Dignity Circle

All women possess gifts, talents, skills, and experiences that hold immense value and are worth sharing.

We actively promote women finding their voices through the principles of inclusion, dignity, and respect.

We meet every second Thursday at Nambour Community Centre

10 am - 11.45am

All women welcome

A safe space for women to be together that fosters respect and self-esteem

PURPOSE

Women helping women through empowerment, action, and advocacy

VISION

All women have access to safe communities and forever homes

MISSION

To create grassroots female-led response to the local housing crisis

Achievements

Housing with Dignity 2023

Nikita King (Nambour Community Chairperson) and Ana Greenfield

(Nambour Community Centre Manager)

An enormous achievement in 2023 was working in our local community to seed and grow the Housing with Dignity project that saw a local business donating 7 unoccupied units resulting in 7 women being housed for period of time. The project won the Inaugral Queensland Council of Social Services Social Impact Neighbourhood Centre award.

The 'Housing with Dignity' project, a Dignity Circle (and Nambour Community Centre) driven collaborative response to providing ''meanwhile use'', safe and affordable accommodation for women over 50 who are experiencing housing insecurity.

The project became a possibility because of the passion and advocacy of Dignity Circle.

The Housing for Dignity project was been made possible through the generous and dedicated support from community partners: a generous local business that has provided seven units free of charge; Coast2Bay Housing which manages the units; Sunshine Coast Council who provided project management support; Queensland Government who funded cosmetic renovations; Women's Community shelter (NSW) for mentoring and support and; community supporters Nambour Rotary and St Lukes Church.

The project is a contemporary example of working together with a positive attitude to find local, affordable solutions and to act from a place of what can we do together with what we have.

Dignity Circle History

Dignity Circle emerged in the wake of the loss of three women in the community who had experiences of homelessness, one of whom, Corrine was well-known in the community and served as a volunteer at the Nambour Community Centre.

Despite facing homelessness, Corrine consistently emphasised the importance of maintaining one's dignity, believing that it was integral to preserving one's identity. In June 2021, following her passing, the Nambour Community Centre held a morning tea and memorial service to honour Corrine.

Following the passing of three women in a short period of time, community members came together to discuss what they could do together and eventually establish Dignity Circle—a group dedicated to supporting women experiencing homelessness.

Meeting in circle

The Dignity Circle meets fortnightly in circle. We have created a safe space for women to meet, whether they are experiencing a difficult time with their housing or they are present to support others on their housing journey.

Coolamon - the centre of our circle

After our first meeting, one of our group members, Ally listened closely to the shared values of the women present. They were saying:

“We seek support wherever it is available to meet our needs”

“We connect with available support networks”

“It's our priority that our youth always have access to food, shelter, and clothing”.

Ally, a First Nations woman and artist was deeply inspired to paint these values on a Coolamon and offered the beautiful object as a center point for the circle.

Ally explains “A Coolamon is a universal tool in the Indigenous Community. It is used for carrying our young, harvesting food, and sometimes even carrying washing. You could say women are universal, as we do so much for our families”.

We hold a beautiful circle that helps to support any concerns (and sometimes emotions) with respect, non-judgment, compassion, kindness, and practical support where possible.

Talking Stick

We also use a talking stick at the beginning and end of our time together.

The Talking Stick, thoughtfully crafted by Billie, another valued member of our group, was generously donated by a fellow member from their property.

The primary function of the Talking Stick is to provide a platform for the person holding it to speak, with others actively listening.

Additionally, the Talking Stick serves as a tool for voting—its 'sun' side indicating 'yes,' the 'moon' side indicating 'no,' and horizontal positioning signifying uncertainty.