Mission Statement
Safety, Respect and Choice for Women
Vision
To be a leader in gender specialist, innovative and evidence-based services for women with complex needs
Values
Equality by:
- Transparent service provision
- Consistent decision-making processes
- Equal opportunity and input into service management and service delivery development/improvement
Kindness by:
- Promotion of an environment that supports and encourages women, both service users and co-workers
- Acknowledging women, demonstrating empathy and respect to all
- Demonstrating unity within the service as well as in the outside world
Courage by:
- Respectfully dealing with difficult and sensitive issues
Flexibility by:
- Understanding individuals and finding solutions using an open approach
- A willingness to make decisions based on a holistic view of needs
- Encouraging creative solutions for individuals by transparent and honest communication
- Challenging black and white (all or nothing) thinking
Accountability by:
- Open honest responsible and responsive service management and service provision
- Establishing client feedback and participation processes
- Completing timely and appropriate reports to Board of management and funding agencies
- Planning, scheduling and prioritising workloads
- Demonstrating effective time management to meet deadlines
Humour by:
- Responding in affirming ways and valuing each woman’s humanness
- Assisting each other to see the lighter side of a situation
- Encouraging a balanced way to view work, life and life’s ups and downs
Safety by:
- Transparent user-friendly resources to inform service users (and workers) of their rights and responsibilities
- Placing high value on appropriate training in policy and procedures development, and service management processes
Respect by:
- Acknowledging women through appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication
- Self-reflection, clarification where needed and following up to improve communication
- Consistently demonstrating regard for service users, services and the community in all interactions
- Working collaboratively and sharing responsibilities fairly as a team member
Consistency by:
- Careful consideration of all factors in situations with service users in service delivery as well as with service development
- Adherence to Toora Women Inc. philosophy, policy and procedures
- Treating all people with the same care respect and consideration
Professionalism by:
- A commitment to the strength of the organisation, skilful application of duties and sharing work-related knowledge with others
- Self-responsibility, integrity, self-awareness and honesty
- Demonstrating respect for organisational aims and values
Feminism by:
- Accepting and valuing all women equally
- Challenging patriarchy
- Using participatory processes
- Honouring the possibilities and strengths of other women
- Not doing for a woman what she is able to do for herself
- Remembering and demonstrating the personal is political
Diversity by:
- Employment policies and practices to ensure a mix of identity and culture
- Recognition of the dominant culture in this country and a commitment not to impose this on others
- Work practice that encourages workers to challenge themselves to gain an increased self awareness of own prejudice
- Awareness of the issues minorities face
Recovery by:
- Actively committing to positive personal growth and leading by personally setting a good example
- Seeking to unify and support the organisation to reach its goals
- Demonstrating principles and a supportive attitude in the organisation
- Enthusiastically participating in meetings, training and supervision
- Accepting direction
- Attracting other women to recovery by setting an example, not promoting recovery without doing the work yourself (walk the walk)
Self-determination by:
- Offering choices and allowing women to make their own decisions
- Logically breaking down challenges into their important elements
- Assisting women in identifying problems and supporting and encouraging women to find solutions that will work for them
Honesty openness transparency by:
- Sharing appropriate information
- Providing an environment where everyone is encouraged to give input
Empowerment by:
- Emphasising strengths not weaknesses
- Encouraging women honestly and kindly
- Providing opportunities for change
- Imparting a sense of capacity and opportunity to learn new skills to make choices in the world
Reconciliation by:
- Respecting the traditions and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and actively working to eliminate racism
- Employing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and valuing their expertise
- Engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities to improve outcomes for them
- Ensuring knowledge, attitude and access to training and resources to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Providing culturally appropriate service delivery
- Recognising the perspectives and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the design, planning evaluation and improvement of our services