Social Prescribing
Village Community Services Inc. has been invited to participate in the Social Prescribing Trial in Neighborhood Centre’s.
Funded through the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Putting Queensland’s Kids First Plan, and administrated by the Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts.
The key priority of the plan is to support families and strengthen communities. Funded for 2 years to deliver a trial of Social Prescribing to alleviate social isolation and loneliness for families.
The QLD government acknowledged the potential of Social Prescribing as a proven, non-clinical prevention and early intervention approach to combatting in the physical and mental health impacts of isolation, loneliness, and poor ‘social health’ by addressing the root causes of social health inequalities and poor social connections, rather than treating the symptoms.
Social Prescribing for Families
Social Prescribing for families provides an opportunity to test early learnings about social prescribing situated in a community setting, with focus on alleviating social isolation and/or loneliness for families with children.
Trailing a social prescribing model in families recognises that social isolation and/or loneliness can be an upstream determinant of negative mental and physical health outcomes, and that parents, children and young people are reporting increasing rates of loneliness.
Link Worker Function
The purpose of the Link Worker Function is to support families to enhance their wellbeing by strengthening connections with communities, social networks, and services. It is designed to engage families who are at heightened risk of social isolation and loneliness, and address these concerns within community, as a prevention or early intervention approach to broader negative health, wellbeing and social connections.
Roles of the Link Worker
One of the roles of the Link Worker is to provide support for the Service User. Working directing with community members by undertaking a holistic assessment of the family’s needs and aspirations and co-producing a “prescription” to meaningful community connections. Activities under the service user support stream are seeking health and wellbeing outcomes at an individual family level.
The other role of the Link Worker is within community development. Mapping local assets, groups services and gaps, and supporting services to participate in the social prescribing eco-system. Activities under the community development stream are seeking improvements in capacity and wellbeing at a local community or place level, to enable outcomes at an individual family level.
Eligibility
The target cohorts are; families with children, where one or more family members is currently experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, social isolation and/or loneliness, adults of any marital status, expecting a child (either through pregnancy imminent adoptions, or imminent foster or kinship care arrangement), adults of any martial status, providing they have some form of caring responsibility for a child under the age of 18 years (including foster/kinship carers), and children 0-18 years, provided they are accompanied by a parent or guardian during the Link Worker Function service.
The Link Worker role will support service users to reach their goals, create connections with health professionals, schools and community organisations and aim to bridge the gap between socially isolated and/or lonely families and the community.