MacKillop Seasons was excited to receive the Connected Community grant funding from the Sydney North PHN made possible through the NSW Ministry of Health. This grant provided funds to MacKillop Seasons to train local professionals to deliver small group programs for adults in the northern Sydney communities. This included the Seasons for Healing program which assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, children, and young people, to cope with change, loss, and grief experiences.
Connecting with local agencies and community organisations was a crucial part of the project, ensuring people were aware of the opportunity to train in the Seasons for Growth programs. Aileen Ogilvie, the Vice President of MoWaNa Suicide Prevention's safe space on the Northern Beaches, reached out after seeing a flyer shared by the Sydney North PHN. Aileen was delighted to learn that the program is still running, as she first trained as a Companion (program facilitator) in the pilot stage in the mid 1990's. “I am so delighted it is still going. I attended the program pilot with Sister Claire Koch at Mary MacKillop Place, Mount Street in North Sydney many years ago, in conjunction with the Catholic Education system,” said Aileen.
Aileen found that participating in the pilot program in those early days connected her with many Companions across Australia who were also delivering the program. “I delivered many groups on the Northern Beaches,” Aileen reflects. “It was a fantastic course I loved doing it, and you can see I still have all the manuals. It is a bit different now, but the wonderful concept is still the same, I am sure.”
The Seasons for Growth Children and Young People's program is now in its 3rd Edition (2015) and in its 28th year. Although the appearance of the journals has changed, the program's essence remains the same - a place that supports connection with others going through similar circumstances, fostering emotional literacy and resilience as a pathway to improved social and emotional wellbeing.
Seasons for Growth manual and journal designs circa 1990s
Seasons for Growth Manuals and Journals today 3rd Edition