75 ways to Stronger Families and Communities
Communities across Australia are starting to receive practical help under the Government’s $240 million Stronger Families and Communities Strategy Minister for Community Services, Larry Anthony said today.
To date more than $8 million has been committed to 75 practical projects, including:
- A national project to develop a scouting movement in indigenous communities encouraging young indigenous people to become actively involved in their communities,
- A support program for men facing economic and social pressures in Nambucca Heads, NSW,
- A community garden in Townsville, QLD, to help break the social isolation felt by many older people and recent migrants and refugees,
- A parenting support program in Adelaide, SA, for families affected by brain injury,
- A sports mentoring program in the ACT to help young vulnerable people feel part of the community.
- Initiatives in the Northern Territory and Western Australia which connect young indigenous people with elders in their communities.
“There is much more to come with another 600 projects in the pipeline.
“The Stronger Families and Community Strategy is a clear example of what can be achieved when Government and the community work together. We recognise that local people are best placed to come up with solutions to local problems.
“The Strategy focuses on early intervention and prevention and will help communities to tackle issues head on before they become a big problem.
“This will empower people and communities with new skills and strengths to move forward together,” Mr Anthony said.
A list of projects is attached.
| Project Title | Description/Objective | Organisation | State | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Insearch NSW Youth Support Camps | Camps to encourage participants to take positive steps in life – continue schooling or obtain employment etc. | Youth Insearch | NSW | $78,610 |
| NSW Indigenous Leadership Program | Assistance to 3 Aboriginal communities where communities identify leaders and develop a plan for the future direction of the communities. | Bimbadeen National Indigenous Training Association | NSW | $169,000 |
| Nambucca Blokes Project | Expand men’s programs from Nambucca Valley Neighbourhood Centre. | Nambucca Valley Neighbourhood Centre | NSW | $76,697 |
| SHELLS | Early literacy intervention program for children under 3. | University of Newcastle | NSW | $175,000 |
| Stronger Farm Families | Research the needs of farm families and develop a competency based course on how farm families can better deal with stresses of rural life. | Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety | NSW | $162,000 |
| Gudu Wondjer Safe House and resource Centre | Develop plan for a resource centre. | Eden Aboriginal Land Council | NSW | $18,250 |
| Community Leadership development program | Teach leadership skills and develop social projects. | Tumut Shire Council | NSW | $22,680 |
| Yellow Bus Expansion | Playgroup and home visiting service for families with children 0-5 years at risk. | Yellow Bus Service, Albury | NSW | $80,000 |
| Wellington Community Networkers | Parenting program. | Tender process for a project to be conducted in association with the NSW State Government | NSW | $140,000 |
| NW NSW Regional Leadership Program | Leadership training for 25 leaders. | Benevolent Society, Moree Plains Council | NSW | $50,000 |
| Halliday’s Point Senior Citizens Facility | Complete construction of a facility for housing their bus and for holding community meetings and other events. | Halliday’s Point Senior Citizens Association | NSW | $6,000 |
| ASCA Parenting Program | Develop innovative model to assist parents who are survivors of sexual abuse. | Advocates for Survivors of Child Abuse | NSW | $238,500 |
| The National Peer Skills Program | Conduct existing Peer Skills Program extensively throughout Australia. | Kids Help Line | NSW | $173,000 |
| Australian Multiple Birth Assoc (AMBA) | Produce and distribute research and information on issues and support for families with multiple birth children. | Australian Multiple Birth Association (AMBA) | NSW | $10,000 |
| Coledale Kids Club | Enhance the “Kids Club”. | Coledale Residents Association | NSW | $65,000 |
| Welfare and Vocational Extended Support Program | On-site youth services at Newcastle High and satellite schools. | Samaritans – Newcastle | NSW | $60,000 |
| Chequerboard Hill Social Plan | Implement 1st stage of social plan for Chequerboard Hill housing estate in Casino. | Chequerboard Hill Inc. | NSW | $76,697 |
| Ivanhoe Youth Centre and Youth Program Development | Provide youth centre behind Ivanhoe Police Station. | Ivanhoe Tourist Association | NSW | $42,500 |
| Wednesday Mother’s Group | Continue and expand support group for isolated mothers with young children. | Broken Hill Family Support | NSW | $30,064 |
| Life and Relationship Skills in high schools | Skills education program across 18 schools. | Family Centre Community Projects Inc | NSW | $321,000 |
| Ashmont Community Resource Centre | Develop a community based therapy centre to provide professional counselling and other services. | Ashmont Anglican Church | NSW | $244,000 |
| Technical Aid to the Disabled Volunteer Recruitment Project | Employ a project officer to teach skills and techniques of volunteer recruitment. | Technical Aid to the Disabled (TAD) | NSW | $40,000 |
| Noah’s Park Playground, Albion Park | Provide supervised playground as part of commuity drop in centre. | Uniting Church | NSW | $8,500 |
| Yarrenyty-Arltere Learning Centre | Assist the community to build social and governance structures to strengthen culture and tradition, improve education and work outcomes. | Tangentyere Council Inc | NT | $142,440 |
| Raminginging Community Women’s Centre | Fund a coordinator for 1 year to help women and families with young children. | Raminginging Community Government Council | NT | $40,000 |
| Titjikala Community men’s Centre Project | Train an indigenous community worker and local leaders to prevent family violence and help victims. | Relationships Australia | NT | $40,000 |
| Kunbarllanjnja Strong Community program | Employment of a Community Development Officer (CDO) to act as a mentor and resource developer to the local community and local leaders. | Kunbarllanjujuna Community Government Council | NT | $60,000 |
| lajamanu Horse Sports Projects | Increase employment through station work and animal husbandry training. | Wulaign Homelands Council Aboriginal Corporation | NT | $30,000 |
| Community Development Program – Youth at Risk Program | Harm minimisation, early intervention and prevention for youth in relation to alcohol and substance misuse. | Anyinginyi Congress Aboriginal Corporation | NT | $49,131 |
| BushMob – Alice Springs Youth Accommodation and Support Services | Improve self-concept and locus of control of young people at risk of sreious harm from drug use to enhance life prospects. | Alice Springs Youth Accommodation and Support Services | NT | $92,500 |
| Community Unity – Yuelamu Community Council | Recreational, social and cultural activities for young children, youth and the elderly. | Yuelamu Community Council Inc | NT | $21,900 |
| A Journey of Healing and Scope through Song | Music therapy workshops. | Parent Aide Unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital | QLD | $16,068 |
| Beenleigh Families Infomration Centre | Provide access point for families to receive prevention and early intervention support. | Beenleigh Families Infomration Centre | QLD | $420,650 |
| Diversity Community Garden Townsville | Encourage participation in community vegetable garden by migrant and refugee families. | Townsville City Council | QLD | $46,800 |
| Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual -Transgender (GLBT) Anti-Violence Committee | Provide a safe environment for members of the GLBT community under the threat of violence. | Coalition Against Criminal Assualt in the home. | QLD | $64,795 |
| The Foundation | Set up a foundation for people with disabilities and their families who do not fit current support models. | Community Connections Inc. | QLD | $12,200 |
| Silkwood Early Learning and Community Support Centre | Establish small community support centre at Silkwood. | St John’s School Parents and Friends Assoc. | QLD | $29,705 |
| Community Capital: Community Development through ethical investments | Promote models of locally based investment that build community and foster environmental repair. | Foresters ANA Friendly Assoc. | QLD | $100,534 |
| Touch Football Competition | Touch football competition for people with an intellectual or learning disability and other groups that are unable to access mainstream community sports. | Community Living Association – Nundah | QLD | $9,000 |
| Jumpstart | Establish solutions groups in Sandgate and Fortitude Valley to address training needs of young unemployed who did not complete high school. | QLD Police Citizens Youth Welfare Assoc | QLD | $28,004 |
| Windorah Sports Camp | Organise a 5 day sports camp in june 2001. | Windorah State School P&C Assoc. | QLD | $4,500 |
| Early Intervention Stress – Resilience and Positive-Coping Parent Training FRIENDS program (Parent’s Friends) | Train parents from non English speaking backgrounds. Complements the existing school based program. | Griffith University School of Applied Psychology | QLD | $150,296 |
| Multicultural Lifeskills Program | Provide tailored package of family lifeskills to migrant and refugee families. | ACCESS Inc. | QLD | $338,325 |
| Parent Aide Program | Provide volunteer home visiting program for families with dependent children. | Community Solutions Harvey Bay Inc | QLD | $301,191 |
| Parenting support for familes impacted by acquired brain injury | Train volunteers to visit families where a parent has acquired brain injury. | Adelaide Central Mission | SA | $6,000 |
| Recreation support for young families in Blyth | Construct facility for children to use while parents play sport or attend working bees. | Blyth Progress Assoc. | SA | $5,000 |
| Southern Support Rangelands Regional Youth Council | Establish Youth Council to support young people in the region. | Outback Areas Community Development Trust | SA | $30,000 |
| Family Workers in Hackham West Community Centre | Employ family worker to help young families. | Hackham West Community Centre Inc. | SA | $80,253 |
| Barossa Youth Action Plan | Develop action plan to address youth concerns in the region. | Barossa Light Development Inc. | SA | $6,000 |
| Local Government Mapping | Mapping exercise to identify existing services, gaps within family/community sector and recommend local response. | Local governments, service providers | VIC | $140,000 |
| Strengthening Supportive Families and School Communities for Refugee Children | Support children to deal with refugee and resettlement experiences eg mentoring, specialised clinical intervention, social support. | Victorian Foundation of Survivors of Torture Inc | VIC | $291,925 |
| Creating Capable Communities | Support local residents in public housing estates to develop networks and local programs for families. | Brotherhood of St Laurence, City of Bayside | VIC | $286,576 |
| Family Networks: Getting the most for you and your child’s future | Build capacity of families, develop leadership skills, community resources and networks through parenting workshops, self-help volunteer leadership training etc. | Yooralla Society of Victoria, children’s services, playgroups | VIC | $127,344 |
| Chances for Children | Support a trust fund to assist children from finacially and socially disadvantaged backgrounds to access educational opportunities. | Mallee Family Care Inc | VIC | 50,000 |
| The Good Beginning Latrobe Project | Counselling, parenting info and support to parents of children under five in Latrobe Shire. | Good Beginnings, City of Latrobe, Regional Hospital, CYBEC Pty Ltd. | VIC | $286,092 |
| The Sunrise Project | Support parenting groups for at-risk families in transitional housing. | Inner South Community Health Service, City of Port Phillip, B’Hood of St Laurence | VIC | $14,865 |
| Victorian Koorie Community Leadership Projects | A partnership with Vic Health to fund 5 Koorie leadership projects and an overall evaluation. | Vic Health | VIC | $175,000 |
| Young Mums Support Project | Facilitation of a regular young mothers group for ‘at risk’ young women who are pregnant or parenting and individual support – home visits, advocacy, counselling. | Anglicare WA | WA | $183,405 |
| South West Financial Solutions | Assist people in south west WA to develop their own pool of emergency funds which members contribute to and borrow from. | Edith Cowan Uni, South West Development Commission | WA | $11,300 |
| Northern Suburbs Migrant Resource Centre | Strengthen ethnic communities in Perth by training community leaders to facilitate community development activities. | FCS, 14 ethnic community organisations | WA | $239,568 |
| Building Stronger Families: Empowering parents to prevent bullying | Trial an innovative approach for preventing bulling through positive parenting strategies in Mandurah. | Curtin University of Technology | WA | $278,017 |
| Donnybrook/Balingup Community Centre | Renovating and extending a Shire – owned premises for use as a multi-function community centre. | Shire of Donnybrook/Balingup | WA | $17,500 |
| Getting their voices heard – Strengthening the Aboriginal Network in Halls Creek | Secretariat support and planning and training sessions to strengthen an existing network of Aboriginal people in Halls Creek. | Ngoonjuwah Council | WA | $15,500 |
| A culturally appropriate Diversionary and Leadership Development Program for Youth at Mowla Bluff | Develop a bush camp at Mowla Bluff station to enhance cultural and leadership skills of Indigenous youth. | Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre | WA | $262,500 |
| Early Intervention for Mining Community Families in the Goldfields | Employ a project officer to implement a preventative, early intervention approach to the social, family, pschological and physical wellbeing of men and their families. | Eastern Goldfields Medical Division of General Practice on behalf of the Men’s Health Group Inc. | WA | $200,460 |
| Community Action Groups | Develop family based Community Action Groups to represt the interests of Indigenous communities. | Albany Aboriginal Corporation | WA | $120,000 |
| Wheatbelt Strategy Development Operative | Engage a contractor to facilitate the development of a regional strategy for the Wheatbelt. | Wheatbelt Area Consultative Committee | WA | $25,000 |
| The Midvale Parenting Project | Employ a family support worker to provide a preventative, early parenting program program for parents. | Shire of Mundaring | WA | $198,000 |
| Ngala Sleep Around the State | Parenting educational program in sleep issues, child development and behaviour management. | Ngala Family Resource Centre | WA | $105,000 |