Families and communities throughout Australia are winners under the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, announced in the 1999-2000 Budget. The Commonwealth Government committed an additional $240 million to prevention, early intervention and capacity building initiatives to support and strengthen Australian families and communities. Administered by the Department of Family and Community Services, the Strategy underpins the important role that families and communities play in nurturing children, caring for people in need and linking people to jobs and opportunities.
“It is our belief that families with strong and stable relationships provide the very foundation of strong communities,” Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Amanda Vanstone said. “In turn, it is only strong communities that can truly offer families the economic and social opportunities they need to thrive.
“To help families, the Strategy focuses on the importance of early childhood development, the needs of families with young children, improving marriage and family relationships, balancing work and family responsibilities and helping young people in positive ways.
“To help communities, the Strategy includes new initiatives to encourage potential community leaders to help communities develop their own solutions to problems, promote a ‘can do’ community spirit and build up the skills of volunteer workers.”
The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy recognises that it is often people working ‘on the ground’ who can find the most practical solutions to local problems. Communities themselves are now having a say in what projects should be supported and how the money from the Strategy will be spent in their community.
Projects are being built up from the following initiatives.
- Encouraging communities to find new ways to strengthen families, with a focus on early childhood development and effective parenting (the Stronger Families Fund).
- Encouraging communities to provide innovative services and activities like parenting support and playgroups, marriage and relationship education, and family counselling (Early Intervention, Parenting and Family Relationship Support).
- Offering skills, develop opportunities and support for potential community leaders (Potential Leaders in Local Communities).
- Helping communities to develop solutions to their own local problems and in the process build up their capacity (Local Solutions to Local Problems).
- Showcasing real life examples where people have worked together to revitalise and strengthen their communities (Can Do Community initiative).
For further information on the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, phone freecall 1800 300 125 or visit the web site at www.facs.gov.au
Working in partnership to address local problems
A key aim of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy is to encourage local community organisations, businesses, individuals and the different levels of government to work in partnership to develop practical and new projects from the ground up. Across Australia, Local Government professionals are providing vital support to local communities, building community spirit and economic, social and environmental development through self help projects and activities. The Strategy is supporting Local Government by funding a number of projects throughout Australia involving these types of partnerships.
Townsville City Council, Queensland
Older people and those from non English speaking backgrounds play a vital role in the community, contributing greatly to the wellbeing of the nation. It is therefore fitting that they benefit from the Strategy. Townville City Council found that socially isolated older people, new migrants and refugees from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, who are unemployed or on a low income, were having difficulty integrating into the broader community.
In response to this, Council is co-sponsoring and managing the development of a community garden, which will allow traditional foods of the many cultures to be grown as well as providing a social outlet. The idea is to encourage these groups to build and maintain the garden, thereby providing them with the opportunity to meet and share information and knowledge.
Sharing experiences and building trust will instigate the first steps towards overcoming isolation and cultural issues.
Nambucca Blokes Project, NSW
Projects that offer assistance to men at different life stages and at times of transition in their lives can often help them to build stronger relationships and become skilled parents, leading to better outcomes for all family members.
The Nambucca Blokes project was developed to help men in the region who are doing it tough, facing economic and social pressures. It has strong links with local family services and agencies, local businesses and government at all levels.
Existing men’s services in the region were not adequate, so it was decided that the Nambucca Neighbourhood Centre at Macksville would further develop these services, providing the support that was needed. At the Centre, local men can access free courses on fathering, relationship issues, employment, men’s health, anger and violence prevention, and workshops tailored for young indigenous men.
An integral part of the program is its relationship with the Men’s Shed project. Young men from local high schools are mentored by older men who are on the Nambucca Blokes project. In this way, all participants are learning both work, life and social skills while working on local projects.
Halls Creek, WA
A minimum of $20 million of the Strategy’s budget is earmarked for Indigenous specific projects. Indigenous Australians know what issues they want to deal with and have good ideas on how to do this. Governments need to recognise this and support Indigenous communities to work together to tackle their own issues.
Aboriginal leaders in Halls Creek, WA, have begun building a network of Aboriginal community members to ensure the views of the area’s Indigenous community are included in discussions of local issues. The network will give local Aboriginal people the chance to share resources and experiences, and an opportunity to address issues of particular relevance to them. Workshops will be held to identify the network’s role and membership, training requirements, promotion, key issues and further network development.
The leadership skills of young Aboriginal people will be developed and there will be greater participation by the Indigenous community in addressing local issues.
Southern Rangelands Rural Taskforce, SA
The capacity of a rural area experiencing economic hardship to turn things around, hinges, to a large extent, on local entrepreneurship and leadership. Projects that build these skills are of enormous benefit and should be high on the agenda of Local Governments in rural regions.
In South Australia, the Southern Rangelands Rural Taskforce identified the need to encourage local young people to stay in the region. Community consultation resulted in the establishment of a Regional Youth Council which will provide the platform to train and develop new leaders in the area. The Youth Council has 24 members aged between 13 and 22 years, including representatives from eight local high schools, the School of the Air and the Whyalla campus of the University of South Australia. In its first year, the Youth Council will focus on leaning about strategic planning, sourcing funding and project management.
The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy is a clear example of what can be achieved when governments and the community work together. It’s about drawing on the unique skills and capacities of individuals, families, businesses, governments and community organisations, so that each can make a contribution to the communities in which they work and live, and provide local solutions to local problems.
Successful partnerships, and involvement in a broad range of issues and activities – like welfare, sport, the environment and caring for the disabled and the elderly – can really strengthen communities and enrich families’ lives.
