Welcome to CLAN - Care Leavers Australia Network

During the CLAN protest on 5/3/10 at the headquarters of DHS, CLAN members were denied access to the DHS building and not allowed to use the coffee shop and toilets. We will not be deterred and protest again on 9th April in front of the DHS offices.

Write to Lisa Neville MP - Minister for Mental Health, Community Services and Senior Victorians and Victorian Premier John Brumby contact them on:

     Lisa Neville MP- lisa.neville@parliament.vic.gov.au

                             or to                     

                             Premier John Brumby MP: premier@dpc.vic.gov.au This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
            

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CLAN’s letter to Minister Lisa Neville of the treatment of CLAN members during the 5th March 2010 protest.

Dear Minister Neville,

I am writing on behalf of the CLAN members who attended the silent protest held outside the headquarters of DHS in Lonsdale Street on Friday 5 March. As you would know, in the two years that we have been conducting these protests at Parliament House, Melbourne, we have always conducted ourselves in a dignified and respectful manner.

In all that time there has not been one single incident of poor behaviour nor the slightest act that would cause a security concern.

We have a very good relationship with the Victorian Police and Security at Parliament House who know that we are law abiding citizens with no intention of breaking the law or creating any difficulties for people who need access to public or private property.

In that context, we were very sad to see the lengths your Department went to last Friday. The four security guards at the front door informed us that they had been directed by DHS to not allow CLAN protesters access to the building. There were also another 4 guards manning the other entry points as well.

Our elderly members were shocked and angry that they were not able to gain access to the building in order to buy a cup of coffee, get a drink of water or use the toilets. One of our members who attended was on crutches. Another was 82 years old. Many others are elderly. We were affronted by your Department's over-the-top and ill-considered response to a peaceful protest.

Not only that, but we are of the opinion that the Department's heavy-handed response to care leavers will actually inflame our members and almost certainly have the effect of encouraging more members to attend protests in the future. Our media contacts have informed us that there could be quite a story about an 82 year old warranting eight security officers to keep the peace.

We wish to inform you that our protests will go on despite your Department's heavy-handed attempt to deter us. We are not going away regardless of how many doors are locked in our faces. We have been treated far worse than being denied entry to your headquarters.

We respectfully urge you to instruct your senior officers in the clearest possible terms to re-think their approach when we protest again next month.

We look forward to your personal assurances in this matter.

Regards,
Leonie Sheedy
President

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Letter to Minister Neville by CLAN member, Nada

Dear Ms Neville,

I am writing to you about the Clan Protest on Friday the 5th of March outside DHS in Lonsdale St.

Were you so scared of us Ms Neville that security refused us entrance to toilets, coffee shop, we weren't even allowed to take our rubbish in.... your security told us to go 'somewhere else' for all of that.

What did you think we would do? Storm your office? Trash the building? Scream and yell? Burn the building down?

I think I am a bit too old for that, and I doubt that the seniors that were there were going to start a riot.

I am disabled, I had to walk back to a pub on the corner of Bourke and Exhibition St. I cannot use those strange toilets on the corner (I have a weird, pathological fear of them- it's not normal I know but they freak me out)

Haven't we suffered enough in care? That now you take even more of our dignity away by banning us from the building? For no reason-no excuse- nothing. It was humiliating!

You are the Minister for Mental Health - you showed no compassion to any of us. You are the Minister for Senior Victorians - you showed no compassion to any of the seniors that were there.

Try stepping into our shoes for a day; feel our pain, physical, mental and psychological. We hurt so badly and then to be embarrassed like that! I fight for my sanity every single day and when you get treated like that - it just makes it worse.

You should be ashamed of the way we were treated.

Kind Regards
CLAN member Nada

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Letter to Minister Justin Madden MP - Minister for Planning and Minister for the Respect Agenda by CLAN member, Nada

Contact Justin Madden MP on justin.madden@parliament.vic.gov.au

Dear Mr Madden,

You are the Minister for the Respect Agenda.

On Friday the 5th of March Forgotten Australians had a protest outside DHS in Lonsdale St Melbourne. You would know CLAN Mr Madden; you have seen us on many occasions outside Parliament House. Most of the Ministers go out of there way to dodge us.

Lisa Neville in her wisdom- had us banned from the building - no toilets, no coffee shops, no excuse, no reason and 4 security guards at all the doors and all they would say is- go somewhere else.

I am disabled- I was shown NO RESPECT!

The seniors were shown NO RESPECT!

We were hit with a massive downpour - those old folks hid in a corner of the building, they wouldn't let them in to shelter from the rain. NO RESPECT!

Is everyone so scared of us, that they can't see or hear us?

How much more Abuse, DISRESPECT and humiliation are we forced to endure?

I promise if your mum or nanna ever come knocking on my door- I will let them use my loo, and I will make them a cuppa, I will let them shelter from the rain. I will treat them with the RESPECT they deserve as human beings.

Shame on you all.

Kind Regards

CLAN member Nada

P.S CLAN Members vote too

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Letter to Minister Neville by CLAN member Mark

Dear Ms. Neville,

I write to you to seek clarification and an explanation for the action of security staff at 50 Lonsdale Street on Friday 5th March, 2010.

I am a member of CLAN (Care Leavers Australia Network) and as I am sure you are aware, I and other CLAN members were part of a silent protest at Lonsdale Street today. The purpose of our silent protests is to push for the resolution of numerous matters for all Forgotten Australians. Our protests are non-confrontational, peaceful by nature and attended by a diverse group of people, most in their fifth decade of life and beyond. We have protested with no incident in many locations across Melbourne and country Victoria, including on the steps of the Victorian Parliament.

Today we were actively barred from entering the common ground floor locations of the building at 50 Lonsdale Street by no less than 4 security staff. This is an outrage. This building is not, as I am informed, owned by The Department of Human Services (DHS), they are merely a tenant.

Please clarify how you and DHS feel you have the right, as a tenant, to direct security staff to exclude us from the common public locations of the foyer/lobby and adjacent shop. Please also explain just what it is you were afraid of with respect to these peaceful, and in some cases, quite elderly and frail people. Of course I assume security were directed too their task by your office as representative of DHS.

I am a law-abiding, tax paying, honest, passive member of the community. As a child I was beaten, demeaned, belittled, assaulted in every possible way, disregarded and told I was worthless whilst in Institutional care that the government of the day failed to appropriately oversee. You may recall Mr. Kevin Rudd PM. recently acknowledged and apologised to people like me, saying that we were no longer the Forgotten Australians but were now the Remembered Australians. You may consider the need to follow his sentiment. Today through the incident at the building of which DHS is a tenant, you through your office displayed exactly what you think of me.

If you want to know how I feel, consider the following adjectives which surface after the way in which I (and the other CLAN members) were treated today; ashamed, worthless, re-abused, demeaned, degraded, betrayed, belittled, discriminated and rejected.

I am ashamed of DHS and your own office’s unconscionable behaviour, and I urgently seek an apology, an explanation for your actions, and an assurance that such abominable action is never taken again against, as is clearly still evident, the Forgotten Australians.

Yours in disgust,
CLAN member Mark 

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To find out about joining CLAN and membership please click here!!!

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Click here to view photos of the Child Migrant Apology

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CLAN is happy to announce that from 01/02/10 there will be a counsellor, Natalie, at the CLAN office for ALL Care Leavers. Please ring the CLAN office to make an appointment for either Monday or Friday for telephone or face to face counselling.

Please note that you do not need to be a member of CLAN for the counselling service

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CLAN is approaching it's 10 year Anniversary and will be celebrating this wonderful achievement on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July 2010.

Watch this space for further details of the celebration.

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CLAN is gathering information for a booklet and is asking for reactions after the Federal Apology by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull.

Contact CLAN on 1800 008 774 or email support@clan.org.au

Tell us how you feel

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Respond to our survey asking:

"Do you want the Churches and Charities to be made accountable and provide a National Apology to all Care Leavers, similar to the National Apology by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd?"

CLICK HERE TO RESPOND

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Thank you for all the tireless efforts and support to all CLAN members and its supporters, with special thanks to Former Senator Andrew Murray, Richard Marles MP- Member for Corio, Jason Clare MP - Member for Blaxland, Jenny Macklin - Minister for Children, Senator Claire Moore, Senator Gary Humphries, Steve Irons MP – Member for Swan.

Visit the Thank You page on the on the menu on the left to see a list of the postal addresses to send thank you cards to our wonderful supporters.

DON'T FORGET CLAN'S NSW SOCIAL NEXT WEEK ON

ST PATRICKS DAY

SEE THE MEMBER'S SECTION AND YOUR NEWSLETTER FOR DETAILS