Wellbeing & Culture
Understanding The Orange Door: Support for Families and Wellbeing
Today I would love to highlight a wonderful community service available to our community. Orange door is a service that offers a holistic approach to families that need more support.
At times, life can be challenging for children and families. When families face stress, safety concerns, or difficulties at home, it’s important to know where to go for support. The Orange Door is a free, community-based service in Victoria that offers help for families who need support with the care and wellbeing of children and young people as well as people experiencing family violence.
What is The Orange Door? The Orange Door is a welcoming and safe place where adults, young people and children can find support without needing a referral. It brings together specialist workers from different services so that people can get the help they need without having to tell their story over and over again to multiple services.
Who Can Access Support? The Orange Door supports a wide range of people, including:
- Adults, children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced family violence, including controlling or unsafe behaviours.
- Families needing help with concerns about the care, wellbeing or development of their children.
- Children and young people who may feel unsafe at home or worried about someone close to them.
- People who use or are at risk of using harmful or violent behaviour, who want support to change their behaviour.
What Kinds of Support Are Offered? When someone contacts The Orange Door, staff will listen to their concerns and work with them to identify the right type of support. This may include:
- Connecting families and children with ongoing services such as counselling, parenting support, financial counselling, or housing assistance.
- Assistance with practical needs, including access to programs that help with everyday challenges.
- Support for children and young people to feel safe, heard and connected to age-appropriate services.
- Safety planning and help to manage risk and immediate concerns.
The Orange Door can be accessed in person, by phone, email, or through professionals like teachers, health workers or Wellbeing, and you do not need a referral to get support.
Why This Matters For children and families in our school community, knowing about The Orange Door means knowing there is support available during tough times. Whether families need help with safety, stress, family relationships, or concerns about a child’s wellbeing, The Orange Door exists to connect people with the right support and make it easier to get help when it’s needed.
If you or someone you know might benefit from support, you can find your nearest Orange Door or contact them to learn more about how they can help.
Hayley, Kelly and Jordan