ICAN hit the ground running in 2020, with the exciting news that we are preparing to open our first full-time office in Atherton in early 2020! Based on the Tablelands, Far North Qld, our new office will provide financial counselling services to the townships of Atherton, Mareeba, Malanda, Ravenshoe, and surrounds.
ICAN Operations Manager, Jon O’Mally, said, “We are very excited to be opening our new office in Atherton. We made the decision in response to the increased demand from people on the Tablelands requesting financial counselling assistance. The Tablelands community will now have a permanent face-to-face service that they can access Monday to Friday, right in the main street of Atherton. We are also working towards partnering with other service providers as part of our outreach expansion, including working with the Good Money store in Cairns to provide a one stop shop solution”.
Who are the Atherton Team?
ICAN financial counsellors, Sandra Rosas and Anne-Maree Molloy are both Tableland locals and will be the faces of the new Atherton office. As locals, they know the area, the people, and the issues affecting the lives of those facing financial stress.
Anne-Maree has worked with local indigenous and non-indigenous clients over the past ten years and has specifically provided financial counselling and No Interest Loan (NILS) services to the Tablelands for the last two years, giving her an established rapport with the community.
“There is definitely a need for more financial counsellors in the area,” said Anne-Maree. “I think having a permanent ICAN office in Atherton will be a great asset for the Tablelands, for both clients and other service providers, as they will be able to refer clients directly, instead of people having to travel to Cairns or call the National Debt Hotline.”
“I look forward to embracing my new role as a full-time Financial Counsellor with ICAN. I am excited to be working with Sandra and being able to offer my time and expertise to Atherton Tablelands clients, and helping them as best I can”.
Sandra Rosas has worked in ICAN’s Cairns office for the last five years and recently moved back to the Tablelands after achieving her dream of becoming a homeowner. “I’m a proud Yidinji woman, born, bred, and schooled in Atherton,” said Sandra. “I’ve lived all over the Tablelands including Tolga, Mt Garnet, Kairi, and Tinaroo Dam, and my family are well known in the community”.
“I was living in Cairns for work reasons, but my heart was always back in Atherton. My spirit would leap with joy every time I returned to country – and now I’m living here again! I’m so excited to be back in my hometown, especially working to achieve great results for my people, I’ve come full circle. I look forward to working with Anne-Maree too; I couldn’t ask for a better colleague. I know people that sing her praises like, ‘that Anne-Maree she deadly, we can go to her for anything!’”.
ICAN look forward to establishing a permanent presence on the Atherton Tablelands and supporting the community with ongoing high-quality financial counselling and consumer advocacy services into the future.
If you would like to find out more about the upcoming opening of the ICAN Atherton office, please contact our Operations Manager, Jon O’Mally, on 1300 369 878.