Affirmative Model of Care

We work collaboratively with young people in supportive, person-centred and gender-affirming ways to honour their rights, their agency and their wellbeing. We listen to and believe young people when they tell us who they are and support them with access to spaces, opportunities and resources to explore and express themselves authentically.

Person-centred

This means that we work to empower the people within our communities to take control of their own lives in a safe, affirming space. It means that someone seeking our support is the person choosing the kind of support they want or need.

Constant Improvement

Our work and the values behind it are reviewed continuously within a culture of ongoing improvement. New knowledge and awareness is discovered every week. We welcome your feedback as an opportunity to reflect and evaluate.

Strengths-based

We know that people in our communities are resilient and inherently strong. We work to remind our communities that we are all important, strong and worth celebrating.

Evidence-based

Our work draws from our 40-year history along with the latest knowledge and better practice principles from peer-reviewed research.

On this page:

Our Safer Spaces Guidelines

Twenty10 recognises that we have the privilege of working with communities and individuals, who may often be in vulnerable circumstances. We have developed our Safer Spaces Guidelines to ensure that all folks who enter our spaces – both physical and digital – are able to feel included, supported, and safe.

While in our spaces, we ask that you follow the below guidelines:

  • No violence or abusive behaviour: We ask that people are not violent while they are in Twenty10’s online and physical spaces. We specify abusive behaviour (including racism, trolling, name-calling, personal attacks, etc.) as a form of violence as it is the one that occurs the most.

  • Sober space: We ask that folks are sober when they are at Twenty10 Inc. GLCS NSW. We ask that you consider the impact that alcohol and other drugs can have on your behaviour and judgement.

    In our digital spaces, we ask that you refrain from posting and commenting if you cannot guarantee a safe and respectful contribution towards online spaces while being impacted by the effects of alcohol and other drugs.

  • Consider the way your behaviour impacts others: This is about not getting defensive or otherwise acting like a jerk when someone wants to talk to you about something that you’ve said.
  • Don’t be mean to someone just because they are different to you: This is an invitation to consider the (often unconscious) assumptions you make when you first hear, see, or meet someone.

    When there are differences between one another, they can be opportunities to learn some new things and to have a try at thinking about things differently. They are also an opportunity to appreciate just how many ways there are of being in the world.

  • Clean up after yourself: Twenty10 Inc. GLCS NSW is a shared space, lots of people use it and need it. We ask that every person takes responsibility not only for cleaning up the mess they make, but also for taking care of this very special place so that we all can use it.
  • No kissing, cuddling, or intimate touching: We ask people not to touch one another while they are here. It is ok to hug and kiss your friends hello and goodbye – do check if it’s ok to do this, not everyone likes that kind of thing. We ask people not to touch one another because some forms of touching can bring up stuff for people, and result in them feeling awful. We see it as something special we can to do to make sure that everyone can have the opportunity to feel safe and included.

  • No discrimination: This is really similar to the ‘don’t be mean to someone because you think they are different to you’, but it goes beyond that to acknowledge that discrimination happens all the time in Australia and we do not want to perpetuate it while we are at Twenty10 Inc. GLCS NSW.

    Often discrimination is very subtle and not obvious, we think it’s really important to talk and learn about how discrimination works so that we can work toward interrupting and stopping it.

  • Respect each other: Showing respect can be done in lots of ways, for example: making sure to check and respect a person’s name and pronoun, speak from your own experiences by using the word “I…” rather than stating things as if they are facts, and avoiding criticising people.

  • Respect each other, staff, volunteers and the space

    Just as we ask you to respect each other, we ask you to respect our staff and volunteers who are giving their time and experience to make Twenty10 the organisation it is today. Respecting the space is about knowing that there is often a whole building full of people doing all kinds of work and having meetings and hanging out!

  • Don’t share personal, private and confidential things that people say with others: Please don’t share other people’s personal stories without their permission.

    When in our online spaces, consider that Twenty10 has public online platforms. Be aware of who might be reading things you are sharing about yourself.

What happens when a guideline is broken?

To help us all remember the guidelines and why we use them, we remind each other when we see they haven’t been followed. You can ask for support to do this from a volunteer or worker. If someone keeps breaking the guidelines or breaks them in a very serious way, there will be a formal process.

This includes a meeting with a worker or manager where you will be asked to complete an activity so that we know you can keep within the guidelines. This may include having a break from accessing Twenty10 Inc. GLCS NSW to ensure we are able to continue providing safe spaces for all folks.

    Your rights and responsibilities when accessing Twenty10

    You have rights and responsibilities while accessing Twenty10, whether that’s in person or online. If you think your rights are not being respected, you can make a complaint. If you don’t keep up with your responsibilities, there may be consequences that will be discussed with staff at the time.

    You have the right:

    • To have easily accessible information about your rights and responsibilities
    • To have your information kept private and confidential
    • To be treated with professionalism, dignity and respect free from judgement or discrimination
    • To a space free from abuse, neglect or harassment of any kind
    • To professional relationships with all staff and volunteers
    • To a space free from non-consensual touch
    • To access information about yourself
    • To understand what kind of services you will receive and how they will be provided
    • To choose which services you receive
    • To refuse specific services without losing access to our other services
    • To have an advocate present
    • To be involved in planning and evaluating services
    • To be involved in creating, reviewing and implementing your case plan, if you have one
    • To give feedback or make a complaint about services, staff or volunteers without the fear of retribution

    You have the responsibility:

    • To complete a New Client Form, attendance sheet, or similar when participating in events and programs
    • To follow the Safer Spaces Guidelines
    • To abide by the guidelines in your tenancy agreement, case plan or support agreement, if you have one
    • To respect the rights of others at Twenty10
    • To be accountable to the results of your behaviour and decisions while accessing services
    • To actively listen to people who approach you about your behaviour while making a reasonable effort to be open and considerate towards the feelings of others.
    • To take an active and collaborative approach when engaging with support workers, volunteers, and the services that are being provided.
    • To notify Twenty10 staff or volunteers if there are any reasons they may not be able to access spaces shared with children
    • To maintain hygiene and follow safe food handling practices when handling, preparing, serving or eating food or beverages at Twenty10.

    Use the buttons to download our full Service User Rights and Responsibilities policy in PDF or DOCX format.

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    LGBTIQA+, Diversity and the Language We Use

    Words are powerful. The words we choose to use or not use can include or exclude people, sometimes without our even realising it. It is a challenge to find language that is inclusive and respectful of the diversity in the communities with which we work.

    The Australian Government currently uses LGBTI when referring to people of diverse genders, sexualities and intersex status. Twenty10 acknowledges that the nuanced differences in identities and experience can never be fully reflected in an acronym.

    At Twenty10 our use of language is guided through ongoing critical reflection from and by our communities, service users, volunteers, stakeholders and staff.

    Our current language describes people of diverse genders, sexualities and/or intersex status, including but not limited to lesbian, gay, gender non-binary, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, asexual and more, LGBTIQA+. We acknowledge this acronym reflects Western understandings and privilege.

    Despite our best intentions, we are often better at recognising some identities than others. Many minority identities and individuals are erased, often unintentionally.

    This can include but is not limited to Brotherboys and Sistergirls, those with fluid or non-binary identities, those who do not use identity labels, those in regional, rural and remote areas, and those who identify as cisgender and heterosexual but may have intersex status or a trans* history.

    We strive to continue to challenge our own and other’s assumptions and to continue to re-evaluate our language as our communities continue to evolve.

    Twenty10 is committed to ensuring you know your rights and responsibilities as a service user, including the rights for children and young people when accessing our programs and services.

    Intersectionality and Social Justice

    Twenty10 is committed to improving the social justice in our communities.

    We recognise that people’s relationships, bodies, sexual orientations and gender identities are all part of larger social systems. They intersect with many other aspects of identity such as age, homelessness, ability, socio-economic status, geographic location, cultural and religious affiliation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, HIV status and more.

    Some groups in our society are rewarded and privileged while others are marginalised and oppressed. People who may be LGBTIQA+ often face considerable oppression by mainstream society. In rural communities, this oppression can be made worse due to isolation and fewer inclusive services.

    The types of oppression that we deal with directly – heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and intersexphobia – exist in conjunction with other types of oppression, such as racism, ableism, sexism, classism and poverty. The interconnected nature of oppression is called intersectionality. It means that we cannot easily separate all the different factors that might affect the individuals in our communities. For example, a white, cisgender gay man will have different experiences and needs than an Aboriginal, transfeminine queer person.

    Human rights are the rights that belong to everyone. Social justice is the pursuit of equal rights and equal opportunity for everyone in our community. Social justice seeks to redress the impact that social and economic inequalities have on both the people experiencing it and the wider community.