b'Love of language Putting youth homelessness a good sign in the spotlight Uniting early learning services have beenUniting hosted the launch of the April 2022 issue participating in the Victorian Early Childhoodof Parity Magazine in partnership with the Council Language Program, which has long-termto Homeless Persons and Parliamentary Secretary advantages of improved literacy andfor Youth, Katie Hall MP. Titled: Homelessness and communication. Languages delivered includeYoung People: Support During Troubled Times, Aboriginal languages (five different languages),the April edition focused on the intersection Arabic, Australian Sign Language (Auslan),between homelessness and young people. Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian,There are distinct differences in experiences of Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Vietnamese and homelessness for young people, who require many more. Qualified language teachers specialised support and receive limited benefit deliver the program in partnership with the from adult-focused services.early learning employees through play, music,Our CEO, Bronwyn Pike wrote an article, in which singing and stories. she called for a continued commitment and In Sale, St Columbas Kindergarten Director, investment in the youth homelessness sector. Julie Fitt and her team have chosen Auslan. Safe and secure housing is a major factor Julie, who has been signing for over two decades,in helping get a persons life on track. This is says teaching Auslan has had many benefits forparticularly critical for young people, who are the children and their families, especially sinceonly at the start of their journey. As a society, the start of the 2022 school year. We have fourwe should be doing all that we can to help the non-verbal children this year. It means we havenext generation lead healthy and productive a more inclusive environment for those children.lives. Young people need governments across The children are going home and teaching theirthe country to step up and invest in social and families the signs, says Julie. affordable housing on an ongoing basis and at a Launching family dayrate to keep up with increasing demand, she said.care in Tasmania Find out moreIn early 2022, we launched family day care services in Tasmania. Family day care offers flexible and personalised education andsupport for children in the comfort of an approved educators home. Children in family day care benefit from small group sizes thathelps create close bonds with their educator.Our network of experienced carers and educators offer developmental activitiestailored to the individual childs need and interests. Care is flexible and can be tailoredto suit each familys needs, including care outside normal working hours.Uniting Vic.Tas Annual Report 2021-2022 17'