ABOUT STRONG FAMILIES:

In 2009, Community Living Association (CLA Inc.) trialed a project working with families on child and family resilience and supporting parents with an intellectual disabiltiy and young parents.
These children (0-10 yr.) came from from families where a parent has an intellectual disability or is from a refugee background.
CLA developed ‘Strong Families’ in response to the children's’ needs and focused on practical supports and early intervention - avoiding the need for a crisis based response.
The pilot project has been successful and is doing such valuable work (a report can be downloaded from our website) that we wish it to continue. 

WHY SOLAR?

Funding for early intervention is scarce. Societies resources are generally placed at the crisis end of the spectrum and not toward early intervention.
We had to think creatively to find ongoing funding for this project and believe that solar power is a viable option.
As a strategy it has a number of potential benefits:
• A conservative assessment suggest a 10% p.a.  return on our investment.
• Donations to the project support the community as well as the environment.
• Donations provide a renewable financial resource making them more than twice as effective as a regular donation over time.

Why Support Strong Families?

Your support will create a range of opportunities for kids including: swimming lessons, health and medical follow ups, in home reading, attendance and involvement in school, parent - child bonding and development of peer relations and supportive networks. Strong Families is an initiative of a well respected community orgnisation with a Twenty year history (CLA Inc.) and is consistent with Australian and International research.

Parents Say: “Her behaviour has improved so much. I don’t have as many problems with her behaviour as I used to”.

Volunteers Say: “We’re impressed with the work Strong Families have done with the kids we volunteer with. The work done linking Mum with the school, and fostering supportive relationships around the children, has turned the situation around”.

Workers Say: “The School said that they haven’t seen a family with as much support as [mum and children]”.

How to get involved:

1) “Install” a solar cell for $1000. With 500 donations we could meet our goal - and achieve a world first for a community organisation!                     

2) Give through the ‘donations’ page on our web site or by downloading the attached form and send back to us.                 

3) Donations are tax deductible and sponsors will be kept informed of the project outcomes through quarterly e-mail reports.