June 2023

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

View this email in your browser June Issue Welcome to the latest issue of the Greater Whitsunday Communities E-Newsletter.  Greater Whitsunday Communities acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we live, and work and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and future. It has been an exceptionally busy six months for Greater Whitsunday Communities. As we enter the 2023-2024 financial year, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Community Development staff of Greater Whitsunday Communities. Their remarkable work and dedication is making a positive difference in the lives of individuals and communities in our region.  I would also like to express our gratitude to the Whitsunday, Isaac and Mackay regional councils for their invaluable support. The support from our three local governments has been essential to our achievements in the last six months.  The Whitsunday Housing Summit on August 15 is a key event to address housing issues and develop solutions aligned with the issues identified at the Greater Whitsunday Housing Roundtable held on 6 December 2022. This proactive approach demonstrates our commitment to finding innovative solutions to the region's housing challenges. The summit is generously supported by the Whitsunday, Isaac and Mackay Regional Councils, Regional Development Australia (Greater Whitsundays), Dalyrymple Bay Coal Terminal, Community Bank Sarina, Queensland Pumped Hydro and Q Shelter. We are grateful for the commitment of these stakeholders to driving positive solutions to this critical regional issue.   We strongly encourage our members to register to attend the summit and be part of the solution.  As you will see from this newsletter GWC remains committed to mental health care and suicide prevention. Sadly, we bid farewell to our Suicide Prevention Project Officer Courtney Wilson, who has been a driving force in this space. On behalf of all the staff and the board of GWC we thank Courtney for her tireless work and passion that she has put towards the project and wish her well in her future endeavors.   We have made a positive impact in the past year through our support for community initiatives, such as the Safe Sleep Project, Better Together Housing program, Building Community and Social Legacy project, Mackay Social Enterprise Network, Youth Community Leadership Program, Leading Australian Resilient Communities program, Isaac Youth Unmet Needs project, YOL 1000 report, Community Health and Information Day, and Participatory Community Development Workshop.  In closing I would like to thank our members. We are grateful for your continued support and feedback. We know that we can only be successful if we work together. Please continue to identify and raise your challenges with us, so that we can enable and empower the communities in our region.  Carol Norris, Executive Officer Update | Greater Whitsunday Housing Project Greater Whitsunday Housing Summit is scheduled to take place August 15 at the Mackay Turf Club. Come be part of the solution to our region’s housing crisis. The Summit will seek to develop solutions to the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday region’s housing issues in line with the priorities identified at the Housing Roundtable in December 2022. To find out more about this project please click here to read more> Positive Partnerships | Better Together Housing A core strategy of Better Together Housing is the development of partnerships at a local level to support the program and ensure responsiveness. Over the past 12 months new partnerships with the Soroptimist International Mackay Group and Mackay Regional Community Legal Service have been developed to better support the needs of BTH members and to help promote both the program and the issue of older women’s housing insecurity. Read more> Call to Action | GWCOM Suicide Prevention Project  The Greater Whitsunday Council of Mayors Suicide Prevention Taskforce has put forward a community-led suicide prevention model aimed at improving mental health care in the Greater Whitsunday region. Greater Whitsunday Communities are now calling on businesses to get involved by providing financial contributions and partnerships to allow implementation of this innovative pilot model. Read more> Safe Sleep and Sleep Bus Mackay GWCommunities Senior Coordinator Antoinette has been working to support a recently formed group called Safe Sleep Mackay. This group is made up of passionate volunteers from the community who are all working alongside people experiencing homelessness and who wanted to see some immediate action taken to alleviate stretched services and find solutions for people sleeping on the streets. Their first action has been to raise funds for a Sleep Bus Mackay. Read more about the Sleep Bus Mackay and how you can get involved to support Safe Sleep Mackay do the great work they are doing.  Project Wrap Up | Building Community and Economic Legacy in the Greater Whitsunday Region   In May, GWCommunities completed the final report for the Building Community and Economic Legacy in the Greater Whitsunday Region Project. The outcomes from key activities and themes under this project were highlighted, as well as a number of recommendations. Read more> Social Enterprise Network   The Mackay Social Enterprise Network meeting aims to foster a collaborative environment where we can openly share ideas, experiences, and resources to strengthen our social enterprises. This was an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and build valuable relationships within the social enterprise sector in the region. Proudly supported and funded by the Queensland Government, the first social enterprise networking event for Mackay was attended by 16 people, mostly from the Mackay region.  For more information contact Antoinette via email antoinette@gwcommunities.org.au Pilot Project | Youth Community Leadership Workshop  GWCommunities are excited to get started on the new pilot Youth Community Leadership Program developed in collaboration with the Mackay Regional Council Community and Youth Development Team, to be piloted at Mirani State High School during Term 3 2023. Read more> Valuable Opportunity | Leading Australian Resilient Communities Is a national leadership network that is driving positive change. The LARC program is about supporting Australia’s regional communities to meet challenges and collectively drive the positive changes they want to see. To be eligible participant can be: - Current and emerging leaders who understand social, cultural, economic and environmental pressures to their regions. - Volunteers and employees of local government, community organisations and businesses - Living or working in the region and over 18 years of age. For more information visit: Leading Australian Resilient Communities - LARC - ARLF (rural-leaders.org.au) For more than  15 months  the residents of Glenden have been asking for but not receiving reliable & adequate knowledge about the future of nearby mining operations that impact directly on their lives to enable them to make informed decisions about their jobs, their homes, their businesses, their futures.   Greater Whitsunday Communities  has been supporting a community action through the Glenden Alliance Group and Rural Interest Group since March 2022, with their key priority being requesting reliable information about the intentions of nearby major mining developments to be communicated with the Glenden Community.   This information has  clearly not been forthcoming over that period of time, yet just last week the Community learnt that the Queensland Government’s Minister for Resources announced the approval of a Mining Camp for a nearby mining operation , despite court rulings and Isaac Regional Council opposition against this camp proposal. It is clear that this approval for such a mining camp  disregards the existing housing stock and community facilities available in nearby Glenden , ready and waiting for workers and their families , which would inject much needed life and resources in to the Glenden economy and community .   Once again we see the future wellbeing  of the Glenden community being ignored & the full impact of critical decisions not being considered from the individual or community perspective. GW Communities supports Isaac regional Council’s  SAVE GLENDEN campaign Phase Two Underway | Isaac Youth Unmet Needs Greater Whitsunday Communities has begun phase two of the Isaac Youth Unmet Needs project, after the recent release of the Snapshot document Read Here> Phase Two will involve a series of community check ins to validate the data from the Snapshot document and to identify specific issues and needs in each individual Isaac community to inform a whole of community response through a Youth Summit. Read the Isaac Regional Council Media Release here> Launched | YOL1000 Final Report Launched on 3rd April 2023 - the final YOL 1000 report is now available on our website. Read the report here> YOL 1000 aims to give young people a louder voice, and an opportunity to be valued by and connected with the community. The voices of our young people contribute to bring about social change in the Mackay community, by facilitating youth-driven local solutions to local issues and improving their capability to be active and engaged in their communities. Other opportunities that have arisen out of the YOL1000 work is the Firecracker Event, Young Mayors Program and Picnic in the Park. Connected Communities | Seaforth Community Health and Information Day On the 13th of June GWCommunities partnered with Mackay Regional Council and Footprints- Housing Older Women Support Service to hold a Community Health and Information Day in Seaforth. This was the fifth Community Health and Information Day held in a regional community within the Whitsunday, Isaac and Mackay Regions. Read more >   New Knowledge | Participatory Community Development Workshop Greater Whitsunday Communities hosted an introductory workshop to Participatory Community Development with guest speaker Dr Peter Westoby on the 29th of May 2023. Attendees were captivated by his knowledge and practical strategies for creating thriving and inclusive, communities. Read more> Greater Whitsunday Events Calendar Share Tweet Forward GreaterWhitsundayCommunities www.greaterwhitsundaycommunities.org.au Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.