Our values
We believe every person has infinite worth.
Our values guide the way we behave towards our clients, our community and our team.
We hold respect for every pregnancy and every mother at the heart of our care.
We think and act with compassion in all facets of our interaction with families, team members and ourselves.
We value social justice and advocate for what is right.
We recognise diversity and incorporate appropriate measures to foster inclusion.
We believe in the empowerment of women and families through our services and conduct.
Our story
Our story began in the 1960s when our founder, Dr Philomena Joshua set up the first pregnancy support phone and emergency aid service out of her Box Hill family home.
In her time as a General Practitioner, Dr Joshua recognised that what pregnant women really needed was so much more than medical support.
‘She wanted to give the women choices so they didn’t feel they had to marry whoever the father was, because making a bad marriage was not a solution to their problem.’
1960s
Determined to support vulnerable pregnant women and mothers with babies, it was out of Dr Joshua’s house in Box Hill (Victoria) where a group of volunteers set up the first pregnancy support phone service.
Recognising the areas of need, the group expanded support to provision of basic baby essentials, counselling and home visitation programs.
A few years later, Mrs Pat Coffey (OA) living in Shepparton at the time, established a volunteer service also responding to the needs of pregnant women and mothers and their families.
1970s
Within a decade, the Melbourne and Shepparton networks would come together. Taking inspiration from Caroline Chisholm to become the incorporated, accredited and registered community service that it is today, carrying on in the spirit and intent of a group of women with a vision to make a difference in the lives of women and children.
About Caroline Chisholm
Our namesake, Caroline Chisholm was a changemaker successful in advocating for immigrant women and family welfare during the 19th century in Australia. Undoubtedly an Australian heroine, Chisholm was a social reformer dedicated to improving the living conditions of single women and women with children arriving in the new colony of New South Wales. Providing practical assistance including housing, work and social protection – as well as agitating for change on behalf of women and their children.
Our founders and Caroline Chisholm believed every family deserves support. For over 50 years, we’ve carried that vision forward – helping vulnerable Victorian families build stronger futures.
Today
Today, working across three sites in Victoria’s Western and North-Eastern regions, the Society is recognised for our specialisation in the field of family services, where we work to prevent the need for child protection involvement for thousands who might otherwise have entered or experienced the trauma of out of home care.
Our communities
What started in volunteers’ homes over 50 years ago has grown into three community-embedded across Victoria, located at Moonee Valley, Caroline Springs, and Goulburn Valley.
Our approach remains the same: sustainable local support for local families.
We acknowledge that our work takes place on the lands of the Wurundjeri, Bunurong, and Yorta Yorta People.
Learn more about our community sites below:
Moonee Valley
Our Essendon site, opened in 2017, provides a dedicated space for our practitioners and volunteers to provide and receive training sessions, as well as support operations of our material aid program. It’s also home to our Volunteer Knitters Group and hosts regular workshops for volunteers and members supporting our outreach work.
Caroline Springs
We have serviced the communities of Bacchus Marsh, Laverton, Caroline Springs and Sunbury since the 1980s and opened our Caroline Springs centre in 2010 to provide the much needed space for the delivery of our parenting programs and outreach services beyond in the inner western suburbs of Melbourne.
Since then, we have been expanding into the growing communities of Melton and Brimbank, meeting the needs of families where they need us.
With support from the City of Melton, we opened a Centre for Early Parenting and Childhood Programs in 2015, at what was once known as the Wirrigirri Preschool.
Goulburn Valley
In 1974, when the team of pregnancy support volunteers in Greater Shepparton led by Mrs Pat Coffey (OAM) joined forces with the volunteer team led by Dr Philomene Joshua in Melbourne, Caroline Chisholm Society was born.
Continuing the work of Goulburn Valley Pregnancy and Family Support, our work provides much needed support and material aid to mothers with complex needs seeking assistance, as well as social workers and agencies.
Based in the Greater City of Shepparton, our Goulburn Valley site has outreach across the Goulburn Valley including the communities of Numurkah, Nathalia, Kyabram, Tatura, Kialla, Echuca, Seymour, Euroa and Murchison.
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