Women’s Support Service Launch
The Women’s Support Service is a new service at RA Tas that launched in March 2022. Funded by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Leadership Development Program, it provides free peer group education and individual counselling in a safe, respectful, and empowering atmosphere.
This service supports women in achieving employment and community engagement goals. It is a great opportunity for women to build connections with other women, improve mental health, choose a direction and reclaim power and control over their lives.
The Women’s Support Service delivers several topics in their group sessions including:
- building interpersonal skills
- assertiveness
- boundaries
- self-care
- self-esteem
- conflict resolution
In our first series of workshops, participants engaged proactively in a range of discussions, shared ideas and asked questions in a group setting, guided by a skilled practitioner. Based on the evaluation and response during sessions, the program is continuing to be well received. The participants expressed that they enjoy ‘interacting with like-minded women‘ on a weekly basis, with comments such as ‘I enjoy making new friends and meeting new people‘ as well as ‘the program is helping me engage in self-reflection and explore feelings‘.
Practitioners delivering this program identified an increase in the level of confidence of most participants.
The workshops are tailored for in-person and online client engagement, which has shown a high interaction rate. The online participants are comfortable in group activities, individual reflective tasks, and group discussions.
Practitioners delivering this program identified an increase in the level of confidence of most participants. This created an opportunity for participants to re-engage with some of their interests and celebrate their successes.
Participants have received job interview invitations and are actively seeking jobs.