Reach Alliance 2024

In 2024, we are supporting three projects in Chile, Colombia and Australia.

Further details including information about the students’ research projects are coming soon. Information about our partners can be found below.

2023
Partner 1

Chile – Conecta, Recicla y Colabora

La Ciudad Posible aims to develop and strengthen at least 15 recycling cooperatives and the National Association of Recyclers of Chile (ANARCH) to serve as role models and references for other similar organizations. In doing so, they highlight the social, environmental, and economic opportunities that arise when integrating grassroots recyclers into the system. This work prioritizes increased material collection, cost-effective systems, and effective relationships with communities.

To achieve this, the focus is on enhancing the capabilities, infrastructure, and businesses of at least 15 recycling cooperatives and the National Association of Recyclers of Chile, with the goal of significantly increasing PET recycling rates and establishing their position among peers and decision-makers as a robust alternative for integration into formal recycling systems, in line with current national legislation and international standards.

Partner 2

Colombia – Semillas de Apego

Semillas de Apego aims to foster the healthy child-parent attachments that promote healthy emotional development in the midst of adverse circumstances. For this purpose, the program has three specific objectives: (1) assist victimized mothers and primary caregivers in processing their own trauma; (2) allow a proper understanding of the child’s development trajectories and how they are affected by the exposure to adverse events; (3) foster child-rearing good practices.

This innovation was developed in 2015 by the University of los Andes in communities affected by extreme adversities including violence, forced displacement, migration and conflict. Toxic stress affects children’s mental health, brain architecture, skill acquisition, and socioemotional development. It can therefore derail the life trajectories of children in Colombia who have been affected by forced displacement, including amongst populations who have migrated from Venezuela.

Partner 3

Australia – Elders for Change

Elders for Change is a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders who have partnered with the Australian Red Cross to address the social, cultural and mental health needs of women serving time in the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre. As the northernmost women’s prison in Queensland, women are sent to this facility from across a large geographical region spanning the entire Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait Islands.

Elders for Change has worked with the Red Cross to build a prisoner support network now known as Sisters for Change. Participating Elders, prisoners and prison staff receive culturally located Mental Health First Aid training by the Red Cross, alongside communication and health support skill-building sessions. The Sisters for Change model is an innovative way of working with women in prison. Rather than treating incarcerated women as ‘risks’ or ‘problems’, this program taps into their strengths and builds their sense of agency and empowers them to make positive changes in their lives and environment. They move from being judged for their crimes, to being thanked for their actions.

2023