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AT A GLANCE WHO: Connections UnitingCare WHAT: A non-profit organisation providing support to vulnerable families, children, and young people WHERE: 51 Princes Highway, Dandenong, Victoria, Australia WEBSITE: connections.org.auof need is also vital. Thankfully, organ-
isations like Connections UnitingCare
are there to support their respective
communities.
We talked with Angela Forbes, the
CEO of Connections, about the organ-
isation’s work, their core values, and
what drives them, starting from their
deep historical roots. The organisa-
tion’s lifeline can be traced back to the
1920s when a group of people who
recognised an increasing need for sup-
port in the community established the
Presbyterian and Methodist Babies’
Homes. During that post WWI period,
poverty in Australia was high so the
two groups focused particularly on the
inner parts of Melbourne were people
were in desperate need of help.
Over time, they realised they could
provide even better support for their
communities by establishing new
methods. As such, they started creat-
ing group homes and caring for even
more individuals while keeping the fo-
cus on vulnerable children and their
families. This continued in various iter-
ations until 1998 when Copeland Child
and Family Services, who had grown
out of the Methodists Babies’ Home,
joined with Grassmere Youth Services
just like the original groups had. Then,
in 2000, they all joined with Canter-