Services - Education

Contact details:
Ph: (03) 9495 6144
Fax: (03) 9495 6166
Email: Judy Cain: jcain@maryofthecross.org.au

The aim of the Education Unit is to plan, create and deliver programs to assist families with:

• Skills to minimise the possibility of harmful drug use within the family
• Information about drugs, their effects and available services
• Strategies for coping with problematic drug use within the family.

The Education Unit is responsible for the development and acquisition of resources for the use of staff, volunteers and clients of the Centre.

In consultation with a media reference group the Unit also develops publicity material and produces a quarterly newsletter, At the Cross, which provides topical articles and information about activities at the Centre.

• Priests and Pastoral Associates Seminar Days are held to assist those responsible for the pastoral care of families in parish communities to respond to those affected by problematic drug use. These seminars are designed to further develop pastoral workers' understanding of the impact of drug use on family members and give them strategies to provide appropriate support.
  
• Interactive drug education workshops tailored to the needs of particular parish groups can be arranged. Sessions can be provided for groups involved in pastoral visitation and family support.

• In recognition of the importance of communication between parents and children in preventative education the Centre offers a three session program for parents and adolescents focussing on drug issues.

Services to Schools

• Visits to Mary of the Cross Centre can be arranged for groups of thirty to forty students. A range of topics can be addressed to link to curriculum units in the areas of Health and Religious Education and to enhance school based learning. Staff in the Education Unit negotiate with schools to meet the specific needs of students.

• Support is available to schools planning to offer a parent drug education program.

• Support is available for families where a student's drug use is causing concern for parents and teachers.

• Advice and support is provided for teachers and school counsellors working with students who are affected by their own or a family member's drug use.

• The Education Unit is working with the Social Policy and Advocacy Research Centre at Australian Catholic University to conduct research to explore the experiences in the family of non-using siblings of illicit drug users. At the beginning of 2002 the Australian Research Council provided scholarship funding for a student to undertake PhD studies to extend this project to specifically examine such experiences within Vietnamese-Australian families.

The large gathering room at Mary of the Cross Centre is available for use by other organisations for meetings and training days.