Colac Kindness Network

Colac Kindness Network Inc is a registered Incorporated Association. The vision of CKN is to be a lifelong, trusted, respected and approachable support network of advocates promoting and providing acts of kindness for those in need within our local community. Through our ongoing compassionate acts and projects, alongside opportunities to become involved through education and events, our trusted team of volunteer advocates will inspire our local community to become one with the nurturing, healing and goodness that comes with the provision of kindness and giving back to the community. CKN is here to show our local community (and the globe) that kindness is not a weakness, it is a strength. Kindness holds the real power. The purpose and goals of CKN are to encourage, support and administer initiatives involving acts of kindness to provide for the wellbeing of local community members facing hardship, disadvantage, isolation or homelessness within the region of Colac, Victoria. Furthermore, our purpose encompasses:

1. the facilitation of wellbeing initiatives fostering togetherness, inclusion, acceptance and kindness in a judgement free zone

2. the harmonious and respectful engagement with all volunteers, community members, partners and associated external organisations

3. inspiring our local community to become one with the nurturing, healing and goodness that comes with kindness and giving back to our local community

4. offering educational development resources focusing on values of empathy, equality, compassion and acknowledging welfare needs of others with an outcome-based approach

5. sourcing of partnerships and resources in order to prepare and provide for local initiatives to successfully advocate for positive outcomes of community members in need

Our goal at CKN is to ensure that any member of our community who is showing signs of hardship, facing homelessness or who are currently homeless can reach out to CKN with trust knowing they will be heard and fully supported without any negative recourse or judgement. This goal is important to CKN as we have recognised the increased demand for crisis assistance in our region, especially since the onset of covid lockdowns with the limitations of emergency services and provisions, as well as an increase in the cost of daily living, including food, personal hygiene and health needs, utilities, education, petrol and a lack of affordable rentals. CKN aims to continually grow as a compassionate team of like-minded members exhibiting empathy towards welfare and wellbeing, with a priority of providing a caring, non-judgemental accessible service to community members who may reach out to CKN for assistance. Our volunteers uphold the utmost respect, integrity and confidentiality in all communications with responding to enquiries and seeking of assistance. We place emphasis on providing approachable, trusted, respectful and beneficial communications within all relationships including between volunteers, partners, associated organisations and community members. CKN commenced as a team of wellbeing advocates who saw a gap in the resources available to assist the critical needs of people reaching out for assistance in the Colac area. Starting the Colac Homeless Action Group in 2021 was the first time these individuals joined forces to create a group of likeminded kindness advocates who had each been assisting members in our community over previous years. Each member of the team saw gaping holes in a wide variety of areas within our region that needed to be recognised and actioned. Since the creation of the group, the team have been involved in meeting members of the community and providing for their needs (personally funded by our team) as well as keeping in contact with people who have reached out for our assistance to ensure the social contact and personal needs are continually met. The group was re-branded to the Colac Kindness Network to encompass all needs in the community, due to the nature of those requiring assistance was not just limited to the homeless, but also to individuals and families contacting our team with other concerns that needed urgent intervention. The founders of CKN commenced their journey by privately funding each requirement needed for each community member reaching out for assistance. Over time, this has understandably grown into great personal cost with each enquiry received. This resulted in our team researching further into the lack of consistency and provisions by other local organisations to people in need and to discover why these needs were not being met. This led to the re-branding and expansion of our services to create the Colac Kindness Network. Our initial aims were to actively and publicly fulfill these needs and step up to the next level to become a not-for-profit organisation, allowing us to officially commence promoting and fundraising to support our cause and to reach out to local organisations to create valuable community partnerships and initiatives to support our mission. The services of CKN are available for all members of our community, with a priority system in place only when approached for urgent intervention, allowing displaced, disadvantaged or low-income members in our community access to priority care services where otherwise an appropriate service or intervention would not have been accessed. An example of urgent intervention may be where someone has had to leave accommodation and is needing assistance packing/moving, or may be moments away from standing on the street with their belongings unable to find a place to go. Each one of our Volunteers has received our full tick of approval by our team, undergoing critical revision and checks, as well as ongoing check-ins and evaluations. Our Volunteers are also encouraged to contact our team via our online CKN Volunteer Forum which provides 24/7 access online to ask questions, reach out, post progress updates and to keep in touch with the Management Team and provide feedback or requests of any needs. Our Forum is secure and strictly private and is a connection that allows for communication and encouragement that takes place between the CKN team and Volunteers within our community. This ensures that every community member and initiative that is under care from the CKN team is continually in our vision and adhering to our fundamental mission as a whole. CKN supports an inclusive environment to allow all members in our community to feel empowered and respected. Our Volunteers are all well informed, passionate and caring beings who are sensitive to lived experience, showing empathy and understanding towards the many complexities and challenges faced when reaching out or accessing needs. We are also great listeners (and talkers!) and judgement is never on our register. We devote ourselves to listening and understanding, to ensure people feel comfortable and welcome to reach out and talk and to receive the assistance in need. CKN supports an inclusive environment where people of all genders and ages, people living with a disability, First Nations people and people from LGBTQIA+ and CALD communities (Culturally And Linguistically Diverse) will feel respected and welcome. CKN guarantees that all community members requesting our assistance will be looked after with kindness, no matter what level of assistance is required. If we are unable to assist at that time, we will guarantee contact referrals to organisations that can assist, as well as future contact to ensure receipt of the correct services are being provided. We are based in Colac within our promotional abilities, but our Volunteers and Committee Members are based not only in Colac but also in immediate towns surrounding Colac. We understand many resources are accessible by needing to travel a far distance (Warrnambool or Geelong). Our aim is to increase the sources of networks required to within the Colac region, without having to be referred to a source out of the area. The need for urgent services local to our region has been one of the large gaps we have recognised. In summary, our projects at CKN are based on providing the necessities that may be out of reach for those in need. These projects will be activated by continual promotion of CKN always being accessible, as well as co-ordinating events to promote the benefits of kindness, reaching our values out to the wider community so they too can be encouraged to learn the benefits of the goodness that comes with kindness. Our Core Values at Colac Kindness Network include to:
* be a lifelong, trusted, respected and approachable local support network
* continually advocate for the wellbeing of all community members
* provide kindness, awareness, social nurturing and giving without judgement
* inspire and share the dedicated commitment to compassion, equality and fairness
* show inclusiveness, respect and understanding in all dealings
* give silently without hope of praise or reward
* share in the knowledge that kindness is a strength, not a weakness
* respect any wishes, needs or limitations that may be presented when offering assistance
* provide assistance with an outcomes-based approach, noting that people are best placed to tell what is important to them in their own way, but may need help to do this
* identify and ensure that basic human rights are met for anyone who may be struggling
* recognise, offer and provide solutions when individual requests to help have been welcomed
* acknowledge and accept any inability or refusal that may be faced when assisting, which may be suggestions to interact, socialise, accept, fund, support, or towards any offers to assist
* acknowledge our team and networks throughout all our achievements and contributions
* promote trust, confidentiality and utmost care within all dealings
* be alert to any threat to health or safety or within the confines of law enforcement whereby our respect to legal obligations takes priority
* develop strategies to assist volunteers and external networks to maintain critical supports
* educate our team on verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to de-escalate conflict, identify signs of aggression and to reach out for immediate support if warranted
* immediately cease intervention and report communications involving threats, aggression, assaults, crime, stalking, hazards, discrimination or abuse
* utilise internal modes of communication and profiles when communicating with community members, rather than personal phones, mobiles or social media accounts
* implement, monitor and revise effective management protocols and strategies to action, minimise, eliminate or prevent escalation of internal and external incidents and behaviors - and actively promote awareness recognising the importance of the safety of our team
* maintain ongoing stress management protocols, avenues of supportive education and development of open communication networks with the CKN committee and volunteers
* develop and monitor internal policies and procedural guidelines to ensure accountability, effective reporting management and sustain positive networks of support
* be proactive in our fundraising efforts for the benefit of wider community needs
* provide timely assistance to members of our community where requested and monitoring to ensure welfare needs are being met
* continually evaluate and expand on our core values to meet community and team feedback
* support and advocate on behalf of local support organisations and authorities
* monitor and evaluate the expectations and provisions of our own and other external support networks providing for our community

If you would love to find out more about the Colac Kindness Network, or become a Kindness Volunteer within our Community, please email us! [email protected]