Igniting Change Podcast

For women involved in street based sex work in St Kilda, and young women and girls affected by sexual exploitation, St Kilda Gatehouse is a beacon of hope. We speak to CEO Stacey Aslangul on how the Gatehouse provides spaces of belonging and safety, and opportunities for social connection for women tackling complex issues.

We meet Ellen Jacobsen - the Social Impact Manager at HoMie, a not-for-profit streetwear label that seeks to support young people affected by homelessness or hardship. HoMie’s mission is to break down the stigma associated with homelessness, and to equip these young people with the skills and confidence to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future.

Human rights lawyer George Newhouse could easily have continued working in corporate law in New York and London. Instead he returned home and co-founded the National Justice Project - where he uses the law in ways that support and advance social justice for asylum seekers, youth detainees and First Nations people. George shares his story on Season Five of the Igniting Change Podcast.

A proud Wiradjuri Woman, born and raised on Gadigal land, Carly Stanley has dedicated her life to helping her people. Carly is the Founder and CEO of Deadly Connections, an organisation working to break the cycles of intergenerational disadvantage and trauma, so that the First Nations people of Australia can thrive, not just survive.

Melanie Sheppard is an Australian writer, a story teller and a passionate activist and advocate for women's rights and social justice. Whilst many of us were doing a little less in lockdown, Melanie led an incredible donation drive to support the communities most affected by this once in a generation pandemic.

As the founder of Three For All, Ian Seal is making a difference. He and his team work passionately with LGBTQIA+ people seeking asylum to meet their own needs and achieve their own goals, and to support the local heroes in these communities changing lives.

We start Season Four of the Igniting Change Podcast with the inspirational Carla Raynes. For the last 17 years Carla has worked tirelessly on innovative and effective solutions to homelessness. As the founder and CEO of Bridge It, Carla is not just creating homes, but a sense of community for our most vulnerable.

Felix Riebl has lost none of the youthful energy that has made his band Cat Empire a worldwide success, which is lucky, as his side project, Spinifex Gum is engaging a whole new audience - due in large part to the glorious voices of the Marliya choir. Being a performer in lockdown has brought with it challenges, but also welcome bursts of creativity. Felix is the final guest in our covid 19 series, and he is not to be missed.

Anne Mitchell is one of Melbourne’s really quiet achievers - but the work she does as Program Manager of the Steps outreach service saves lives. For the last 20 years she has provided warmth, love and support to young people experiencing homelessness. She’s a gem.

Keenan Mundine is well qualified to talk to the young men he meets at the jail gates - he’s been in and out of detention since he was a boy. Now, he is a big hearted man who, with his wife Carly, is working to stamp out the over-representation of First Nations people in the child protection and justice systems.

Artist Amanda Newman first came to our attention as the name at the bottom of a mural of Dujuan, the remarkable central figure of “In My Blood it Runs” during lockdown in Melbourne. When she completed a beautiful portrait of Cathy Freeman, our interest was piqued, and we called her for a chat about life as an artist in a time of Covid 19.

Linda Fox turned her back on the law in favour of the not for profit world and she hasn’t looked back. As an Igniting Change board member and Grants Manager at Planet Wheeler Foundation, Linda’s gaze stretches to East and West Africa, South East Asia and right across Australia, and her insights are thought-provoking.

How does Margaret Thorpe manage to keep the Sacred Heart Community, where formerly homeless, mentally unwell people live, a “happy quiet place” throughout Covid 19? Well, Martin Flanagan puts it perfectly in his book, “The Art of Pollination” - “I got the idea that Margaret was a person who had pared her lift back to what really mattered to her”. And what appears to matter to Margaret is love.

William Tilmouth is a proud Arrernte man who is a member of the stolen generations. As chair of Children’s Ground he is determined to help bring about positive change for First Nations people.

When the students of Hester Hornbrook Academy in Prahran have a problem, they turn to Wellbeing Team Leader, Stella. Run by the Melbourne City Mission, the Academy caters for young people for whom conventional schooling hasn’t worked, for myriad reasons. Some are young mums, many are aged in their twenties, and trying to gain qualifications to join the workforce. Stella is fiercely protective and proud of her charges, and her dedication, especially in this time of Covid 19, is remarkable.

In her day job as Community Service Co-ordinator at Melbourne’s Lauriston Girls School, Sarah Jessup was introduced to Jane Tewson and went on to learn about the organisations Igniting Change supports. When Covid 19 hit, and parents from her school wanted to support those doing it tough, Sarah knew just where to turn. Every fortnight, she and a group of Lauriston volunteers have collected bags of essentials and delivered them right across Melbourne since the first lockdown began. As the situation has escalated, Sarah and the team have switched to collecting grocery gift cards to distribute, in a bid to ensure no-one goes hungry. It’s an inspiring tale of the teacher who thought she could…..and did.

Renowned author and journalist Martin Flanagan spent a year with Igniting Change founder and director Jane Tewson “meeting the people and feeling the issues.” The result is The Art of Pollination - a rich tapestry of the life and times of @igniting_change and some wonderful stories from Jane’s life in the UK. Jane and Martin join Celia Hirsh to discuss this defiant gesture of hope in a dark chapter. The Art of Pollination is on sale now online and in all good booksellers.

We're delighted to announce Series 3 of the Igniting Change Podcast is coming soon! Featuring conversations that examine how Covid-19, the Black Lives Matter movement and our ever changing global landscape are affecting you right now.

If Bernie Shakeshaft was the main character in a book, people would complain he was too good to be true. This humble and quietly spoken superhero helps heal troubled young men, with the helping paws of man’s best friend. Bernie’s adventures with wild boys and wild dogs are the subject of this episode, the final of the second series, of the Igniting Change podcast.

Chloe Dickson knows first hand the power of the St Kilda Police and Citizen’s Youth Club, a not-for-profit organisation mentoring young people of all ages and backgrounds. As a former resident, Chloe’s world was turned around by the support of the PCYC mentors. Now she’s inspiring the next generation as Operations Manager of the centre, leading programs that are changing lives. Chloe shares her story on this week’s Igniting Change Podcast.