Northern Futures, the grassroots program dedicated to supporting disadvantaged communities in Geelong’s north, has joined community services organisation Meli.
Northern Futures CEO, Andrew Palmer, said the decision reflected a mutual respect between the two not-for-profit organisations and a shared commitment to better address barriers to employment in Corio and Norlane.
“The success of Northern Futures’ model is the strength of trusted partnerships and the effectiveness of our bespoke support to clients,” Mr Palmer said.
Northern Futures Board Chair, Rob Birch, said stakeholders and existing funders had unanimously confirmed their support of Northern Futures at Meli. “The ongoing success, sustainability and growth of Northern Futures is our highest priority, and we believe that joining Meli is the key to this success,” Mr Birch said.
Meli CEO Grant Boyd said bringing Northern Futures into Meli would build on the positive outcomes already achieved and provide a foundation for better outcomes going forward. He confirmed the expert team at Northern Futures would continue at the current location in Station Street, Norlane, and existing clients would experience no disruption to their service.
Northern Futures provides critical wrap-around support to help clients navigate employment barriers to help them into sustainable employment as a bridge out of instability. Data shows that 78 per cent of clients who undertook Northern Futures training in 2022-2023 found employment, and both their training completion and employment outcomes consistently exceeded national outcomes for previously unemployed people.