Stronger together – grants help community groups focus on the future

THREE community organisations will benefit from $1 million in funding to help boost community wellbeing and resilience on the NSW North Coast.

Recipients of Healthy North Coast’s 2024 Community Wellbeing and Resilience program include Mullumbimby-based LGBTQIA+ group Queer Family, disaster resilience and regeneration organisation Plan C and Indigenous-led charity The Returning.

The funding will allow the organisations to deliver programs to help communities in their recovery from the impacts of natural disasters such as the 2022 Northern Rivers floods and to build their capacity to respond to future events.

Queer Family’s Queer Wellbeing Program provides social connection opportunities for the LGBTQIA+ community, addressing a critical need for safe, culturally appropriate support systems for a vulnerable, marginalised community, particularly during crisis and recovery.

Plan C is a not-for-profit organisation founded by CEO Dr Jean Renouf in 2019 with the aim to build community resilience and regeneration through education, research, mentoring, partnerships and support programs.

The funding will enable more than 240 local leaders to be trained, equipped and mentored to form a network of volunteer community carers and responders in collaboration with community groups, councils, emergency agencies and universities.

The Returning focuses on Indigenous culture and healing, delivering programs for women, mothers and babies, young people, and camps for men, women, children and Elders.

Its Wellbeing and Resilience, Our Way Program is an Aboriginal-designed and led initiative to increase the health and resilience of Indigenous people and communities on Bundjalung Country and surrounds, in particular those impacted by the 2022 floods.

More than $6 million has been provided to 26 community wellbeing and resilience initiatives through Healthy North Coast’s CWR program since 2022 through funding provided by the Australian Government Department of Health and NSW Government Ministry of Health.