The Always Mum programme continues to be a vital source of support and empowerment for mums with children in out-of-home care. During the first two terms of 2024, 20 mums successfully completed our core 10-week programme.

For the past 13 years, the Lou’s Closet sale has been our biggest annual fundraiser. The sale of good-quality, new and second-hand clothing has, to date, raised over $750K to support vulnerable women at Lou's Place. We hope that 2024 will be an even bigger year for us as we move the event to The Tramsheds in Forest Lodge. 

On 28 November last year, Lou’s Place held a vigil in Martin Place as part of the United Nations' 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The vigil aimed to remember and honour all of the women who had, to date, lost their lives to family and domestic violence in 2023. 

Seventeen mothers joined the first term of our Always Mum programme in February. This group of mothers, from diverse backgrounds, both reflects on and work towards individual goals for their children, who are in out-of-home care.

Volunteers of OzHarvest's NEST programme have been teaching Lou’s women new cooking skills for better health. NEST (Nutrition Education Skills Training) is a six-week programme that teaches adults about healthy eating and easy, affordable cooking in a friendly and fun environment.

Nikki has recently joined our team of volunteers. She leads meditation and breathwork classes at Lou's Place, in which she brings women together to connect with the body. She uses a mix of yoga, Qigong, breathwork, meditation and dance.

The James N. Kirby Foundation has been supporting Lou's Place with generous grants for the past 5 years. They are committed to supporting organisations that provide opportunities to those in our community who need it most.

For just an hour a week, a small group of women come along to write and to share their thoughts with each other. Steaming cups of tea and baked treats in hand, pencils poised, students recently wrote about objects hidden in paper bags.

On 31 May, Lou’s opened its doors to welcome donors, allied services and friends to see its new, larger and more accessible premises in Redfern. The evening was designed to give everyone a glimpse of what life at Lou’s is now like. General Manager Mandy Greaney welcomed everyone to walk around the service and talk with the staff about the therapeutic programmes they lead. These include our drop-in service, our family and domestic violence programme 'Choice and Change,' as well as 'Always Mum,' a programme that helps mothers whose children have been taken into out-of-home care. 

My name is Ting Ting. I have been receiving care and support at Lou's Place for a year now. I left a toxic, painful relationship and came to Sydney all alone. I struggled to pay $10 for a load of washing. While studying teaching at Sydney University, a classmate recommended Lou's Place. She said I could get all my washing done for free. It was such a big relief. Guess what?

In recent months, programmes at Lou's Place have been running at full throttle. From launching outreach groups to creating new content, and gaining increased recognition from local services, the growth and development of our programmes have been an exciting journey for the team.

In May, Connecting Through Change commenced a 4-week outreach programme in partnership with WHOS. WHOS is a local drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation centre that provides a range of evidence-based therapeutic treatment programmes. They contacted Lou’s Place on behalf of the women in their programme who have expressed interest in participating in Connecting Through Change. As these women are unable to leave the rehabilitation facility to access the group, Lou’s Place bridged this gap by delivering an onsite programme with core content from our 7-week programme.