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About Us
Our Vision:
Every person who attends any of our programs or services will be encouraged and supported to enjoy positive connections with their peers, their family and the wider community.
History
Drummond Street Relationship Centre (since 1996), formerly the Charity Organisation Society (1887-1947) and the Citizen’s Welfare Service of Victoria (1947- 1996), has a remarkable history as one of the longest serving welfare organisations in Victoria. An examination of its history not only provides a unique historical account of its role in the development of welfare and social work practice but also traces the major social issues and events which impacted on the lives of Victorian families for well over a century. Throughout its history, Drummond Street Relationship Centre has had a proud tradition of independence of thought and will, without subservience to church or state. This independence has allowed a distinctive role in advocacy and success in numerous instances of charity and government policy reform. In so many areas of social work practice its origins can be seen within the documented history of this organisation and the services it has developed and delivered.
The death of John Jackman
The impetus for its foundation arose through public outcry over the death of destitute casual worker and sometime seamen, John Jackman. On February 9th, 1887, Jackman was discovered by a local Constable lying close to death in a lodging house in A’Beckett Street, Melbourne. The Constable managed to get Jackman into a cab and take him to the Melbourne Hospital. Upon arrival Jackman was examined in the cab by the acting medical officer, Dr Wilkinson who diagnosed peritonitis and attempted to admit him. Dr Wilkinson soon discovered that the hospital has no beds because of an outbreak of Typhus. Further attempts were made to have Jackman admitted to the Alfred Hospital but they too were in the same situation with no beds. When Dr Wilkinson returned to the cab he discovered that Jackman had died.
The coronial inquiry that followed Jackman’s death fuelled an ongoing public outcry over the weakness of the prevailing hospital and charity system. This public outcry precipitated a public meeting held on the 12th May 1887, and attended by the leaders of all the then Charity Organisations. At this meeting Professor Morris (a Professor of Modern Languages at Melbourne University) successfully proposed the establishment of the Melbourne Charity Organisation Society (CSO). The principal aim of the SERVICE was to organise charity and not just be one. This involved working with the network of charitable providers to facilitate a change from indiscriminate charity to a model of what we now refer to casework with individuals and families. This casework was informed by empirical research and the efficient deployment of scarce resources. The Service’s army of volunteers and paid Inquiry officer’s carried out the casework which involved linking with other charities, dispensing a variety of relief, services and investigating cases to ensure that the needs of the deserving were met rather than the “impostor, cadger and mendicant”.
From foundation to the early 1950’s
This was period of dramatic reform of charity and the Service convened the first Australasian Conference on Charity 1890. This was a period of economic depression and chronic unemployment and poverty. The Service believed at the time that the relief measures put in place at the time were pauperising the poor and set about developing a range of labour market programs. Others would argue that the Service underestimated the nature and level of poverty impacting at the time. This at times led it into conflict with other charities, the government and the organised unemployed themselves. In addition, the Service worked towards hospital reform particularly in the area of administrative structure. In 1922 the Hospital and Charities Boards was established. Throughout that period the Service provided inquiry officers to several metropolitan hospitals to ensure beds for those who needed hospitalisation.
The Service during this time fulfilled a unique function by being up to date on major social issues both in Australia and around the world. They published two Journals – the Charity Review and – the Other Half which ceased in 1937 along with a range of conference proceedings which they convened throughout their history.
The Service increasingly became involved in child welfare issues and then with the onset of the war the rehabilitation of returned soldiers. The CSO administered the Australian Patriotic Fund which came in conflict with is organised charity model and at the end of the war the classical charity period was in decline.
In the 1920’s saw the opening of Morris House the Service’s new location and the collocation of other charities. This heralded a time of cooperation between charities and the standardising of social work practices by the promotion of social case work.
With the onset of the great depression in the 1920’s the Service expanded its role in the distribution of relief particularly to single women but still maintained its political emphasis on employment over financial aid.
In the late 1920’s the Service supported the establishment of the first hospital almonry which was a major step towards a university social work course. The Service was the major provider of casework training and was a prime agitator for the first social work course at Melbourne University up until the expansion in the 1950’s.
In the post-Depression years, the Society expanded its casework and social work services to foster care placements. With the Second World War saw the Service expand its services further to the rehabilitation of soldiers and their families.
The end of the war brought the advent of the welfare state and new concepts of social improvement. The state usurped many of the roles of charity with many not surviving. The Service’s long-held position as a key trainer and institute of social work ensured its viability but this role also soon diminished. It was these changes which brought about the name change in 1947 to the Citizens Welfare Society of Victoria (CWS).
The Early 1950’s to mid-1960’s.
This was a time of great uncertainty for the Service with the advent of the welfare state and it had to carve out a new structure and purpose. New areas of work included an elderly counselling service, a hearing clinic and a residential service for young women but these ceased because of a need to consolidate the Service work into new areas of funding. In 1957, Morris House was sold and temporary premises were found in Victoria Parade.
With the passing of the 1959 Matrimonial Causes Act and the Commonwealth funded marriage and family counselling, this became the dominant work of the Service. The Service became an approved provider in 1961 and it began to settle on this discrete area of social work. This heralded the shift away from its external role with the broader welfare sector to a primary focus on service delivery.
The mid-1960’s to the Present.
In 1965 the Service acquired and moved into new premises in Drummond Street Carlton. The work of the Service focused on relationship issues of couples and individuals and their children. This work encompassed transactional analysis, movement therapy, play therapy, parent training and pre-marital counselling. In the 1980’s there was a shift in approach of the service to include psychodynamic psychotherapy. The Service gained specialist expertise in the area infertility and its impact on marriage an in 1981 published an Infertility Resources Handbook.
Throughout this time the service has maintained its education and training focus delivering a range of courses and supervision to professionals in the field. For example, using psychoanalytic theory as its foundation, the 30 week Couple States of Mind programme is a clinical and theoretical exploration of the formation and development of couple, and family relationships. It is also a forum for thinking how changing social and political influences impact relationships, including issues of ethnicity, race, gender and sexuality.
As part of the agency’s ongoing initiative for improvement, innovation and professional relevance in its offerings, the course is under going a review of its content and teaching methodology.
Today
Drummond Street Relationship Centre is a quality service provider of child and family relationship counselling, groups for parents, children; and young people and education and training services for professionals and those working with families across a range of sectors.
Our major funder FAHCSIA - Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and indigenous Affairs – through the Family Relationship Services Program, allows us to deliver thousands of counselling and group work hours to families including individual adults, couples, children and young people. Each of these family members bring to our service a range of presenting issues and differing expectations but all share the common goal of wanting to resolve some relationship difficulty. In some cases this involves relationship work for couples wanting to improve or restore their relationships. For others this involves working through the difficult transition of separation and may or may not involve working with children and young people.
The complexity of this work requires a range of therapeutic techniques and approaches and especially the capacity to assess where individuals within a family “are at” as they negotiate different stages of the family life cycle. At times this requires us to assist partners through the separation grief and turmoil in order to reach a healthy position where they can recognise the impact on their children and to make appropriate parenting decisions. For each separating couple the time needed can be very different depending on the co-occurrence of other factors such as depression, drug and alcohol abuse, infidelity, family violence, and the level of supports available to the couple.
Over the years, our service has noted the changing nature of our client group and the issues that they bring that can impact on their relationships and the counselling work. Counsellors have noted increasing complexity in relationship issues which include:
General Adult Counselling Work
Co-morbid drug and alcohol and/or high prevalence mood disorders such as depression and anxiety
Involvement with the family law system particularly separated couples with conflict regarding child custody/access arrangements. Increasing issues for child access and connection to fathers and co-parenting
Increased issues for couples in their thirties wanting to start a family and juggling work, career /family and relationship needs and relationship intimacy and sexual relationships outside of the couple
The impact of financial stress/unemployment/gambling
Men’s relationship issues including the need to address intimacy, anger management and parenting/access issues
Women, particularly an increasing number of young women with parenting/career and work and mental health issues
Families in crisis with complex issues requiring longer-term intervention
Older couples’ transition to retirement and the impact of this on their relationship.
Specific relationship life cycle transition issues such as relationship formation and becoming parents, reforming families with step and blended families.
Children/Young People
Children and young people continue to need support in coping with divorce/separation including their experience of multiple family separations and family reformation i.e. blended families.
Increasing number of young people feeling overwhelmed with taking on a caring role for a resident parent struggling with the emotional grief of relationship breakdown.
Drummond Street Relationship Centre continues to be at the cutting edge of program, service and practice development such as the delivery of our additional programs for families from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds including the African Australian Community, and Same-sex families and couples.
We will continue to ensure the development and delivery of programs and services which meet the diverse needs of all families in our community.
This historical overview was based on the “The Citizens Welfare Service of Victoria” 1887-1987 -
100 years of Service written by Paul Anderson. (see Publications for full report)Karen Field
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Patrons
The Governor of Victoria, Professor
David de Kretser A.C.Drummond Street Counselling Staff
Reima Pryor
Anita Smith
Bernadette Walsh
Rob Russell
Kate Galea
Diana Kay
Jocelyn Christoff
Jacinta Kearney
Eve Jansen
Anita Henderson
Magio Konidares
Melissa Allen
Fran Faulkner
Barry Strmelj
Suzanne Hall
James Christoffelsz
(family dispute resolution)Student on placement:
Drummond Street Relationship Centre - Staff
Board of Management
President
Anne Winstanley
Vice-President
Alun Jackson
Chief Executive Officer
Karen Field
Family Promotions Unit Team:
Manager: Helen Rimington
Co ordinator of Groups and Seminars: Kristan Braun
Hands On Parenting Education (HOPE) worker: Kate Galea
Admin support and bookings: Georgie Foster
The DRUM African Family Centre at our North Melbourne site (45 Buncle St)
Community Development Worker: Sahra Hussein
Youth and Community Worker: Ambrose Mareng
Women’s Sewing Programs Worker: Jo Foley
Community development co-ordinator: Melinda Tew
Homework Club Worker: Nasiib Mohmud
Senior Management Team:
Chief Executive Officer: Karen Field
Director of Clinical Team and Deputy CEO: Paula Westhead
Director of Family Promotions Unit: Helen Rimington
Reima Pryor
Business Manager: Leanne Black
Corporate Director - Robert Riccioni
Executive Assistant: Michelle Burke
Reception staff:
Sarah, Jessica, Laura, Kathryn, and Whitney
Managed by Leanne BlackBoard Members
Anne Winstanley (President)
Alun Jackson (Vice President)
Mr Ken May
Mr Frank Lamari
Mr: Henry Blatman
Ms Joan Grochowski
Mr Graeme Lush
Ms Tina Fiore-Scott
Sunitha Raman
