QCOSS (Queensland Council of Social Services)
Recently, it was advertised that the QCOSS Conference was being held in Brisbane and there were scholarships available to eligible individuals.
QCOSS is the peak body for the social services sector in Queensland. They strive to achieve well-being, equality, and opportunity for every person in every community. QCOSS creates positive change through their work in advocacy, policy change and development, and engaging with the social services sector and communities. We found that our values and the values of QCOSS were closely aligned and were interested in connecting with those in this sector through QCOSS.
After reading through the details about QCOSS and the Conference, we decided to apply for a ‘Young Person’ Scholarship and QCOSS Membership and we were successful!
Power and Politics
Power and Politics of the Care Economy was the theme for this year’s conference. Housing was a key speaking point of concern amidst some of the attendees as housing has a negative follow on effect for other sectors and services. During the conference, we heard from key leading voices in the world of politics such as the Honourable Di Farmer MP, Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development.
The statistics are undeniable and have only been amplified by the ongoing pandemic in the last two years. The Palaszczuk Government will stage a Housing Summit to address the urgency around multiple housing issues, beginning this Friday with an initial roundtable of key government and non-government stakeholders.
QCOSS Community Impact Awards
The QCOSS Impact Awards were held at the Sofitel in Brisbane and recognised those striving for positive change in the social services sector. The Award Nominees, Finalists and Winners are highlighted as some of the hardest working people in our state. They are essential to keeping Queensland’s communities connected and safe.
At the Awards, we met up with the team from Windsor Group and their CEO, Dylys Bertelsen OAM. Windsor Group sponsored the Young Person Scholarship and we are very grateful for their support of QCOSS and the Conference.
Congratulations to the Winners of this year’s Awards!
Connections and Collaborations
Connections and collaborations is what has helped Sweet Peanuts to progress mostly since its establishment. It was wonderful to hear this also applying to the social services sector.
During the Conference, we reconnected with CSnet, the organisation that sponsored the Young Leader of the Year Award in the Third Sector Awards, we look forward to keeping in touch with the team for future opportunities.
We also connected with a number of stakeholders from the social service sector. Including employees and volunteers for a number of community centres from across Queensland. When discussing the work of Sweet Peanuts and our ambitions to become a national organisation, we found that we have more connections and collaborations possible to achieve our mission through other means. We want to collaborate with those in this sector to raise awareness of miscarriage and having supportive conversations with those in the community.
This form of collaboration will also allow us to easily reach bereaved parents in communities that may not have the same access to healthcare providers like we do in metro and urban areas of Queensland. More work is needed for rural, regional, and remote areas of Australia, and we believe this will be possible through connecting with organisations in the social service sector.