A group of community members have been selected to participate in a working group that will shape the design of the Ballarat Community Saturation Model.
This work will happen in collaboration with Respect Victoria and The Australian Centre for Social Innovation.
The working group meets for the first time in Ballarat today. The group is comprised of people representing specific organisations and sectors, as well as individual community members and advocates:
- Ashlea Milne, WRISC Family Violence Support
- Breanna Doody, City of Ballarat
- Dimitri Dollard, City of Ballarat
- Gabrielle Hutchins, Western Bulldogs Community Foundation
- Helena Holmes, Q Hub
- Jacinta Walsh, Ballarat Community Health
- Lou Ridsdale, Food is Free
- Marg Camilleri, Federation University
- Melanie Pratt
- Mick Walsh, Ballarat Grammar
- Rose Durey, Women’s Health Grampians
- Scott Mills
- Shiree Pilkinton, Centre for Multicultural Youth
- Stephan Fields, Ballarat High School
Each person brings local knowledge, community connections, and specific experience necessary to creating the conditions for a Ballarat where everyone is safe, equal and respected.
Respect Victoria received 64 expressions of interest from passionate, dedicated community members for the working group. The level of interest in the model reflects the commitment from the Ballarat community to preventing gendered violence, and Respect Victoria will continue to connect with all applicants to find ways of working together.
The working group will be supported with insights from specific communities and groups in Ballarat. Eight ‘community connectors’ will also come together for the first time this week, to plan community conversations with young people, LGBTIQ+ communities, men and culturally and racially marginalised communities in Ballarat. Insights from these conversations will support the co-design working group to lay foundations for the model.
Community connectors will come from local organisations including Ballarat Community Health, Centre for Multicultural Youth, Tiny Pride and QHub, and the City of Ballarat.
The working group and community connectors will work together between now and mid-2025 to inform the design of the model, with the support of Respect Victoria. Together they’ll listen deeply to the community to understand what needs to change to prevent gendered violence, and how Ballarat can build on what’s already working.
The saturation model is an ongoing collaboration with the Ballarat community, and there will be other ways to get involved in the design of the model over the coming months. Organisations and community members are encouraged to sign up to the saturation model newsletter to stay informed of opportunities to input into the design process.