Ritchelle Drilon

Lived experience leadership is often treated as consultation. It should be treated as expertise. Across Australia, people with direct experience of social challenges are not only advising organisations. They are leading change, building new models, reshaping services and challenging systems that have failed communities for too long. This matters for every organisation working in the social sector. For years, institutions have asked people with lived experience to share their stories.

Leaving custody is a transition that begins well before release and continues long after a woman returns to the community. For many women, that transition is complex. It can involve finding safe housing, rebuilding family relationships, securing income, managing trauma, reconnecting with children and trying to find work with a criminal record. Without the right support, the path back into the community can be unstable and unsafe. That instability has consequences.

Traditionally, schools have relied on attendance records to identify disengaged students. However, by the time a young person consistently stops showing up to class, the fundamental disconnect has already occurred. A major cross-sector initiative is working to shift this reactive paradigm.