Employment Assistance

Micah Projects Participate in Prosperity (PiP) is funded by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. The project engages with parents who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and young parents under the age of twenty five.

The Team
PiP works with:

• Young Mothers for Young Women (parents under 25)
• Early Intervention and Prevention Homelessness (Families).

Focused Collaboration
PiP workers are working collaboratively with family support workers, enabling a clear focus on education, employment and training to be maintained with each person. The collaboration enables workers to engage in the interaction between family responsibilities and seeking or engaging in education, employment and training opportunities.

I would just like to say on behalf of myself and my children a huge thank you for all the help, guidance and advice given to us. We all suffered low self esteem and didn't think we could ever get to where we are today. We still have some steps to take but the help we have received will make those steps all the more easier. (A parent's response to the survey question 'Is there any other information or feedback you would like to give Micah Projects?'.)

PiP workers are critical to providing individual advocacy across a range of mainstream and specialist services in the employment, education and training field.

PiP work is complimentary to but not duplicating the role of Job Search Agency, in fact PiP workers have played a critical role in facilitated negotiation with Job Search Agency ensuring people can access resources and entitlements through the employment network.

Characteristics of population group
The population group focuses on parents in jobless households who have experienced significant disadvantage since childhood, with compounding factors such as history of addiction, mental health, disability, and significant disengagement from schooling and employment.
 
Challenges in engagement with Education, Employment and Training
The Learning environment

• Unsatisfactory experiences in educational and training environments, particularly secondary school
• Perceived or real judgements by staff in schools and other education settings to young parents
• Hesitation at participating in a classroom environment (most having completed year 9)

• Limited experiences of success and fear of repetition of this. 

Learning Baseline

• Literacy and numeracy issues

• Training that does not adequately respond to cultural needs
• On average schooling year 9.

Participate in Prosperity (PiP) is located at Micah Projects Boundary St home base. Click for contact details