Women's Butterfly Project

 


The Women's Butterfly Project is a project designed by the Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University in partnership with the QLD Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy, Q Shelter, Tenants Queensland, Mission Australia and a number of other partners. Their website can be accessed here: https://research.qut.edu.au/best/projects/preventing-homelessness-for-mature-women-high-tech-vs-high-touch-support/ 

The premise of the project is to focus on women who are 55 or older, and to work with them BEFORE they become homeless, recognising that most programs and services associated with homelessness are focussed on people who are already homeless and/or impacted by long-term housing issues. The aim of the Project is to prevent homelessness before it occurs. The project connects vulnerable women with services and advice that can help them maintain their housing. The project is essentially toolkit collation of resources that are targetted at women aged 55+.

I have been looking at the resources that are collated as part of the project. They are collated into the following categories: Financial, Community, Work, Physical, and Social. As far as I can see, there is no mention of a public library in any of these categories. I can imagine libraries having something to offer the target cohort in every category. 

Perhaps this is an example of an excellent resource that just hasn't considered that public libraries can play a role. Public libraries could also be excellent places to promote the project. 

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