Ms Louise Rak
Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
- Email:louise.rak@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 40339231
Working to help care leavers access higher education
Developing and implementing a revolutionary program, Louise Rak is breaking down barriers to higher education for students from an out of home care (OOHC) background.
Over a decade of professional experience in community service roles across the Hunter has well-equipped Louise to implement a new program that is the first of its kind in Australia and internationally.
Live, Learn, Grow launched as a pilot program in 2016 and is providing students from a care experience with a range of tailored support services.
The program was developed in consultation with representatives across the sector and identifies some of the known issues that prevent care-leavers from accessing higher education.
“We’ve learnt that support systems, relocating and finances are some of the factors that have a huge impact on the decision to go on to higher education,” Louise said.
“Through the program, we provide subsidised on-campus accommodation and supported employment for the students who want it. We also created an on-campus role to help students navigate university systems and processes throughout the year.”
“All of our 2016 participants indicated that they wouldn't of made it past the first four weeks of University had it not of been for the support of the program, in particular, the individual support offered by our designated mentor role. We’ve been able to secure employment for those who were interested and heard anecdotal feedback that some students wouldn’t have considered going to university if it wasn’t for the program,” she added.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
Louise’s focus is also broader than just a student level. She is working to create systemic changes across institutions, organisations and policies.
“The program has involved an active consultation group made up of government and non-government groups. We’ve also held on-campus days for people in care and caseworkers and we continue to talk with agencies to develop better ways of passing information along to better support the kids they are working with,” Louise said.
“By engaging these different cohorts in the program, carers, case workers and agencies are starting to think about how they are incorporating and communicating the importance of education into their work.”
“The program has been able to provide information to both students, carers and case/care workers about going to university and how to support education pathways, which is hopefully the start of a systemic change in how information is shared and accessed,” she added.
In 2017 the program is looking to work with young people in care, their carers and OOHC agencies to develop new areas of research that will better inform practice. This research and the educational outcomes will be guided and co-designed by those living and working directly in OOHC to reflect the realities and complexities of the system.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
There are no real limits on the possibilities for Live, Learn, Grow as a model to be taken up by other universities or adapted for other underrepresented groups in higher education.
“Ultimately we would like to see the program grow and become a fixture at the University of Newcastle (UON) and all other Australian universities,” Louise said.
“We’ve seen the potential the program is having and the difference it is making to the participant’s outlook of their future,” she added.
As Widening Participation Programs Manager, Louise is looking to affect positive change in other equity groups as well.
“My role is quite diverse and varied. As well as overseeing Live, Learn, Grow, I also manage the other widening participation programs provided by the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE),” she said.
The programs cater for students at all stages of school, and are also moving towards supporting university students from diverse backgrounds, such as a refugee experience.
“Through these programs we are able to reach thousands of people every year and inform students and community members about their options for life long learning,” Louise said.
“There is still a lot we could be doing at an institutional level to change certain processes and services to ensure all students can access and successfully participate in higher education. We’re really striving to ensure the right foundations are set so students are properly supported into and throughout higher education according to their individual circumstances,” she added.
Live, Learn, Grow was initially funded by a Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP) 2016 National Priorities Pool Grant and is now fully supported by CEEHE and UON.
Working to help care leavers access higher education
Louise Rak is the Widening Participation Programs Manager and Project Lead for the Live Learn Grow Program at the University of Newcastle, Australia
Career Summary
Biography
Louise Rak is Widening Participation Programs Manager for the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education. In addition to managing stakeholder relationships and the strategic development of programs, Louise is also Program Developer for the Live, Learn, Grow project that supports students from an out of home care experience to access higher education.
Prior to her current roles, Louise was Operations Manager – Community Services at CatholicCare Social Services Hunter Manning where she was responsible for the operational and financial management of four program areas that involved working with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people within society.
Her time as Early Intervention and Intensive Support Manager at CatholicCare Social Services Hunter Manning also saw Louise develop and implement another program first that assisted young people exiting court ordered care to find housing and develop living skills that supported a smoother transition into adulthood.
Louise’s extensive experience in community services has driven her commitment to equity and social justice within the higher education sector. She believes that access to and participation in higher education is one of the most powerful ways to ensure a nation’s social equity, cultural cohesion and respect for difference.
Qualifications
- Master of Counselling, University of New England
- Bachelor of Social Science, University of Newcastle
- Graduate Diploma in Social Science (Psychology), University of New England
- Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, University of New England
- Grad Diploma in Counselling for Health&Social Care, University of New England
- Graduate Certificate in Business, University of Southern Queensland
Keywords
- community development
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
Title | Organisation / Department |
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Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci Australia |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Book (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
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2023 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, Krogh C, McCarthy S, Stuart G, Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program, Routledge, London (2023) [A1]
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Nova |
Chapter (10 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
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2023 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, Stuart G, 'Choice, change, and identity', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 272-298 (2023) This chapter considers the role of choice, change, and identity in youth violence. It presents a selective overview of theories and practice perspectives that emphasise choice in ... [more] This chapter considers the role of choice, change, and identity in youth violence. It presents a selective overview of theories and practice perspectives that emphasise choice in positioning young people in readiness for change towards positive identities and outcomes of desistance. It describes the ways in which the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program has embraced the idea of identity migration and the use of mindfulness strategies to support self-awareness and self-regulation in readiness for moving towards new ideas of what¿s possible to know and do.
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2023 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, Krogh C, 'Trauma, culture, and youth violence', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 110-138 (2023) This chapter explores the importance of a trauma-informed and culturally safe approach to working with youth violence. It provides an overview of evidence regarding trauma among j... [more] This chapter explores the importance of a trauma-informed and culturally safe approach to working with youth violence. It provides an overview of evidence regarding trauma among justice-involved youth, acknowledging the over-representation of Aboriginal young people in justice cohorts. Narratives of Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) participants are shared alongside this evidence. The chapter demonstrates how a trauma-informed and culturally safe approach is foregrounded in NNN by using visual methods and narrative storytelling to forge connections with the young people we work with.
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2023 |
Rak L, Blakemore T, Stuart G, Krogh C, McCarthy S, 'The Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 83-109 (2023) This chapter describes the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program for youth violence. It sketches NNN¿s development, core components, and theory and outlines its embedded action rese... [more] This chapter describes the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program for youth violence. It sketches NNN¿s development, core components, and theory and outlines its embedded action research strategy, describing how a community-based participatory (action) research framework has been important in designing NNN and its ongoing continuous improvement. The methods of data capture and analysis used to elucidate the reflections presented in this book are identified and discussed. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of evaluation of NNN and the ethical issues considered and attended to in its design and delivery.
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2023 |
McCarthy S, Blakemore T, Rak L, 'Justice responses to youth violence', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 26-52 (2023) This chapter explores justice responses to youth violence. It outlines legal processes and describes findings from the literature on young people¿s experience of the legal system.... [more] This chapter explores justice responses to youth violence. It outlines legal processes and describes findings from the literature on young people¿s experience of the legal system. Young people with a lived experience of the justice system provide commentary on this literature, sometimes challenging taken-for-granted assumptions and presenting firsthand accounts of navigating the justice system.
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2023 |
Rak L, Krogh C, Blakemore T, 'Invalidation, voice, and connection', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 168-193 (2023) This chapter discusses invalidation in young people¿s lives and its connection with violence. It critically reviews the existing evidence base alongside reflection from participan... [more] This chapter discusses invalidation in young people¿s lives and its connection with violence. It critically reviews the existing evidence base alongside reflection from participants and practitioners and showcases positive and practical responses to invalidation including reciprocal communication and strategies that give young people an opportunity to be heard. This chapter introduces the use of ¿Postcards to Practice¿ tool developed in the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program as a means of validating and giving voice to often invisible, ignored, or invalidated experiences. Text boxes provide in-situ images of this work.
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2023 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, Stuart G, 'Power, control, and agency', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 220-245 (2023) This chapter considers the role of power and control in youth violence. It observes that young people who use violence both enact and experience power and control, often in interc... [more] This chapter considers the role of power and control in youth violence. It observes that young people who use violence both enact and experience power and control, often in interconnected ways. In this chapter, we ponder the role of power and control in work with youth violence and explore how the use of a power-with approach to practice in the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program has strengthened our understanding of youth violence.
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2023 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, Krogh C, 'Practice responses to youth violence', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 53-82 (2023) This chapter explores practice responses to youth violence. The voice of practitioners bookend the chapter, situating a review of evidence for practice with youth violence in the ... [more] This chapter explores practice responses to youth violence. The voice of practitioners bookend the chapter, situating a review of evidence for practice with youth violence in the realities of frontline practitioners. The chapter contemplates the aims and objectives of practice with youth violence, examining how concepts of risk, need, responsivity, desistence, and change shape practice approach. It briefly describes different interventions used with young people who use violence and tensions that exist between notions of efficacy (what works) and effectiveness (why and how it works).
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2023 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, 'Emotional recognition, regulation, and relationality', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 139-167 (2023) This chapter considers the role of emotions in young people¿s use of violence. It provides an overview of evidence suggesting young people who use violence may experience difficul... [more] This chapter considers the role of emotions in young people¿s use of violence. It provides an overview of evidence suggesting young people who use violence may experience difficulties with emotional recognition and regulation and shares practitioner reflections on how justice-involved young people in the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program for youth violence express, experience, and engage with emotions. It also shows emotions as relationally, contextually, and culturally bound and shows how this awareness informs a relationship-based approach to practice. The chapter concludes by highlighting how NNN uses visual methodologies including Photovoice to stimulate narrative storytelling towards a shared understanding of experience and emotion.
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2023 |
Rak L, Blakemore T, 'Youth violence, complexity, and context', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 1-25 (2023) Youth violence is a uniquely challenging, yet seemingly ubiquitous, context for contemporary social work and human services. The use and experience of violence by young people are... [more] Youth violence is a uniquely challenging, yet seemingly ubiquitous, context for contemporary social work and human services. The use and experience of violence by young people are often intertwined and commonly associated with individual, familial, and community experiences of disconnection and disadvantage. This chapter outlines issues of definition and terminology, scope and scale as well as conceptualisation and understandings of youth violence. Existing evidence is complemented with commentary from practitioners, collected as part of pilot work preceding the development of the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program for youth violence.
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2023 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, 'Empathy expressed and experienced', Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program 194-219 (2023) This chapter discusses empathy and its relevance to youth violence. It provides an overview of the ways empathy has been conceptualised and the theorised links between empathy and... [more] This chapter discusses empathy and its relevance to youth violence. It provides an overview of the ways empathy has been conceptualised and the theorised links between empathy and youth violence. It considers how young people who use and experience violence articulate empathy and how this is shaped by context and circumstance. The chapter describes the person-centred, social empathy-informed approach used in the Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program. It provides examples of experiential learning activities used and the narratives they elicited from young people. These narratives challenge taken-for-granted assumptions about the potential role of empathy in youth violence.
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Show 7 more chapters |
Journal article (5 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
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2023 |
Rak L, Warton T, 'His, hers and theirs: comparative narratives from young people who use violence', Safer Communities, 22 42-55 (2023) [C1]
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Nova | |||||||||
2022 | Rak L, 'Making the invisible, visible: Seeking the voices of justice involved young women in homelessness discourse', Parity, 35 (2022) | ||||||||||
2022 |
Blakemore T, Randall E, Rak L, Cocuzzoli F, 'Deep Listening and Relationality: Cross-cultural Reflections on Practice With Young Women Who Use Violence', Australian Social Work, 75 304-316 (2022) [C1] Young women who use violence in their interpersonal, family, and domestic relationships commonly exist as a cross-over cohort, simultaneously victims and perpetrators, characteris... [more] Young women who use violence in their interpersonal, family, and domestic relationships commonly exist as a cross-over cohort, simultaneously victims and perpetrators, characteristically disadvantaged and disengaged and lacking accessible trauma-informed and culturally responsive interventions. This paper presents cross-cultural reflections on work with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal young women who use violence. It explores the tensions in this work of honouring histories and context and acknowledging female agency, choice and control. Informed by Yarning processes, the paper intentionally foregrounds Aboriginal knowledge and experience. In doing so, it highlights the power and potential of Deep Listening and relational practice for recognising the impact(s) of trauma resulting from intergenerational intersections of gendered oppression, structural racism, and social inequalities as drivers of female violence. IMPLICATIONS Aboriginal ways of knowing and doing have important contributions to make to practice with young female perpetrators of violence Deep Listening and relational approaches can support safety and connection necessary for healing, change, and growth.
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Nova | |||||||||
2018 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, Agllias K, Mallett X, McCarthy S, 'Crime and context: Understandings of youth perpetrated interpersonal violence among service providers in regional Australia', Journal of Applied Youth Studies, 2 53-69 (2018) [C1]
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Nova | |||||||||
Show 2 more journal articles |
Conference (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2019 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, 'Name, Narrate, Navigate: A pilot program for young people who perpetrate family and domestic violence.', Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide South Australia. (2019)
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Presentation (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2022 |
Blakemore T, Rak L, 'Invited presentation: Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare Victoria : NNN Program Snapshots', (2022)
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2021 | Rak L, 'Keynote presentation: Public Cultures of Female Violence Symposium : Deep Listening and Relationality.', (2021) |
Report (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2021 |
Blakemore T, McCarthy S, Rak L, McGregor J, Stuart G, Krogh C, 'Postcards from practice: Initial learnings from Name.Narrate.Navigate.', The Department of Social Services, 42 (2021)
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2017 |
Rak L, Fuller E, Munn B, Blakemore TJ, 'Live, Learn, Grow : Final Report', Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme, (HEPPP), 2015 National Priorities Pool, 25 (2017)
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Grants and Funding
Summary
Number of grants | 8 |
---|---|
Total funding | $3,337,142 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20232 grants / $1,045,455
Smart City Innovation Challenge 2 – Safer Public Spaces for Women and Girls – Proof of Concept (Phase 3)$1,000,000
Funding body: Transport for NSW
Funding body | Transport for NSW |
---|---|
Project Team | Professor Paul Egglestone, Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Associate Professor Jon Drummond, Ms Louise Rak |
Scheme | Smart Places Acceleration Program – Safer Public Spaces for Women and Girls |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2023 |
Funding Finish | 2025 |
GNo | G2300914 |
Type Of Funding | C1600 - Aust Competitive - StateTerritory Govt |
Category | 1600 |
UON | Y |
Open Adytum $45,455
Funding body: NSW Department of Planning and Environment
Funding body | NSW Department of Planning and Environment |
---|---|
Project Team | Professor Paul Egglestone, Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Ms Louise Rak |
Scheme | Smart Places Acceleration Program – Safer Public Spaces for Women and Girls |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2023 |
Funding Finish | 2023 |
GNo | G2201085 |
Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
Category | 2300 |
UON | Y |
20222 grants / $724,334
The Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) Program$599,334
Funding body: Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Funding body | Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Doctor Chris Krogh, Doctor Shaun McCarthy, Ms Louise Rak, Doctor Graeme Stuart |
Scheme | Safer Communities Fund |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2022 |
Funding Finish | 2024 |
GNo | G2101000 |
Type Of Funding | C1500 - Aust Competitive - Commonwealth Other |
Category | 1500 |
UON | Y |
“Now.See.Hear” A trauma-informed and culturally-safe screening tool for justice-involved youth $125,000
Funding body: NSW Department of Communities and Justice
Funding body | NSW Department of Communities and Justice |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Doctor Shaun McCarthy, Doctor Karen Menzies, Ms Louise Rak, Ms Elsie Randall, Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh |
Scheme | Access to Justice Innovation Fund |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2022 |
Funding Finish | 2022 |
GNo | G2200070 |
Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
Category | 2300 |
UON | Y |
20212 grants / $558,955
Name. Narrate. Navigate: Practice Pathways Program$545,455
Funding body: Westpac Banking Corporation
Funding body | Westpac Banking Corporation |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Doctor Chris Krogh, Doctor Shaun McCarthy, Ms Louise Rak, Doctor Graeme Stuart |
Scheme | Impact Grants |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2021 |
Funding Finish | 2024 |
GNo | G2100846 |
Type Of Funding | C1700 - Aust Competitive - Other |
Category | 1700 |
UON | Y |
Public Cultures of Female Violence$13,500
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Dr Tamara Blakemore (Lead); Dr Chris Krogh; Dr Xanthe Mallett; Dr Louise Rak and Mr Shaun Mallett (FBL) |
Scheme | Strategic Network and Pilot Project Grants Scheme |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2021 |
Funding Finish | 2021 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20181 grants / $872,361
Perpetrator Package - Young Perpetrators activity$872,361
Funding body: Department of Social Services
Funding body | Department of Social Services |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Doctor Kylie Agllias, Doctor Graeme Stuart, Doctor Shaun McCarthy, Doctor Chris Krogh, Ms Louise Rak, Professor Penny Jane Burke, Steve Larkin, Doctor Joel McGregor |
Scheme | Community Grants Hub |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2018 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | G1800632 |
Type Of Funding | C2200 - Aust Commonwealth – Other |
Category | 2200 |
UON | Y |
20161 grants / $136,037
Live Learn Grow$136,037
Funding body: Department of Education
Funding body | Department of Education |
---|---|
Project Team | Ms Louise Rak, Ms Belinda Munn, Doctor Tamara Blakemore |
Scheme | Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2016 |
Funding Finish | 2016 |
GNo | G1600142 |
Type Of Funding | C2110 - Aust Commonwealth - Own Purpose |
Category | 2110 |
UON | Y |
News
News • 24 Mar 2022
Program receives funding to continue work to address youth violence
The University of Newcastle’s Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN) program has been awarded a grant of $599,335 from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources; Safer Communities Fund. Announced by the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Karen Andrews MP, this grant brings total funding for the program to over $2 million.
News • 22 Aug 2016
Campus Visit for students in Out-of-home-care
An on-campus experience is being held at the University of Newcastle's (UON) Central Coast campus on September 20 for young people currently in out-of-home-care (OOHC).
Ms Louise Rak
Position
Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
College of Human and Social Futures
Contact Details
louise.rak@newcastle.edu.au | |
Phone | (02) 40339231 |
Fax | (02) 40339231 |
Office
Room | MCG.24D |
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