Advance Diversity Services (ADS) started their work in 1981 as a not-for-profit organisation focusing on migrants and refugees, people from CALD backgrounds, and with a focus on older persons, community development and disability.
Their work expanded as they aimed to improve their inclusive practice to support migrant and refugee clients from the LGBTIQA+ communities. Outside of ADS some of their staff have helped clients living with HIV in the community through a volunteering program, helping them to manage their daily living and providing other practical assistance and support.
The success and importance of this volunteering work, led to the executive of ADS developing a strategy to strengthen the organisation’s overall capacity to become a more inclusive and effective service for LGBTIQA+ clients.