Ishar Multicultural Women’s Health Centre Inc., popularly known as Ishar, operates on a philosophy that is grounded in the ‘Social Model of Health’ meaning that the 'medical' condition of women seeking the service of the Centre is not separated from the ‘real life’ interconnections of personal, social, economic, racial, age and gender related problems they experience.

Since its beginning, the Centre has adopted a working style that focuses on the healing of lifestlye related problems that detrimentally affect the health and well-being of women of all ages, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) background. Our service delivery is flexible and responsive to the needs of women who are provided with information, referral, advice, counselling, training and/or support..

The Centre was oficially opened on August 10, 1992 under the name of Mirrabooka Multucultural Women's Health Centre. The Centre regards itself as part of the community and the name "Ishar" was chosen through a vote among the management committee, staff and volunteers. It means "woman" in one language and is close to "mother" and "earth" in others. The vison, mission and values of the Centre are set out below.

 

Vision:

Women have the capacity to make decisions about their health and well being.

Mission:

To provide inclusive, holistic and culturally sensitive services for women and their families, promotiong healthy living.

Values:

At Ishar we:

• Celebrate diversity;
• Work in partnership;
• Encourage participation and the building of capacity;
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect;
• Work ethically and reflectively;
• Support and nurture each other;
• Value innovation; and
• Work with passion and dedication.