OUR STORY
CHASE is an innovative charity that aims to empower the next generation of young Victorians through health education and community engagement. We achieve this by partnering with schools and community organisations across Melbourne's most underprivileged suburbs.
OUR MISSION
To engage, educate and empower students to create healthier lives for themselves and the community.
OUR VISION
To create a movement of young people empowered to combat preventable disease.
OUR AIM
To educate students about preventative health and give them the tools to take control of the health of both themselves, and their community.
MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDERS
CHASE began as a response to what we, as medical students and junior doctors, witnessed in our overflowing public hospitals – numerous patients suffering the consequences of chronic diseases. We valiantly believed their problems, which took decades to manifest, could be fixed with a few days of careful medical attention, only to see them return weeks later, in another crisis.
We wanted to find solutions and looked to the community health worker model in developing nations such as India as our inspiration. Their principles of empowerment of the community, through education and mentorship, still resonate in the CHASE program today.
However, now CHASE means more than this. The goals of our organisation have evolved from health literacy to life literacy. The greatest achievements of our program are not only the student projects we help implement, but the students we help empower to become future community leaders. With their leadership, CHASE hopes for a brighter, healthier future for the Western suburbs of Melbourne, and all of Australia.
Dr Jenny Tran is a Lead Analyst at the Paul Ramsay Foundation where she helped to lead the COVID-19 response.
Dr Richard Liu is currently working as a Paediatric Registrar at the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network.
OUR VALUES
INTEGRITY
We demonstrate the courage and determination to do the right thing, always
We lead by example – with excellence, authenticity and transparency
INSPIRATION
We instill passion in our students and team to positively influence
We inspire our stakeholders to connect and synergise
INCLUSION
We ensure that students, irrespective of background, have access to the same opportunities
We create a safe community where diversity and unconditional respect are valued
AGENCY
We empower students to have a voice and to take ownership of their actions
We foster relationships of trust between secondary and tertiary students
DEVELOPMENT
We provide the opportunity, tools and potential to maximise individual potential
We continually expand our impact through reflection, innovation and cohesion
WHY YOUNG ADULTS?
The CHASE program was designed through an extensive consultation and co-design process with stakeholders across Victoria. Our project-based learning targets students on the cusp of a significant life transition and ready to establish positive long-term health and wellbeing practices.
Additionally, our program is designed to integrate seamlessly with the Victorian Certificate of Education’s Vocational Major (VCE-VM). By completing the CHASE Program, students are directly satisfying learning outcomes in the VCE-VM.
WHY THE NORTH-WESTERN SUBURBS
The burden of preventable disease in Australia is immense, costing the country up to $48.4 billion and 74,000 deaths annually.
CHASE works in various municipalities across Melbourne’s north and west. These areas, which include the Brimbank, Moonee Valley, Moreland and Melton municipalities, were selected as they are home to some of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals in broader Melbourne. Brimbank City, the second largest municipality in Melbourne and the region with greatest student participation in CHASE, is considered an area of relative disadvantage, driven by:
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The fourth highest unemployment rates in Victoria at 8.3%
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The highest proportion of people self-reporting poor health in Victoria
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The second lowest rate of English proficiency in Victoria
Health and community services in Melbourne’s north and west are also often underfunded and under-resourced. Coupled with strong population growth, this leads to higher rates of preventable and long-term chronic diseases in comparison to national averages. For example, up to 1 in 7 people in Melbourne’s west have type II diabetes, compared with 1 in 30 for the whole of Victoria.
