Welcome to our monthly newsletter! This newsletter is intended for our Pillar partners, and provides updates on the Pillars current projects and health & wellbeing news from across the region. Your feedback on the content and format are always welcomed and appreciated.
G21 HWB PILLAR UPDATE - JULY 2020
DIRECTOR'S UPDATE
Hello all,
Moving into the new financial year we continue to reflect on the year that was, and look at the year ahead. Ever mindful of the new normal, we are seeking to do things differently this year, in response to the COVID-19 environment. Preventative health is more important than ever, and being flexible with the way we approach our work ensures the most positive outcomes for our community remain the priority.
Next week we will be hosting the G21 Region Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) initiative forum. This will focus on the completion on the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (MEL). Each working group to present the work, reflect on findings and the year, and use this evaluation to look to what activities will be completed in the final year of the HEAL 4 year initiative. Of highlight is the work the Barwon Health Healthy Communities team has done in assisting in the completion of the framework. As with Collective Impact, the work is challenging, but evaluation indicating rich outcomes. The way in which we work in the final year of this 4 year plan will look a little different, recognising varying levels of constraint for our partners in the collective work, the initiative will be opening up to more partners, with very clear roles and anticipated outcomes.
Evaluation work has begun through the PVAW Health Services Alliance Collective. Some very remarkable early indicators regarding the Toolkit that was developed by the Alliance, and the potential to further expand on other tools and prioritise areas of work with the feedback in the preliminary stages.
The Connected Communities work continues, moving into the next stage of consultation with young people. An interesting journey for the project, and so important looking at barriers to social connectedness in key transition times in young people’s lives.
Geelong-based not for profit affordable housing provider Sirovilla Incorporated has received a $80,000 grant from the Percy Baxter Charitable Trust to engage a project officer for 12 months. The project officer will engage with a wide range of stakeholders including the existing providers of affordable and social housing across the region to develop a long-term strategy for funding social and affordable housing to reduce housing stress.
The 12-month project will focus its efforts on increasing affordable and social housing availability, including housing for older members of our community. G21 - Geelong Region Alliance will host the project officer and provide access to its resources and networks to help develop the regional strategy. We are looking forward to commencing this work.
Amongst this, work is continuing to progress with the potential for a new model of health and wellbeing planning in the G21 Region. If you would like more information on this please do not hesitate to reach out. Our website is updated daily with links around the latest COVID-19 advice and updates from DHHS, as well as comprehensive links around mental health and wellbeing, how to prevent infection and spread, and emergency relief and links to support for those experiencing financial distress. Our website will very soon be looking different. We are currently completing preparatory work to combine the Health and Wellbeing Pillar website with the G21 website. This is an exciting opportunity to simplify the way our online resource works, make it far more users friendly and to strengthen our connection with the other G21 Pillars.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to connect at this time.
Please stay safe and #stayathome where at all possible.
An $80,000 seeding grant will help identify ways to increase Social and Affordable Housing available for low-income people within the Geelong region to meet a rapidly growing need.
National NAIDOC Week 2020 celebrations will be held from the 8-15 November
(originally planned from 5-12 July 2020).
The November dates follow the decision by the National NAIDOC Committee (NNC) to postpone NAIDOC Week from the original July dates due to the impacts and uncertainty from the escalating Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic across our communities and cities.
The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring that all Victorians continue to be informed about coronavirus (COVID-19) and has developed a communication pack relating to the public health messaging. Communication materials in 52 languages other than English is now available to assist those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Young people across Golden Plains Shire have written messages of hope to be sent to isolated and vulnerable members of the community.
A new initiative developed in partnership between Council’s Youth Development and Active Ageing and Disability Services teams, the Messages of Hope project will see 150 residents who use Council’s aged and disability services receive a postcard with a message from a young person in the Shire.
15 July 2020 - 7.00 pm
Join Drummond Street Services, Michelle Zarafa (Rising Minds Psychologist) and Andy McNeilly (primary teacher and author of Connecting With Your Kids) for an online chat about helping kids and families return to school. This session will include how to listen to kids about big emotions, and how to live with changing times.
In a series of fact sheets exploring the impact of COVID-19 on women and gender diverse people in Victoria, Gender Equity Victoria and its members are raising awareness of the deep and lasting impacts of disaster on women across the State.
Deakin University launch a new COVID-19 webpage where you can find all the research and expert opinion pieces that have been developed with Deakin and partners in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geelong is the first AFL club to sign up to the Achievement Program. The partnership plan ensures the Achievement Program and Cats education programs such as 'Healthy Hero's', 'Cyber Cats' and 'Just Think' support the creation of healthy school environments, in schools throughout the greater Geelong region.
The Victorian Government is continuing to deliver a fairer Victoria by supporting leaders in our lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender diverse, intersex, queer and questioning (LGBTIQ) communities through the next round of the LGBTIQ Leadership program.
Register with the Workplaces Achievement Program, a state-wide workplace health initiative supported by the Cancer Council Victoria and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The workplace Achievement Program supports local workplaces to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes for their employees.
This report has been put together by the Housing Peaks Alliance. The document provides a clear road map for the next 10 years to ensure that every Victorian who needs a home, has one.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says that "racism is more than just words, beliefs and actions. It includes all the barriers that prevent people from enjoying dignity and equality because of their race".
"It's a form of exclusion and it impacts on people in that way and the stress of it affects mental health directly," Professor Paradies says ABC Life.
The City of Greater Geelong has designed a postcard to initiate connections between neighbours, with hard copies being delivered to almost 30,000 homes across Greater Geelong this week.
Homelessness Week is an annual week coordinated by Homelessness Australia to raise awareness of people experiencing homelessness, the issues they face and the action needed to achieve enduring solutions.
