Zig Zag is a service for young women, trans and gender diverse young people aged 12 – 25 who have been impacted by sexual violence or need housing support and advocacy. We offer free, confidential and voluntary support for young people.
Zig Zag’s service delivery model
Zig Zag has a centralised Intake and Brief Support team who respond to all initial support enquiries and incoming referrals. The intake team then refer the young person to either the Housing Support Program or the Sexual Assault Support Program if longer term, more intensive supports are required.
The Intake and Brief Support team also provide young people immediate, brief and solution focused support and information, mobile outreach support, advocacy and referrals to other essential services (e.g. housing, financial, emergency relief, legal, drug and alcohol, parenting and health services).
We do not run ‘wait lists’ at Zig Zag, we triage support for young people based on their level of need, marginalisation, and assessment of safety and risk concerns.
Our support services
Sexual Assault Support Program
The Sexual Assault Support team acknowledges that more ‘traditional’ forms of counselling can be exclusionary and culturally unsafe for some young people, particularly young people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Some young people might have experienced a sexual assault and prefer not to talk about it but still need support in other areas of their life. That is completely ok!
We use a relationship-based approach that recognises young people as experts in their own lives and we meet young people where they are at, with care, without judgement, and with a commitment to building trust and safety. Through relationship, young people are best able to share their experiences of what is happening in their life and what support might be most helpful for them.
Sexual Assault Support Workers at Zig Zag use a flexible, supportive approach. This might look like:
Housing Support Program
Housing Support at Zig Zag is holistic, responsive and flexible. We use an outreach and mobile support-based model to meet with young people in the community and understand that young people experiencing housing injustice and instability are often dealing with a range of other barriers and issues in their life – it never sits in isolation!
Alongside our mobile support services, we manage a Supported Accommodation Program and support nine units of housing across the Brisbane South region. Our accommodation program is prioritised for young women, trans and gender diverse young people who are parenting.
Please note, we do not provide ‘crisis accommodation’. Our housing program is duration of need, and vacancies are advertised on the Queensland Homelessness Information Platform (QHIP).
Housing Support and Advocacy Workers at Zig Zag can:
