EVENTS

Celebrate Local Community Resilience this May at Neighbourhood Centre Week

Neighbourhood Centre Week, happening 9-15 May, celebrates the role and impact of neighbourhood and community centres in local communities across Australia.

In Queensland, this year’s theme is ‘Local Community Resilience’. The theme highlights the importance of local approaches, relationships and knowledge that is central to the approach of centres and vital to effectively support communities as they respond to community challenges.

The theme also celebrates the exceptional resilience of communities that have faced multiple disasters and continue to work toward their recovery.

To celebrate, neighbourhood and community centres are inviting their communities, MPs and local representatives to come together and attend free events over the week.

You can support and promote the events with the help of our print and social media assets, available to download here. Share with your community on social media and tag us @NeighbourhoodCentresQld, including the hashtags #SupportNeighbourhoodCentres, #LocalCommunityResilience and 
#NCWeek2022.

Read the media release here.

PUBLICATION

Neighbourhood Centres Queensland:
2021 Sector Impact Report

On Tuesday 5th April, the 2021 Sector Impact Report was launched!

You can now download the report and celebrate the extraordinary impact of Queensland centres. This report captures the key data and insights from the largest Queensland-wide survey of the Neighbourhood and Community Centre sector and summarises the community value and impact of centres in the 2020/2021 Financial Year.

This report has already been mentioned and quoted in State Parliament, and in local council committee meetings. We encourage you to share it with your local council representatives.

THANK YOU.
Neighbourhood Centres Queensland would like to thank the people and centres who participated in the annual survey, without whom this report would not have been possible.

NEWS

Highlights from the 2021 Sector Impact Report

Together, Neighbourhood and Community Centres in Queensland supported over 1.6 million people who attended centres over the 2020/2021 Financial Year.

$124,603 was the median amount of core funding received from the Queensland Government per centre.

For every $1 invested by the Queensland Government, the sector produced $4.81 in community value. 

POSTER

Summary of the 2021 Sector Impact 
Download and Print the A4 Poster

The impact of Neighbourhood and Community Centres is worth celebrating and sharing. You can now download and print the A4 poster which summarises the incredible impact of centres over the 2020/2021 FY.

NEWS

Labor, LNP and Greens MPs praise Neighbourhood Centres in Parliament

1 April, 2022

In parliament, Labor, LNP and Greens MPs praised neighbourhood and community centres for their work in Loneliness and Social Isolation.

Stephen Bennett, LNP MP Burnett, said:
"I want to discuss the Laidley Community Centre, which is one of 140 neighbourhood and community centres around Queensland responding to loneliness and social isolation in our community. Neighbourhood centres are place based social infrastructure that foster connection, belonging, participation and inclusion. Neighbourhood centres welcome everyone regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religion, age or social status and by their very nature build connections between individuals and organisations, particularly those who are isolated, vulnerable or disenfranchised." 

"I want to give a shout-out to all of those neighbourhood centres that we visited. They are such a passionate bunch of people doing amazing work and they are a resource. The Queensland government has put some extra capacity in those organisations already out of one of the recommendations, and funding is the best thing we could give towards these community-led, place based solutions in our communities. I also want to give a shout-out for the neighbourhood centre at Agnes Water. It has been trying to get a more permanent stature and its funding has increased as well, and we would love to see a purpose-built facility for that community."

Michael Berkman, Greens MP for Maiwar, said: 
"While I am speaking of the need for increased investment, I want to turn to the central role that neighbourhood and community centres occupied in this inquiry. Perhaps the only thing more apparent than the need to increase funding for neighbourhood and community centres was the absolutely pivotal role that they play in supporting their local communities."

"We had the privilege of visiting and hearing from staff and volunteers at more neighbourhood and community centres than I could possibly recall in the time I have available. It was really extraordinary to see the amount of, for example, food support that they offered through OzHarvest, the variety of activities and supports that were on offer for young and old and the diversity of these centres that was driven by the needs of those communities that they serve. We are going to see some really interesting numbers come out soon, I understand, from Neighbourhood Centres Queensland, formerly the QFCA, when they release their sector impact report. In closing, I would like to drive home the point that what we need now is a firm commitment to dramatically increase funding for these community hubs. We really do not need another review."

Robert Skelton, Labor MP for Nicklin, said: 
"Through site visits to some of the 127 community centres around the state, we saw the fantastic work of social workers, social work students, link workers, volunteers and students on work placements in tackling this issue. To support the important work of neighbourhood and community centres, the committee recommends the establishment of a network of frontline professionals involved in preventing and responding to social isolation and loneliness. It also recommends that the Queensland government explore more opportunities to place work students in neighbourhood and community centres across Queensland to build the capacity of workers while nurturing university partnerships." 

"To ensure neighbourhood and community centres have the resources they need, the committee recommends the government review the funding model for neighbourhood centres across Queensland, including a consideration of measures to help stabilise the workforce, retain corporate knowledge and help ensure centres are best positioned to meet the emerging needs of their communities. I thank Chris Mundy from Neighbourhood Centres Queensland for providing my office with a bit more information."

Leanne Enoch, Labor MP for Algester, said: 
"We are fortunate that we had and continue to have services and supports that encourage and increase social and community connections. At the forefront of this is our network of more than 125 Queensland government funded neighbourhood and community centres. The COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrated the value of these centres that are the backbone of their local communities. Many of the neighbourhood and community centres adapted and embraced technology throughout the COVID-19 pandemic so they could continue service delivery and support their local communities. That is why the Palaszczuk government has supported each of Queensland’s funded neighbourhood and community centres with an additional $20,000, to help respond to increased demand for services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are currently working with neighbourhood and community centres and their peak body, Neighbourhood Centres Queensland, to make these centres even stronger and more responsive to their local communities." "

Lance McCallum, Labor MP for Bundamba, said: 
"I want to make special mention of our neighbourhood and community centres and give a particular shout-out to my local neighbourhood centres: Goodna Neighbourhood House and community centres in Riverview and Redbank Plains. I also mention the magnificent work undertaken by the African Youth Support Council at Redbank Plains. They all provide places of connection and places of community, where people can come together. We have so many other groups that provide these valuable spaces. I commend this report to the House. I thank the committee, particularly the chair, for what is an excellent report."

Read the full story here.

EVENTS

Resilience for Frontline Workers:
Keeping it Together After Disasters

Thursday 5 May, 12:30 - 1:30pm   |   Online

Those who work in Neighbourhood and Community Centres are incredibly hard-working, going above and beyond to do whatever it takes to support their community.

As community needs grow in times of disaster, it's particularly important to maintain and practice self-care along the disaster recovery journey. You can’t pour from an empty cup and recovery takes time, so look after yourself! Join with Red Cross, NCQ and other Neighbourhood Centres for this session.

Register in advance for this online workshop here: https://bit.ly/event-5May

After registering, you'll receive a confirmation email with the link to the workshop.

NEWS

Dallarnil community left out of flood recovery funding:
But Yasmin Barber’s advocacy work changes minds

22 April, 2022

While most of Queensland is recovering from the February 2022 flooding event, the North Burnett region is doing it for the second time over, after already experiencing extensive flooding in January. During the January floods, parts of the region like Dallarnil had not yet secured a place on the Government’s disaster funding list and were left stranded. This prompted Yasmin Barber, Coordinator of North Burnett Community Service to advocate intensely for Government recognition and support.

“Originally Dallarnil wasn’t included in the original disaster list in North Burnett and couldn’t access any government support. We spent a whole week with council advocating really hard… the department actually called us and thanked us for our advocacy. By us being involved, as an external agency advocating for the community it was the push they needed.”

Yasmin and her team’s efforts paid off. Within the week they had secured funding for grants and future disaster resilience in their region. The state government announced that flood affected residents in the Wide Bay Burnett region would be eligible for grants of up to $50,000 (ABC news 2022.)

“It took about four days to get the state government to agree to funding and seven for the federal government to do the same. For the current floods we’re now top of the list and were even named by the Prime Minister as a priority.”

After this success, Yasmin visited Dallarnil and saw the effects of their advocacy work firsthand. By turning up to show their support for the region it was suggested that the North Burnett Community Service be subcontracted by Lifeline as a frontline responder and local provider of disaster resilience support.

“We went to Dallarnil two weeks later when the MP and community recovery authority were there. Just from us being there, it was proactively suggested by the department that Lifeline have a state-wide contract to provide psychosocial recovery after disaster. They suggested we be subcontracted by Lifeline, as the frontline response and prioritised as a local provider.”

North Burnett Community Service has always been involved in disaster management at a local government level. They have meetings for members of the Disaster Management Planning Committee. Yasmin highlighted how despite committing to support the community, external providers do not always show up to help.

Read the full story here.

NEWS

Meet Local Community Hero: Valeriya Edsall from The Neighbourhood Hub Mackay

29 April, 2022

Say Hi to Valeriya Edsall, Community Development worker at The Neighbourhood Hub Mackay for over five years and member of the NCQ committee!

Valeriya is part of a team that focuses on creating great change from small acts of kindness, inclusivity and supporting the multicultural communities of Mackay.

As a migrant from Russia, she understands first-hand some of the challenges of being in a new country and is motivated to reduce the social isolation of those who are new to Australian communities. 

“I feel privileged to be able to be involved in creating a small change in the lives of migrant women who are trying to again, from scratch, to find their identities and establish themselves, to find where they belong, and make beautiful connections with others.”  

The Neighbourhood Hub Mackay runs a Multicultural Women’s Group and has weekly culture-sharing meetups at the World Café. These groups are critical to reducing social isolation, creating connection and helping to build confidence within migrant communities.  

“New migrants for example come to Mackay and they start engaging with the neighbourhood centre, and slowly, slowly they start building self-esteem and confidence.  Just recently we had a lovely migrant participant who finally managed to get a job in a role that she really wanted to do but initially couldn’t get because of so many barriers that existed for her.”

Read the full story here.

NEWS

High suicide rates and no funded mental health services available: North Burnett Community Service fills the gap

29 April, 2022

Content Warning. This article contains challenging material about mental health and suicide which may be confronting to some readers. If you need support, contact Lifeline (24-hour crisis line) on 131 114.

West of Bundaberg lies a region and community with such high suicide rates it is sometimes referred to as the ‘Suicide Capital’ of Queensland.
With a community unable to access government-funded services, the local North Burnett Community Service has stepped up to fill the gap.

Yasmin Barber, the centre coordinator, spoke to NCQ about the lack of suitable mental health services in the area, with many stating there is no demand, highlighting an issue with the way funding is distributed.

“We really are in a service vacuum. There are just no services here. I’ve found that many larger service providers in areas like Bundaberg will list on their websites that they service our area, but once you contact them looking for a referral pathway to North Burnett we often hear that they don’t have the staff to come to us. They frequently say that there’s no demand in our region. This happened just recently with a DV service, despite us having 16 referrals we wanted to put through just from our centre. Sadly, these organisations are being funded, actually receiving thousands of dollars to provide services in our area, but they’re not doing it.”

To combat the lack of appropriate services in the region, Yasmin has been helping the North Burnett Community Service run their own Community mental health programme which is already seeing great results.

“What we found in less than 6 months of doing our program is that we already have a wait list, we have referrals from child safety, youth justice, the local domestic violence service and the local mental health service that is ironically funded to do the things that we are doing.”

Read the full story here.

NEWS

Congratulations to Veronica!
15 years at Graham House Community Centre 

29 April, 2022

On 4th April 2007 Veronica commenced employment with Graham House Community Centre.

Graham House Community Centre and the team at Neighbourhood Centres Queensland would like to thank you for all you have done for the centre and all you continue to do, it’s an absolute pleasure to work with you.