KBC C.O.A.C.H.

C.O.A.C.H. is a com­munity pro­ject that aims to strengthen fam­il­ies through facil­it­at­ing emo­tional, eco­nomic, social and spir­itual growth. C.O.A.C.H. assists fam­il­ies with chil­dren under 12 at risk of isol­a­tion, con­flict, addic­tion, poverty or other social prob­lems. The focus is on help­ing fam­il­ies by improv­ing their life skills, their con­nec­tion with the com­munity and their health & well-​​being in order to pre­vent child abuse, fam­ily break­down and edu­ca­tional fail­ure.
How does it work?

Fam­il­ies are care­fully matched with a volun­teer — Their Coach. The Coach listens, provides advocacy and offers prac­tical help and advice to guide the fam­ily and aid them in assess­ing and achiev­ing their life goals.

Coach­ing is a way to bring out the best in people and help them to make use of their own resources. Fam­il­ies engage in fun activ­it­ies to help build sup­port­ive rela­tion­ships, learn to identify their own strengths and weak­nesses and learn new skills, as well as being able to link in with employ­ment, their com­munity and churches for long-​​term growth and sup­port.
Who are the Coaches?

Coaches are volun­teers recruited from within Ken­more Baptist Church. They are invited to apply, and must sup­ply ref­er­ences, attend an inter­view and undergo train­ing. Coaches must also meet Child Suit­ab­il­ity Worker (Blue Card) require­ments.
How are Coaches Trained?

Train­ing is ongo­ing, inter­act­ive and dis­cus­sion based. An ini­tial 30 hour train­ing pro­gram with pro­fes­sional guest speak­ers provides an intro­duc­tion to Coach­ing, instruc­tion in the bound­ar­ies & val­ues involved and how to deal with fam­il­ies at risk, as well as improv­ing com­mu­nic­a­tion skills and effect­ing change. Coaches receive ongo­ing train­ing and sup­port in a group situ­ation, as well as one-​​on-​​one from a qual­i­fied Social Worker, Pas­tor or Com­munity Worker.

Inde­pend­ent eval­u­ation is being con­duc­ted by Mon­ash Uni­ver­sity to determ­ine improve­ments in the emo­tional, social, eco­nomic and spir­itual health of fam­il­ies, and provide valu­able feed­back and inform­a­tion for improv­ing the pilot program.

How do Fam­il­ies Benefit?

Fam­il­ies can bene­fit from:

• A sup­port­ive and nur­tur­ing rela­tion­ship with a Coach
• Con­fid­ence and a sense of purpose
• Aware­ness of broader choices and lifestyles
• Life goals
• Improved rela­tion­ships and com­mu­nic­a­tion skills
• Access to com­munity services
• Skills such as find­ing employ­ment, par­ent­ing, budget­ing and man­aging a family
• Links with employ­ment and training
• Improved com­munity net­works (such as church and sports clubs)

Recent research demon­strates con­nec­tion with church and com­munity leads to:

• Improved sleep and a more rapid recov­ery from injury and illness
• Decreased stress and risk of suicide
• Decreased pre­val­ence of ill­ness, sub­stance abuse, depres­sion, and juven­ile delinquency
• Improved resi­li­ence and well-​​being

How does the Com­munity Benefit?

The com­munity can be strengthened by:

• Increased pro­tect­ive factors for redu­cing crime and fam­ily violence
• More access­ible services
• Respons­ive­ness to com­munity needs
• Improved train­ing, com­mu­nic­a­tion, coach­ing and lead­er­ship skills for volunteers
• A part­ner­ship across local gov­ern­ment, churches and community
• Improved sense of com­munity belong­ing, spir­itu­al­ity, health and well-​​being
• An expan­ded body of know­ledge on coach­ing, ment­or­ing and strength­en­ing families

How is C.O.A.C.H. – Community Ment­or­ing funded?

C.O.A.C.H. – Community Ment­or­ing relies on dona­tions.
How Can I Get Involved?

There are three ways you can help fam­il­ies and the com­munity through C.O.A.C.H. – Community Mentoring:

• Volun­teer as a Coach (3 hours per week)
• Volun­teer as a Coach Leader (8 hours per week)
• Sup­port the work of C.O.A.C.H. (as an indi­vidual, group or through a busi­ness) using reg­u­lar KBC dir­ect debit facilities