Jocelyn Bignold OAM

CEO, McAuley Community Services for Women

Jocelyn Bignold OAM has led McAuley Community Services for Women (McAuley) since its formation in 2008, providing support, accommodation and advocacy for women and children experiencing homelessness and family violence.

Jocelyn has over 30 years of experience in community services, policy development, management and advocacy. For several years, she led advocacy for an early intervention, evidence-based approach to family violence known as Safe at Home, which seeks to prevent women and children becoming homeless by disrupting the violence and providing wraparound support for the entire household. McAuley is now leading a three-year trial of the program in the Geelong and Barwon regions, funded by the Victorian Government.
Jocelyn is motivated by the possibility of disrupting the connection between family violence and homelessness and helping the system work better for women and children.