On 31 May, Lou’s opened its doors to welcome donors, allied services and friends to see its new, larger and more accessible premises in Redfern. The evening was designed to give everyone a glimpse of what life at Lou’s is now like. General Manager Mandy Greaney welcomed everyone to walk around the service and talk with the staff about the therapeutic programmes they lead. These include our drop-in service, our family and domestic violence programme 'Choice and Change,' as well as 'Always Mum,' a programme that helps mothers whose children have been taken into out-of-home care.
Read MoreMy name is Ting Ting. I have been receiving care and support at Lou's Place for a year now. I left a toxic, painful relationship and came to Sydney all alone. I struggled to pay $10 for a load of washing. While studying teaching at Sydney University, a classmate recommended Lou's Place. She said I could get all my washing done for free. It was such a big relief. Guess what?
Read MoreIn recent months, programmes at Lou's Place have been running at full throttle. From launching outreach groups to creating new content, and gaining increased recognition from local services, the growth and development of our programmes have been an exciting journey for the team.
Read MoreIn May, Connecting Through Change commenced a 4-week outreach programme in partnership with WHOS. WHOS is a local drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation centre that provides a range of evidence-based therapeutic treatment programmes. They contacted Lou’s Place on behalf of the women in their programme who have expressed interest in participating in Connecting Through Change. As these women are unable to leave the rehabilitation facility to access the group, Lou’s Place bridged this gap by delivering an onsite programme with core content from our 7-week programme.
Read MoreWe are very proud to announce that our Cooking Team at Lou’s Place was nominated for recognition in the 2023 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards. Regional award ceremonies were held across Sydney and included representatives of Lou’s Place in the City of Sydney/ Eastern Suburbs division, the Northshore division and the Northern Beaches area. Long held as the part of the soul of Lou’s, our nutritious and delicious lunches are integral to the well-being of all the women who visit Lou’s Place. It has been a very well-deserved spotlight on the work that our culinary volunteers do.
Read MoreWe are thrilled to have several new volunteer positions at Lou's:
The All Rounder overs our busiest period of the day, from 9 am to 1 pm. A volunteer greets women who drop into Lou's, as well as helping them access showers, emergency toiletries and clothing. It is great to have another pair of hands to manage donations and/or general house issues. It has been a huge success and we are excited to roster more volunteers into this vital position.
Read MoreLou's Place was grateful to receive a Community Building Partnership grant from the Department of Community and Justice, which enabled us to install solar panels on the roof of our Renwick Street building. Our electricity consumption is considerable, due to the commercial grade washing machines, dryers, fridges and freezers that are running throughout the day at Lou's. With the use of the solar panels, we look forward to reducing our electricity bills and cutting down on our environmental footprint.
Read MoreOur 2023 Closet sale was held in May, once again at the beautiful Manly Golf Club, resulting in another extraordinary year of selling both brand-new and second-hand designer wear. This year’s sale raised over $112K.
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They always say, "be careful what you wish for." At Lou’s Place we wished to help more women, and we are certainly reflecting that wish! For the first time in our 24-year history, we need to roster women in some of our busier classes.
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Always Mum is a unique 10-week programme supporting mothers with children who have been removed and are in out of home care. The programme helps them learn to be better mothers and to improve their relationships with their children.
Read MoreAlways Mum is offering two new workshops under its umbrella. The play workshop aims to teach mums the power of play time.
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Lou's now offers "Connecting Through Change," a 7-week face to face programme which investigates the drivers and impact of domestic and family violence.
Read MoreJoin us in welcoming Shazya Singh and Hannah Kelly to the Lou’s Place team.
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A big thank you to the Potts Point Rotary Group, who donated the funds to purchase an additional freezer. They have been such good supporters of Lou's Place.
Read MoreWe are very excited to announce that the 2023 Lou's Closet will once again be open for business on May 1st and 2nd at the Manly Golf club.
Read MoreEvery week, a group of women sit down with a cup of tea, pen and paper to participate in an hour of creative writing. We write letters, short stories and poems. It's light and funny at times, and sometimes it makes us cry. But it's also encouraging and uplifting to share our writing with each other.
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Some photos of the Lou's Place Volunteers and Staff from our annual Christmas festivities.
Read MoreIt has been another busy few months at Lou’s Place. The numbers continue to grow (539 visits in June and 493 visits in July), which requires the team to be adaptable and flexible to ensure that the service continues to deliver what the women need.
Read MoreOur new location has allowed Lou’s Place to offer space for mothers who have had children taken away and placed in out of home care. It's a warm and welcoming room for their supervised visits with their children who are in out of home care. Many mums that we work with don't have a suitable space to meet with their kids.
Read MoreThe Career Support Programme at Lou's Place offers one to one assistance for women in their search for employment. It comprises guidance with writing resumes and cover letters, making online applications, setting up job alerts and interview practice.
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