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Voices for Change

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Fitzroy, VIC
Voices for Change

Self-advocates with Acquired Brain Injury transforming the criminal justice system Our community is overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

We are peers who have sustained an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and who have had contact with the criminal justice system. You can hire us to speak about improvements we think are needed in the system. We have lived experience expertise.

30/08/2026

Our member, Mike, just visited the Koori Court to deliver our new ABI-justice training. The training is a good introduction to understanding Acquired Brain Injury and its connection to the criminal justice system. Get in touch if your organisation would benefit from this training and we can make a time to visit you.

Mike is pictured here with Pauline and Shirley from the Koori Court. We had a conversation with them afterwards about the importance of an ABI identity card. We are looking into getting more information for them about the National Assistance Card.

Thanks to everyone at Koori Court for your warm welcome.

13/08/2026

We feel better now that we have seen ourselves speaking on the telly last night

It was a good day yesterday at the NO AIR IN PRISON rally because there were a lot of people there showing up against this human rights abuse.

We are behind the GELLUNG WARL | First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria submission to the Victorian Government that calls for the bill to be withdrawn immediately.

Support this human rights movement to show your opposition to this move by Victorian Labor which would grant ongoing suspension to rights enshrined in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and flout international minimum standards set for prisoners, rules named after Nelson Mandela.

The VIC Labor Party argues that this change is necessary to prevent lawsuits when open-air access is denied. Voices for Change says that access to sunlight and fresh air, which gives hope for the future, should not be dependent on an operational decision.

This is yet another move by a heavy-handed, law-and-order government that will disproportionately impact First Nations people, people with Acquired Brain Injury, and others needing holistic care and hope for the future, not practises of torture. We have only just learned of the tragic death of young adult, Tarsha Golightly, who advocates claim could have been adversely impacted by rolling lockdown at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. RIP, Tarsha 🌺

Stay abreast of this movement for real justice and care in Victoria by supporting: First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria + Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service - VALS + Fitzroy Legal Service + Inner Melbourne Community Legal + Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria + Flat Out Inc

For more information: https://lnkd.in/gJFXgZqe

09/08/2026

Join us at this rally on Wednesday. We will be speaking. We will be sharing how important a bit of sunlight on your face is when you're doing time. It connects you to the outside and gives you hope to keep going. See you there.

30/07/2026

We went to North Richmond Community Health centre this week to talk about Acquired Brain Injury and its many causes. Overdose, due to lack of oxygen to the brain, is a major cause of ABI. We like to educate people about that and always encourage people to carry Naloxone and be safe.

We talked about how the way people can be affected by ABI is often also criminalised - police might think we are under the influence because of the way we walk and talk. Or we might be short-tempered and impulsive, being seen as aggressive. There is a lot of education that needs to happen across the criminal justice system about the ways ABI affects our community.

We spoke to people who use the Medically Supervised Injecting Room service and we heard their stories. We have a lot of the same life experiences. We were happy to put on some lunch for them and share some of our videos, too.

The stories we heard were powerful and moving. When people come together in a group and are able to talk about some of their challenges in life, it helps everyone involved. It’s healing and empowering.

Thanks to North Richmond for welcoming us. The NRCH staff provide essential, life-saving, and wrap-around health support, as well as education, to many people in Melbourne. Thank you for all you do for our friends and everyone in Melbourne who benefits from your services.

voices-for-change.org

Victoria Police
Victorian Department of Health

24/07/2026

Our new ABI-justice training continues to find an audience with our friends in the justice advocacy movement. Fran shared some informative and practical information with staff at Flat Out Inc this week. Our Prison Pamphlet continues to be a hit in our training and we are looking forward to taking it to the women at Tarrengower in the next couple of months. Thanks to Karen and everyone at Flat Out for having us 🌺

11/07/2026

Our new training went to the staff at the Medically Supervised Injecting Room this week North Richmond Community Health.

The MSIR really helps people and the staff work really hard. They save lives by helping people who have overdosed. Lack of oxygen to the brain when you overdose is a major cause of Acquired Brain Injury.

We are looking forward to returning to the service soon to share our training with service users.

19/05/2026

Hi friends,

We’ve been away for a while, busy designing some fresh new training!

With our training, we want to reach as many people as possible that have experienced any of the causes of Acquired Brain Injury and who also have lived experience of the criminal justice system.

Our training is a perfect introduction to the basics of ABI and its relationship to the criminal justice system. It’s really accessible and we like to make sure our audience gets involved in our sessions as well.

This month we have delivered our training to the lived experience panel at ACSO and we are really looking forward to meeting new people at North Richmond Community Health soon.

We are now taking bookings for July, so drop us an enquiry via our website. The link is in our bio.

This picture is of us after scones, cream and jam, followed by a nice pot of tea, at VALID this morning. They know how to put on a good spread!

06/02/2026

We've just been chatting to Emily and Simon from the Centre for Innovative Justice about voting rights in prison.

We shared our lived experience of how easy or difficult it was to vote while we were doing time.

We hope our views shape the review currently underway by the Victorian government on voting accessibility for people with disability.

Voices for Change continues to be an essential voice in any discussion and policy formation that affects people with Acquired Brain Injury in the criminal justice system.

Hire us to help shape your policy or workplace process or enquire about our training we are currently designing.

Thanks for supporting Voices for Change

voices-for-change.org

23/12/2025

Voices for Change headed down to the Geelong Showgrounds to set up a stall during the ‘Men’s Mental Health Family Day’ gathering organised by the Mental Health Militia Foundation. It was great to get out and talk to people about our group and the kind of lived experience advocacy we do. We hope to take part in more of these kinds of events in the future.

The atmosphere was really positive at the Showgrounds and it was great to be a part of such a good initiative. The organising team did a great job bringing it all together for the community. Thanks for having us!

09/12/2025

Our member, Francesca, joined the health-justice partnership national community in Sydney last week as they got together for some transformative learnings across the sector.

Fran held the audience's attention as she shared how her own story has made an impact on the work she does with Voices for Change.

We hope the audience was inspired to see the power lived experience advocacy makes to create systemic change and that they will encourage more of it in their organisations.

Fran shared how it can be difficult to share your story as it can be painful at times, but she is proud of the stories Voices for Change shared this year in their fantastic podcast, All Been Inside, despite her initial nervousness.

Thanks to old and new friends at Health Justice Australia 2025. A great bunch of people across the country doing important work bridging the gap between the health and justice sectors for Australia's service users.

Thank-you for extending the welcome to Francesca and Voices for Change.

Search for 'All Been Inside' podcast or visit voices-for-change.org

Address

Fitzroy Legal Service, Level 4, 201 Napier Street
Fitzroy, VIC
3065

Opening Hours

Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+41439730613

Website

http://voices-for-change.org/

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