Final round of community grants opens

The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network’s (MPHN) Community Grants for activities supporting mental health and wellbeing in drought-affected communities have re-opened today.

The grants have been made possible with funding from the Australian Government’s ‘Empowering our Communities’ initiative allowing local communities to tailor mental health responses to their own needs.

MPHN CEO Melissa Neal said from December 2018 to November 2019 $1.2 million of grants were provided for a range of activities in the region, reaching almost 25,000 people.

“We have seen activities from group exercise, art classes, resilience workshops, and workforce training be carried out with a community grant and the benefits of these activities in helping to bring communities together and foster social connectedness will aid long term resilience and recovery,” Ms Neal said.

“Feedback I’ve received from across the region has been overwhelmingly positive and we are pleased to provide this final opportunity for members of the community to apply for grants once again.”

Empowering our Communities Steering Committee member and volunteer community mental health advocate from Stockinbingal, John Harper said the heart of grants is about supporting a whole of community approach to mental health and suicide prevention.

“These grants encourage and empower local rural communities to look for proactive approaches to mental health support suicide prevention,” Mr Harper said.

“It really is part of a holistic strategy for addressing mental health in our local communities who are feeling the impacts of drought and I would expect activities receiving grants will help build and strengthen relationships within communities as well.”

Grant applications close on Friday, 27 March 2020 or when funding is exhausted. All grant activities must be complete by 30 June 2020.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health emergency should call the Mental Health Line 1800 011 511, Lifeline 13 11 14 or call 000. Or to access the Head to Health website visit www.headtohealth.gov.au.

For more information about the Murrumbidgee Community Grants visit www.mphn.org.au/drought-support.