Mrs VALE (7:37 PM) —I wish to draw the attention of the House to a worthy Rotary project in my electorate of Hughes which is aimed at giving positive assistance to young families where mothers may be suffering from anxiety, stress or depression, including postnatal depression. As a member of Sylvania Rotary Club in district 9750, I am proud to have been associated with this special project aimed at supporting mothers and young children in highly stressed families. The project is the brainchild of an eminent Sydney child psychiatrist, Dr Clarrie Gluskie, who is a past District Governor and chairman of the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund Committee.

Established under the auspices of this committee, the Hope for the Children Foundation was set up to raise funds in support of mothers and children through a weekly program of home visits by trained volunteers. Under the structure of the foundation, the Sutherland Family Network was created as the operational unit of the foundation. The Sutherland Family Network is managed by a committee of Rotarians, presently chaired by Mrs Lorna Stone, state member for Sutherland. It has now been operating for almost four years and to date has given positive support to 75 families. Many of the volunteers who visit these families under the duress of stress or depression are themselves mothers who have already raised their own families and enjoyed the experience. It is a real case of the women in our community helping other women at a time of need.

Often many of our volunteer women are Rotarians themselves or wives of Rotarians, and many of our first group of volunteers were from the Sutherland and Port Hacking Inner Wheel Clubs. Mrs Tineke Lovius, Mrs Elizabeth Weber, Mrs Jenny Dalton, wife of our current District Governor, Mr Jack Dalton, and Mrs Trudy Murphy were conspicuous in this group. Today there are over 50 volunteers working in the Sutherland Family Network drawn from all facets of the community. Many of the volunteer mothers and grandmothers are keen to continue making a significant contribution to the quality of life in their own neighbourhoods. These dedicated women all receive special training before starting with families. They are under the excellent professional supervision of Mrs Luba Monro who constantly inspires and supports her team of volunteers.

Families in need of support are identified by referral to the network by the local early childhood centres, by medical practitioners, the maternity wards at local hospitals and other community organisations. The family network's coordinator, Mrs Monro, then assesses the families that have been referred to her and carefully matches them with the appropriate volunteer. Some of the families may have been stressed for a long time and some parents and children often need treatment or help from doctors and other health professionals, even for psychiatric illnesses.

The women volunteers provide friendship and help with parenting, giving commonsense suggestions on everyday issues and problems that arise when a new baby comes into the family. They also give information and help with access to child care, education, health and social services. Their support helps limit the amount of stress within the family unit and our research shows that this is greatly appreciated. In other words, our Sutherland Family Network volunteers in effect mother the mothers. They do not mother the babies. They provide a sense of the old-fashioned extended family support for the mothers at a time of great emotional need.

Funding for the project is always an ongoing problem and it mainly comes from Rotary clubs. Past President of the Sutherland Civic Club Stan Nurthen has been instrumental in gaining corporate sponsorship from Burmah Fuels, Coca-Cola Amatil and British Airways. The foundation is grateful for their kindness and financial support. The project has proved to be so successful in the Sutherland shire that new networks have been set up in the city of Sydney and also in the St George district with the active support of Maria Ficarra, state member for Georges River.

The fine work of the Hope for the Children Foundation and the Sutherland Family Network has attracted the patronage of the retired Children's Court magistrate and author, Mrs Barbara Holborow, a woman held in respect and warm affection for her work with troubled children. With experience gained from dealing with children from dysfunctional families in the courts, Mrs Holborow recognises the value in the support programs offered by the network. The highly regarded and celebrated actress and writer Rachel Ward has also joined the foundation as an ambassa dor and is actively fundraising and promoting its work. Her creative event Aussies Without Cossies, featuring Bryan Brown and other famous Australian male identities, promises to be the fundraising event of 1998.

Appropriate evaluation of the service has been undertaken by family health professor Lesley Barclay at the University of Technology in Sydney. The results are very positive. Those families who have been supported are most appreciative of the help given by the volunteers and speak enthusiastically of the difference made to their lives by having someone to talk to, someone who especially cares about them. A local doctor commented to Dr Clarrie Gluskie:

I am reluctant to say this, Clarrie, because I know you are a psychiatrist, but the families supported by your volunteers are doing better than the ones I have sent to the psychiatrist.

Dr Clarrie Gluskie agrees and says that this is generally true, because most stressed and depressed mothers do not need drugs or specialist counselling; they just need the warm personal support and practical help that other caring women can provide. This is how Hope for the Children's family networks are making a real difference for stressed families and giving hope to the children. (Time expired)