Hear For You 2023 Summary
NSW highlights:
- Networking Night continues to grow – community for our young adults
- 28 workshops including two Life Goals & Skills Metro programs
- HFY presence at TSC Graduations
- Naomi Clarry on a Lived Experience Panel at AHH
QLD highlights:
- Griffith Uni supporting HFY by providing Office Space,
- Setting up of Mentor Networking events,
- 20 HFY Workshops completed throughout the State with over 90 Registrations,
- Delivery of New workshops on the Sunshine Coast and Bundaberg.
- Set up of workshops for primary School aged Children
National Highlights:
In March, we rolled out our updated Mentor Training Course to better equip our mentors with the skills they need to support our teens now and into the future.
It was exciting to see some of our HFY graduates being nominated for various categories at the Alumni Achievers Awards Night in June. We encourage them to persist through setbacks as they chase their future success!
We were fortunate to be invited to present about Hear For You throughout the year to:
- Hearing Australia Paediatric Clinical online training sessions to clinicians all over Australia
- NextSense ITOD Conference
In wider news, Parents of Deaf Children and Hearing Matters Australia have joined us in sharing our office space at the Australian Hearing Hub. Between the three of us, we essentially cover the spectrum of those who are deaf or have hearing loss so there are exciting collaboration opportunities on the horizon.
Above all, we must acknowledge and say a huge thank you to our volunteer mentors who graciously and generously donated their time to encourage, support and provide a safe place for our teenagers. They are the lifeblood of Hear For You. We wish them all a safe, restful and enjoyable holiday break.
NSW – Olivia Barnes, Stephen Tang, Rikesh Jeram, David Romanowski, Nomiki Lau, Grace Troughton, Joe Mouawad, Jermy Pang, Elly Unicomb, Max Harpham
QLD – Maria Strong, Alex Barry, Lucy Vallance, Satya Posner, Lauren Larsen
With the festive season upon us, our office will be closed from Monday, 25th December 2023 to Monday, 8th January 2024.
If you need urgent assistance, you can reach out to a trained Lifeline Crisis Supporter in a one-to-one confidential chat:
Lifeline Crisis Chat – open 24 hours: the online chat service is available for people who prefer to type than talk. Any person in Australia can chat with a Crisis Supporter through the Lifeline Australia website: https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat/
Lifeline Text / 0477 13 11 14 – open 24 hours: an SMS-based Crisis Support service. Any person in Australia can receive support from a Crisis Supporter by text message when they need.
We look forward to seeing you all again in 2024!
The 2024 Hear For You Calendar of workshops and programs will be released by January (if not earlier) so we look forward to seeing you all again soon in 2024!
Until then, we wish you and your loved ones a safe, happy, restful end of year break.
The Hear For You Team – John, Sherri, Naomi