Media releases: 28 August 2023
$250,000 in grants awarded
FRRR’s In a Good Place (IAGP) program has awarded $250,000 in grants to 17 local organisations from remote, rural and regional Australia, for initiatives that will support and promote the mental health and wellbeing of locals in their communities.
Funded in partnership with CCI Giving, the IAGP program gives small rural communities across Australia the opportunity to access funds of up to $20,000 for community-driven projects that support vulnerable community members who are at risk of, or are experiencing, mental health issues. Since 2018, the IAGP program has helped to fund 70 mental health-focused projects across remote, rural and regional Australia.
This year, the 17 funded initiatives include community activities to help people feel connected, training to help people identify those who are at risk of harming themselves, mental health first aid courses, and one-on-one mentoring.
Jeremy Yipp, Chair of CCI Giving, said support for mental health projects is vital for effective recovery to take place.
“In this round, we saw a notable increase in the number of expressions of interest that referenced community recovery from the accumulative economic, social and emotional impacts of successive natural disasters and the pandemic.
“We’re in a crucial period of recovery and now is the time to support mental health initiatives in rural Australia and make sure that communities have the resources they need to recover from all that’s gone on in the last few years,” Mr Yipp said.
Jill Karena, FRRR’s People Programs Portfolio Lead, said that loneliness is prevalent across rural communities and that many people are feeling disconnected from their community.
“In the applications for this round, we read about a lot of projects explicitly addressing loneliness and social isolation. For example, in the Queensland community of Stanthorpe, Happy Chat Peer Support Group will use a $20,000 grant to expand the organisation and provide facilitated support to vulnerable community members living with mental illness, helping to reduce their social isolation and loneliness, and to provide access to meaningful community-based activities.
“There is a clear need for social connection within remote, rural and regional communities and we’re grateful for our continued partnership with CCI Giving, as it allows us to provide much needed funding to help combat the loneliness we’re seeing in communities throughout rural Australia,” Ms Karena said.
Some of the 17 initiatives being funded include:
- Community Housing – Kempsey, NSW – Treasured Insights (Mental Health – Inside Out Recovery) – Build the capacity of community housing staff and tenants to understand hording and domestic squalor disorders to assist recovery and improve the lives of vulnerable people living in social housing. $14,588
- Sisters of Charity Community Care – Toowoomba, QLD – Dragonfly Health & Wellness Retreat – Enhance the mental health and wellbeing of rural women by providing a three-day retreat to enable participants to connect, learn self-care, and seek support. $11,000
- Yankalilla Youth Arts – Yankalilla, SA – Sunday Sessions – Provide a creative and nurturing space for young people to engage in guided arts and theatre-based activities, with the presence of a counsellor and support therapy dog to support mental health and wellbeing. $12,260
- Goulburn Valley Suicide Awareness Group Inc – Yea, VIC – GVSAG Walk and Talk – Support the local community to connect and develop trusted relationships that create greater understanding of mental health issues and address the stigma surrounding suicide by upskilling volunteers, establishing facilitated support groups and holding a suicide awareness walk. $20,000
- Enterprise Partnerships WA Limited – Balgo, WA – Piriwa Wellbeing Project – Develop individual resilience, confidence, group leadership and planning skills through intergenerational activities and regular yarning circles to strengthen cultural identity, self-agency and mental wellbeing of Aboriginal women in a remote community. $20,000
To support grants like this through FRRR, make a tax-deductible donation at https://frrr.org.au/giving/.
The full list of grant recipients and their projects are below.
| Organisation | Project | Location | Grant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In a Good Place - Round 7 - 2023 | ||||||
| NEW SOUTH WALES | ||||||
| Community Housing Limited | Treasured Insights (Mental Health - Inside Out Recovery) Build the capacity of community housing staff and tenants to understand hording and domestic squalor disorders to assist recovery and improve the lives of vulnerable people living in social housing. | Kempsey | $14,588 | |||
| Key Assets The Children's Services Provider NI-Connect Child and Family Wellbeing Unit | Norfolk Island Youth Centre Project Providing basic furnishings and equipment to facilitate the development of a local youth focused space promoting mental health and wellbeing and providing access to preventive and supportive programs. | Norfolk Island | $19,998 | |||
| Narrabri & District Community Aid Service Incorporated | R U OK Day and Suicide Prevention Business Evening Increase community awareness of mental health and reduce the stigma associated with help seeking behaviour by providing a community event with a guest speaker and take home resources. | Narrabri | $4,720 | |||
| Queer Family Inc | Resourcing Our Youth Increase community understanding and improve the confidence of young queer people to respond to homo/transphobia through the development and distribution of posters and local LGBTQIA+ mental health resources. | Mullumbimby | $13,000 | |||
| Rotary Club of Iluka Woombah Incorporated | Mental Health Warriors: Building Resilient Preteens Cultivate confidence and resilience in primary school children by supporting the development and delivery of a locally facilitated program to enhance student social and emotional wellbeing. | Iluka | $5,334 | |||
| Southern Women's Group Incorporated | Recovery Sanctuary Support the development of facilitated creative workshops and provision of materials to enable trauma informed workshops to take place in a safe and appropriate environment, supporting mental health, wellbeing and trauma recovery for women. | Bega | $11,000 | |||
| QUEENSLAND | ||||||
| Little Sparklers Ltd | Mental Health First Aid Training for Peer Support Volunteers and Volunteer Leaders Increase the knowledge and skills of rural-based peer volunteers, and increase the capacity of the organisation, by enabling Mental Health First Aid and Instructor training for those who provide phone crisis support for families during the postnatal period. | Various | $17,673 | |||
| Sisters of Charity Community Care Limited | Dragonfly Health & Wellness Retreat Enhance the mental health and wellbeing of rural women by providing a three day retreat to enable participants to connect, learn self-care, and seek support. | Toowoomba | $11,000 | |||
| Support Groups Queensland Inc Happy Chat Mental Health Peer Support Group | Happy Chat Mental Health Peer Support Stanthorpe - Building a Safe and Happy Place for People with a Lived Experience of Mental Ill Health Increase the capacity of a peer support group to expand and provide facilitated support to vulnerable community members living with mental illness to reduce social isolation, and to provide access to meaningful community based activities and nutritious food. | Stanthorpe | $20,000 | |||
| SOUTH AUSTRALIA | ||||||
| Tumby Bay Area School | Tumby Bay Area School G.E.M. Festival Build knowledge of, and community engagement with, the Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM) personal resilience initiative through a school based community event to highlight positive mental health and wellbeing. | Tumby Bay | $13,274 | |||
| Yankalilla Youth Arts Incorporated | Sunday Sessions Provide a creative and nurturing space for young people to engage in guided arts and theatre based activities, with the presence of a counsellor and support therapy dog to support mental health and wellbeing. | Yankalilla | $12,260 | |||
| TASMANIA | ||||||
| Highways and Byways Ltd Free2b Girls | Free2Fly Support isolated, vulnerable and disadvantaged young women to be confident and resilient through a one to one tailored mentoring program. | St Helens | $20,000 | |||
| VICTORIA | ||||||
| Castlemaine Safe Space Inc | Strengthen and Grow the Castlemaine Safe Space Increase organisational capacity and community awareness of available local mental health and social support by providing mental health training for lived experienced volunteers and increased promotion of the Castlemaine Safe Space. | Castlemaine | $13,000 | |||
| Goulburn Valley Suicide Awareness Group Inc | GVSAG Walk and Talk Support the local community to connect and develop trusted relationships that create greater understanding of mental health issues and address the stigma surrounding suicide by upskilling volunteers, establishing facilitated support groups and holding a suicide awareness walk. | Yea | $20,000 | |||
| HALT Hope Assistance Local Tradies | Older Adults Matter Too Increase the capacity and confidence of local community groups to better understand what a developing mental health problem or crisis looks like in older males and to have the skills and confidence to offer help-seeking information in an effort to reduce the incidences of suicide. | Castlemaine | $18,000 | |||
| WESTERN AUSTRALIA | ||||||
| Enterprise Partnerships WA Limited | Piriwa Wellbeing Project Develop individual resilience, confidence, group leadership and planning skills through intergenerational activities and regular yarning circles to strengthen cultural identity, self-agency and mental wellbeing of Aboriginal women in a remote community. | Balgo | $20,000 | |||
| Newdegate Community Resource Centre Inc | Men's BBQ Masterclass Workshop Enable men living in two farming districts to come together through a BBQ cooking demonstration and shared meal to hear a mental health presentation designed to reduce isolation and encourage open discussion about the importance of mental health self-care. | Newdegate | $16,153 | |||
