Panel Discussions

Practical Support Can Save A Life

If someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, there are many practical ways you could help. Being available to listen, taking the person to an appointment, or encouraging them to contact professional support, are all simple steps and can be life-saving.

We discuss these and other practical ways to help someone experiencing domestic violence in this panel discussion with Lilly McKeich (Salvation Army National Domestic and Family Violence Specialist), Dave Kramer (founder of the HALT Program), and Lisa Annabel (CEO of Biyani House).

Safe Housing is “The Difference Between Staying or Leaving”

Safe housing is the vital first step needed to help someone flee domestic and family violence, according to Helping Hands panellists, Libby Caskey from the Women’s Housing Company; Steve Frost, founder at Horizons Family Law Centre; and Dave Kramer, founder of the HALT program and ambassador at Small Steps 4 Hannah.

Almost half of all people facing homelessness are women fleeing domestic and family violence. That’s why safe housing is a crucial first step for someone escaping abuse.

To Help a Victim of Domestic Violence, Listen and Believe Them

Listening and believing a victim’s story, respecting their choices, and offering practical help, could be the lifeline that helps someone break free from domestic violence. That’s the advice of Helping Hands panellists Lilly McKeich (Salvation Army National Domestic and Family Violence Specialist); Stacy Jane (Escabags founder and survivor); and Dave Kramer (founder of the HALT Program).

5 keys to growing - or rebuilding - your self-worth

A healthy sense of self-worth requires us to understand our inherent value. We can build up our self worth with practices such as gratitude, self care, and resisting comparison. These are the key takeaways from a recent Helping Hands panel discussion with founding board member of RUOK?  Graeme Cowan, psychologist Collett Smart, and disability parenting advocate Hannah Gair.

Why prioritising self-care is a must: some expert advice  

In a Helping Hands panel discussion about the importance of self-care, our panelists agree that self-care is vital for both you, and for those around you.  

RUOK?  founding board member Graeme Cowan, psychologist Collett Smart, and disability-and-parenting advocate Hannah Gair, liken self-care to “putting on our own oxygen mask first” so that we can support others too. Self-care involves many components including physical, mental, relational, spiritual, and career health. 

Uncovering the secrets to living your best life

“In terms of community and finding your people, it’s really important. When you can identify with other people, you feel seen, you feel heard, you feel validated … They want to lean into your world and then you just journey life together.”” explains Hannah Gair, founder of the StrongHERside podcast.

For this Helping Hands panel discussion, Hannah is joined by psychologist, Collett Smart, and Team Resilience speaker and author, Graeme Cowan, to talk about different ways to show we care.

Is it better to give than to receive?

“I remember loving getting presents as a kid,” says Fel Limmer, breakfast radio host at Vision Christian Radio, “and that expectation of it was all part of that joy. As a parent though … when I’m giving, it’s not because I’m giving a material piece … it’s an expression of my love for them.”

In this Helping Hands panel discussion, Fel is joined by Michaela Chanmugam, from Samaritan’s Purse Australia and New Zealand, and Nathan Brewer, a youth worker and mentor, to discuss the joy of giving.

Unravelling the meaning of time well spent

“We need to see time as like gold,” says Amanda Rose, founder of Entrepreneurial and Small Business Women Australia.

Time is a precious commodity. Each day, humans all around the planet are gifted the same amount of time. How do we get to the end of a day and, eventually, to the end of our lifetime, and know that we’ve spent our gift of time well?

The even playing field of healthy friendships

“Healthy friendships are all about mutuality,” says psychologist, Collett Smart. “It’s about being on that even field where one isn’t more important than the other.”

In this episode of Helping Hands, Collett is joined by Nathan Brewer, a youth worker; and Ian Barnett, the founder of the National Grandparent Movement, to discuss healthy friendships.

Purpose - The key to a thriving community.

“Your entire life depends on the quality of the community or communities you associate yourself with and create,” says Adam McCurdie, founder and CEO of Humanitix.

Community connection is important to humanity. It is at the centre of every thriving society and civilisation around the world, and provides a framework for understanding, belonging, culture and identity.

In this Helping Hands panel discussion, Adam McCurdie is joined by Mike Gore, founder and CEO of Charitabl.; and Prof. Kristy Muir, CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, to discuss community connection and purpose.

The joy of being selfish for good

“There is a deep, deep value in being good for nothing,” quips Jon Owen, CEO of Wayside Chapel, when talking about volunteers.

Speaking on Helping Hands, Jon says volunteers gift an estimated $1.5 million worth of waged time to Wayside Chapel, and without them, the Chapel would not able to break even. The volunteer workforce at Wayside Chapel cover 250 shifts each week, and ensure their doors stay open.

Enabling young people to thrive

Children and young people today have greater access to information and resources than any other generation in history. However, in young hands and minds, rather than being helpful, sometimes this ease of access is a barrage of ideas, opinions and perspectives that ultimately have a negative affect on wellbeing. It leads those of us who care for and support young people to continue to ask the question: How can we enable young people to thrive? 

Have we lost the ability to be selfless?

In the modern world of ‘you do you’ have we lost the ability to be selfless? Like any art form or ability, selflessness is a skill that can be learned and practiced. So, how and when should we practice the art of selflessness and why should we bother?

A helping hand starts with a listening ear

It's not only the ‘needy’ in our community who benefit from a helping hand. We all need help from time to time, and it can also do us good to be the help that someone else needs, but what is the best way to extend a hand of friendship?

The Dreaming and Songlines of Indigenous Australia

“You don’t get to be the world’s oldest living continuing cultures without a great foundation of a system of law and living,” shares Education and Cultural Consultant, Brooke Prentis.