UnitingCare - Cutting Edge (UCCE) is a frontline rural support agency, working with marginalised communities of disadvantage in the North-East. It prides itself in its commitment to the provision of and advocacy for high quality services and environmental sustainability for rurally isolated communities within the region. UCCE also operates as a referral agency for a wide range of welfare and support services throughout the region. The aim of UCCE is to empower our clients to successfully manage their own lives, it is a client focused agency which seeks to support young people in the family context.
The agency pursues this mission by the provision of "Cutting Edge" programs, and targets activities for the most marginanlised groups within the region. UCCE has an established approach of identifying emerging needs and dislocations, particularly among non-mainstream groups within communities, and using processes of engagement to secure effective solutions. As its name suggests, UCCE likes to be in the forefront in coming to grips with new social problems, and devising practical solutions which need not be conventional.
UCCE is about systemic change. This links with its commitment to social justice. UCCE is a policy oriented institution. It is a vehicle driving social change at local, state and federal levels, as well as a program based care agency. From its inception and the establishment of the original Board, UCCE has had this stance and had this passion, with a tradition of its people being ‘calculated risk takers'.
Our Vision:
An inclusive community where all are valued and supported to participate fully in life.
Our Mission:
Serving People, Building Communities, Unlocking Full Potential
Our Values:
- A Focus on Disadvantage
- Having particular concern for people who are vulnerable, poor and marginalised.
- Social Justice
- Promoting, equity, human rights, participation and access for all.
- Empowerment
- Seeking to build on people's strengths and enabling people to speak and act for themselves.
- Respect
- Respecting the contribution of all involved in our network, valuing diversity and promoting inclusion.
- Working Holistically
- Responding to the total circumstances of those we serve, promoting wholeness by working at all levels
- Pursuing Innovation
- Continually examining our services and programs to ensure they are cutting edge responses to human need.
- Striving to do better
- Undertaking ongoing research, evaluation and quality improvement.
Our Faith:
Seeking to share in the love and purpose of God, respecting spiritual beliefs, we strive to address injustice and to offer reconciliation and hope.
Our Background:
In the mid 1990s, the Uniting Church commissioned research into the needs of young people in the Goulburn Valley. The research found that there was a relative lack of services available for young people given their needs. This was shown by the number of young people in the Juvenile Justice system, the number of call to Kids Help Line and the number of reports to Child Protection Services. So the Uniting Church set up Cutting Edge Youth Services in 1996. In 2001, all of the Uniting Church's community services in Australia were placed under one umbrella organisation, so CEYS became Cutting Edge Youth Services - UnitingCare. This means that CEYS is an independent organisation but has the backup of a nation-wide network in its advocacy for rurally isolated communities within the region and their needs.
Today, are now known as UnitingCare - Cutting Edge.