Taking a place-based approach to support
The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW has now passed the 2-year mark of the 5-year Strategy. Incredible progress has been made in supporting the people we assist (PWA), achieving growth in our services, and finding new and improved approaches to delivering on our Mission.
One of the initiatives delivered in FY25 was articulating a clear ‘placed-based approach’ for our programs and services leveraging our extensive experience and best-practice. With the increasing focus on place-based service delivery, the Society recognised the opportunity to be a leader in the sector.
Drawing on industry best-practice, and the experience of our people, a collaborative project team developed the Vinnies Place-based Approach.
Place-based approach
The Society NSW supports communities across the state through our members and more than 100 specialist services, providing help to people during times of need. While our reach is broad, we understand that every community has its own challenges and priorities. By tailoring our approach through collaboration and genuine engagement, we can make a meaningful and lasting difference in people’s lives.
Place-based work aims to build thriving communities by connecting stakeholders such as government, service providers and community organisations to develop local solutions and take action as part of a shared community.
Crucially, support is tailored to the community’s needs and includes local individuals in decision-making.
As an organisation with a longstanding presence in local communities, the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is able to draw upon people (our members, volunteers and employees), infrastructure (hubs, centres) and community connections to support individuals and local communities.
Our strategy team have worked with the Vinnies Services team to identify seven key principles informing the Vinnies place-based approach:
Understand the context of the place using local data and identify the place’s strengths, needs, challenges, historical investment, and to know and engage with key stakeholders across community, services, business, and government
Engage and collaborate with the community, local organisations, and delivery partners to establish a shared vision and objectives and inform the design of the place, data sovereignty, service planning, and decision-making.
Focus on leveraging the existing asset-based strengths of a place, including culture and heritage, as a foundation to enhance the effectiveness of services and avoid restricting the community’s capacity to participate
Embed the participation, leadership, and data sovereignty of First Nations People and Communities into all stages and activities of the place
Places should not only deliver services, but empower partners and the community through learning and upskilling, benefiting the efficacy and quality of service delivery and improving collaboration between a place’s parts
Places require long-term planning and investment to fully realise desired outcomes. This includes committing to relationships, addressing systemic local inequalities and advocating for change.
Establish a staged monitoring and evaluation plan with integrated cycles of learning and improvement to assess the effectiveness of processes and the impact of the place on community outcomes
Place-based in action
A number of our services have adopted a place-based approach and seen great results in the number of people we’ve been able to support and the diversity of support we’ve been able to provide.
Pete’s Place
Pete’s Place is a client engagement centre located in Coffs Harbour, supporting people at risk of homelessness or presenting ‘in crisis’ with wraparound support, including food, hygiene, and emergency relief funding.
As part of the services offered on-site, Pete’s Place offers specialist services including a women's health nurse, Hepatitis C and HIV testing, Aboriginal Medical Service, mental health support and tobacco treatment specialists. Support is also offered to connect people to government services including Centrelink and Community Corrections.
Over 1,500 people were supported at Pete’s Place in the last financial year with close to 32,000 on-site and takeaway meals provided.
Pete’s Place has a service delivery model that prioritises informal spaces to create a comfortable and welcoming environment for people seeking support. Co-located with public transport in the centre of Coffs Harbour, these spaces bring together paid employees and volunteers to support up to 130 people every morning. Enabled by strong, collaborative service delivery partnerships, Pete’s Place has fostered a local reputation as a safe, non-judgemental space to seek support and overcome entrenched disadvantage.
Ozanam Learning Centre
The Ozanam Learning Centre (OLC) and Community Development located in Woolloomooloo links with surrounding homelessness, health support and government services to provide educational and participation opportunities for the people we assist.
This includes building social connection and life skills, providing recovery support, and education, training and employment pathways as well as links to essential social services including Centrelink, Revenue NSW, Legal Aid and Service NSW. The Community Development team is focused on building community capacity and agency by strengthening collaboration and driving action.
Close to 1,100 people accessed a range of programs during the past financial year with 9,100 instances of service delivered.
The focus of the OLC is not traditional “service provision” but relationship and capacity building. This means there is less of an exchange of support and more of a drawing on strengths of community members, staff, and volunteers for mutual benefit. Individual service users are empowered to engage in programs when they are ready, supporting them to choose their own journey and take ownership of their own outcomes.
Next Steps for Place-based at Vinnies
With the Vinnies Place-based Approach now established, the Approach can be used to:
- Raise the awareness and knowledge of place-based best-practice across our people.
- Equip our teams and people with a resource to understand the extent to which current and future programs are place-based and steps they can take to integrate with the local community and service delivery partners.
- Guide the strengthening of working relationships with community stakeholders and government and non-government service delivery partners at Vinnies Services.