Louise Place is a service for young women who are pregnant or parenting, and their children. The 24-hour Supported Accommodation Service supports young parents, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, during their pregnancy and in the early months of parenting.

An outreach service is provided to young parents and their children accommodated in the community and in housing managed by Louise Place.  An onsite ‘Learning Centa’ partly funded through the DECS/ICAN Initiative offers flexible learning options including SACE and VET pathways for young parents.The Day Centre provides child minding for students and access to peer support and other group programs.

Support through Louise Place

Support is provided to a range of young women twenty five years and under who are pregnant and/ or parenting. These women are either living in onsite accommodation (Core and Cluster), in Louise Place outreach housing or are being supported where accommodation through Louise Place is not currently available. Support may be in the area of: 

- parenting 
- budgeting 
- taking care of self 
- relationships 
- reunification 
- advocacy 
- cooking and cleaning 
- finding accommodation or more permanent accommodation

Core and Cluster

Currently Louise Place consists of eight on site units and accommodates eight women in individual self contained units with their child/ren or on their own if they are pregnant and do not have a child living with them. Women are eighteen years and under. They can access school on site Louise Place Learning Centa and use the Day Centre from Tuesday - Thursday while at school, or while having a break while remaining onsite. Women onsite have access to 24/7 support. Supports are delivered through 1:1, groupwork, and support with appointments and advocacy.   Recent and Current Programs on site include:

- Baby Massage 
- Playgroup 
- programs with emphasis on caring for self and baby

Outreach

Louise Place case managers support eight women and their children living in Housing SA properties which are generally in the western and inner southern metro region. Case managers home visit and support with other appointments and encourage women to access their local communities and Louise Place programs onsite including Louise Place Learning Centa where appropriate. Women in outreach housing are twenty five years and under.

Flexible Learning Options

Centacare’s ICAN Services supports young women living onsite, in outreach housing and from elsewhere with their learning. 

The Louise Place ‘Learning Centa’ allows for very individualized and relevant learning pathways and young women may engage in beginning or ‘soft entry’ activities such as a playgroup or book making program or progress towards attainment of their SACE or other accredited certificate level courses. Learning Facilitators and teaching staff are able to support young women in mapping their educational plan and in designing learning activities to meet these interests and needs.  A more comprehensive overview of the Learning Centa activities can be viewed on the Education page.

Day Centre

Two part time staff with support from a pool of volunteers provide care on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for the young women living on site or attending school or any other activity onsite.

Referral Pathways

Referrals can be made in person and by phone and can be self referrals or from outside agencies or from within Centacare. Where agencies refer Louise Place staff prefer to receive a MARF where possible.  After receiving a referral, a case manager will ring the young woman or her worker (whichever was identified as most appropriate at original point of contact) and arrange for an assessment which is usually, but not necessarily, done at Louise Place.  Following assessment case managers meet regularly with their manager and an allocation may be made or an offer of support organised. 

Louise Place was named after Louise de Marillac who lived between 1591 and 1660. Louise was the daughter of a single parent; she was a mother; was widowed at 37, and then as a sole parent raised her child.
 

Louise de Marillac:

- was skilled in natural and herbal medicine
- was an artist and painter
- studied theology and spirituality

She worked closely with many of the groups who, in her day, were oppressed. She motivated and organised others to commit themselves to likewise working for social justice. In collaboration with Vincent de Paul, she established a group of lay women to be involved with this work. The group (known as the Ladies of Charity) continues today the world over.  Louise and Vincent were also the co-founders of the Daughters of Charity who were involved with Louise Place.

Louise de Marillac:

- Is acknowledged, along with Vincent de Paul, as having established the first organised social services in France. She was named the patron saint of Social Workers.
- Set up, throughout France, a sophisticated system of foster care for abandoned babies. A mammoth task given the limitations of transport and other facilities in France at that time.
- Created a radical form of religious life in the church: women living amongst the most marginalised. This lifestyle allows greater availability, flexibility and mobility.
- Travelled great distances in difficult conditions to visit services to give support and training.
- Advocated and lobbied the French Court to obtain services for the disadvantaged.