Hannah Hammoud
Further funding has been announced for local crime prevention initiatives in Brimbank.
The Empowering Communities Partnership program has provided additional funding to the Brimbank community to support community-led initiatives that identify and address local crime and safety issues.
The Brimbank Local Action Group allocated $240,000 to promote youth voice through ‘School Hackathon Workshops’ which will be run by Youth Endeavour Australia. The focus will be for primary and high school students to create projects addressing safety issues in their school or community.
An additional $240,000 will fund four partnership programs in Brimbank aimed at supporting young people to grow and thrive, as well as to avoid contact with the justice system.
$70,000 will go to the African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity’s Women’s Words program, which addresses and prevents the breakdown of family and community relations. It also aims to end feelings of isolation that many women of refugee and migrant backgrounds experience when building new lives.
Charis Mentoring’s Tautai Lead and Reniu programs will receive $70,000 to unite Pasifika young people, families and communities through programs and services.
Making Media Australia will receive $50,000 for their Live FM Project, providing young people in school settings with the opportunity to share stories and celebrate diversity producing live-radio and podcasts.
$50,000 will support the Youth Support and Advocacy Service, which collaborates with young people to redevelop a welcome space at Sunshine. This will increase opportunities for youth voice and cultural expression. The space will also be used by the Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity and Charis Mentoring.
The Empowering Communities Partnerships is part of the delivery of Victoria’s crime prevention strategy which aims to enable communities and key organisations to deliver solutions that address the underlying causes of crime.
The strategy operates under an early intervention approach with a goal to prevent crime and keep communities safe by addressing the root causes of offending.
