10 HOMEGROWN BUSINESSES MAKING TOWNSVILLE PROUD
CENTACARE NORTH QUEENSLAND “Centacare North Queensland has been at the forefront of the delivery of counselling, care and family support services to individuals, families and communities in north and northwest Queensland for almost 40 years,” explains Centacare NQ Executive Director Peter Monaghan. “We are an organisation with a strong inclusive community focus; and we pride ourselves on being innovative and responsive in addressing the needs of the community.” On average, Centacare NQ assists 10,000 individuals each year. While the organisation is best known as a provider of counselling services, it also offers a suite of services under its many programs, covering disability support, family support, mediation and family dispute resolution, gambling help, education and courses, community engagement and support, and professional development. Importantly, Peter points out that 100% of all funds raised and donations received by Centacare NQ go back into North Queensland. “In times of economic downturn, or perhaps more positively, when a community is looking at opportunities to reinvent itself and redefine its identity – locals need to support locals,” stresses Peter. “We are in some ways the quiet achiever,” he says of Centacare NQ’s fundraising approach, “we don’t affront people with advertising campaigns but prefer our actions and word of mouth referrals to do the talking. Peter says his 170 staff are the agency’s greatest assets and ambassadors. “We have staff who are at the cutting edge of best practice in areas of child safety, trauma, supervision, assessment and support services. People come because they know we deliver.” The Centacare NQ team operates out of 10 sites across North Queensland and the Gulf Country, including 70 Townsville-based staff, and with outreach to eight towns in the region. The organisation’s programs are varied, ranging from the comprehensive Family and Relationship Counselling program, which is one of the many programs available to anyone and everyone, to the referral-only ROSA Counselling Intervention Service – a program that works with children who have been abused or neglected and require a referral from the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services. Peter invites anyone needing support to contact Centacare NQ to discuss services available. “We want the Townsville community to remember that when times are tough, they don’t have to go through it alone – we are here to help.”
Centacare North Queensland 410 Ross River Road, Cranbrook 1300 NQCARE centacarenq@centacarenq.org.au www.centacarenq.org.au
122
DUOMagazine December 2016
“…WHEN A COMMUNITY IS LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES TO REINVENT ITSELF AND REDEFINE ITS IDENTITY – LOCALS NEED TO SUPPORT LOCALS.” PETER MONAGHAN