najidahs’ volunteer and tertiary student placement program, providing opportunities for volunteers to take up meaningful roles within the organization. Community Ink was the winner of the National Excellence in Volunteer management awards (QLD).
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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and the cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses. The Administrator of SAMHSA reports directly to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA's headquarters building is located outside of Rockville, Maryland.
Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane sector of The British and Foreign Bible Society’s sub-committee, The Colporteur Society (1869), and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially established in 1996, bringing together a number of city missions across the country. The organisation specialises in the areas of homelessness and housing, families and children, early learning, youth, employment and skills, substance abuse, disability, mental health, and strengthening communities. Sharon Callister has been CEO since March 2022.
Telephone counseling refers to any type of psychological service performed over the telephone. Telephone counseling ranges from individual, couple or group psychotherapy with a professional therapist to psychological first aid provided by para-professional counselors. In-person therapists often advise clients to make use of telephone crisis counseling to provide the client with an avenue to obtain support outside of therapy if they cannot be reached in an emergency or at the conclusion of a therapeutic relationship.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1988 provides financial assistance for demonstration programs for the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect and to establish a National Center on Child Abuse. Additionally, it identifies the federal role in supporting research, evaluation, technical assistance, and data collection activities; establishes the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect; and mandates the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. It also sets forth a minimum definition of child abuse and neglect.
Relationships Australia (RA) is an Australian not-for profit organisation providing professional services to support relationships across Australia that began in 1948 under the name of Marriage Guidance Council. Initially providing counselling services using volunteers, they now provide a range of professional relationship support services.
The Center Against Domestic Violence is an American not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing violence in the family and promoting the well-being and economic independence of women and children. It provides safe shelters, a network of supportive services, advocacy, education and resource information, and coalition building.
Youth suicide is when a young person, generally categorized as someone below the legal age of majority, deliberately ends their own life. Rates of youth suicide and attempted youth suicide in Western societies and other countries are high. Youth suicide attempts are more common among girls, but adolescent males are the ones who usually carry out suicide. Suicide rates in youths have nearly tripled between the 1960s and 1980s. For example, in Australia suicide is second only to motor vehicle accidents as its leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 25.
The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs is a group within the executive branch of the U.S. government, and is responsible for promoting healthy outcomes for all youth, including disconnected youth and youth who are at-risk. The Working Group also engages with national, state, local and tribal agencies and organizations, schools, and faith-based and community organizations that serve youth.
In Australia, domestic violence (DV) is defined by the Family Law Act 1975. Each state and territory also has its own legislation, some of which broadens the scope of that definition, and terminology varies. It has been identified as a major health and welfare issue. Family violence occurs across all ages and demographic groups, but mostly affects women and children, and at particular risk are three groups: Indigenous, young and pregnant women.
The Ted Noffs Foundation is a charitable organisation located in Randwick, New South Wales, Australia. Founded as the Wayside Foundation in 1971 in Sydney by the Reverend Ted Noffs and his wife, Margaret, which provides drug and alcohol services for young people in Australia.
Crisis accommodation is housing provided to people experiencing temporary or ongoing conditions of mental or physical health challenges. It aims to remove them from an otherwise harmful environment and allowing them to improve their situations from a safe and stable environment. Situations that may be alleviated through crisis accommodation include but are not limited to homelessness, domestic violence, elder abuse, and child abuse. Crisis accommodation is typically provided through government organisations, not-for-profit organisations and charities. Crisis accommodation is also known as housing subsidies in other words. Crisis accommodation is provided everywhere around the world across various countries. There are other factors such as availability of the services and reasons like poverty and accumulation of debt that affect homelessness which needs to be taken into account in order to solve it as more people tend to look for urgent support when they are facing this crisis.
Youth Off The Streets is an Australian non-denominational not-for-profit youth organisation. The organisation works with young people and their families and communities in an endeavour to create safety, offer support and provide opportunities to build a positive future.
SunnyKids is a children's charitable organization on Australia's Sunshine Coast, Queensland. The organization helps accommodate women and children escaping domestic violence and family violence.
The Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services is a department in the Queensland Government which is responsible for providing a number of social services. Ministers for Communities, Women and Youth, Minister for Child Safety and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman, the Minister for Disability Services and Minister for Seniors Coralee O'Rourke and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Grace Grace are responsible for the department,. The department's head office is at 111 George Street in the Brisbane CBD.
PULSE Foundation is a Bulgarian non-governmental organization, registered on July 7, 1999, under the name “Animus – Pernik”. Since the beginning of 2002, the organization continues its charitable activity under the name “PULSE” – “Positive Personal Skills in Society”. In 2015, PULSE Foundation operated with 19 full-time employees and over 40 youth volunteers.
Jesuit Social Services is a social change organisation established by the Australian Jesuits in 1977. Originally based in Melbourne, Australia, it has expanded to include outreach programs in New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
Family homelessness refers to a family unit who do not have access to long term accommodation due to various circumstances such as socioeconomic status, access to resources and relationship breakdowns. In some Western countries, such as the United States, family homelessness is a new form of poverty, and a fast growing group of the homelessness population. Some American researchers argue that family homelessness is the inevitable result of imbalanced “low-income housing ratio” where there are more low-income households than there are low-cost housing units. A study in 2018 projected a total of 56,342 family households were recognized as homeless. Roughly 16,390 of these people were living in a place not meant for human habitation. It is believed that homeless families make up about a third of the United States’ population, with generally women being the lead of the household.
Samaritans Foundation is an Australian-based charity operating in New South Wales. The organisation provides a number of social support services for the homeless and people with disabilities.
Womankind, formerly known as the New York Asian Women's Centre (NYAWC), was founded in 1982 by a group of volunteers led by Pat Eng. In 2017, the NYAWC changed its name to Womankind. It is a non-profit organization which aims to empower Asian survivors of gender based violence. Womankind was initially a community awareness program designed to educate families about domestic violence in Chinatown, and then developed into a 24-hour multilingual hotline that now includes 18 different Asian languages and dialects. Womankind also provides Asian immigrant women confidential services including an emergency refuge, shelter services, crisis counseling, 24-hour online free multilingual hotline, welfare promotion, support groups, parenting workshops, children's services, volunteer training, community education, and some English courses. Each year, the organization receives over 3,000 hotline calls.
The NSW Women's Refuge Movement began in 1974 with the establishment of Elsie Refuge in Glebe, NSW. Other refuges were established throughout the 1970s, operating within a feminist framework and responding to the needs of women and children escaping domestic violence. At first, the refuges were developed through volunteer effort and without government funding. Gradually the government took over funding of the refuges, with the states funding the buildings and the federal government funding the running costs. The NSW Women's Refuge Movement continued to provide services to women with diverse needs and to raise awareness about domestic violence.