Community Collaboration Grant recipients 2019/20

Applicants:  Yandeyarra Remote Community School, WA Football Commission and Garnduwa

Amount: $6,572.00

Project:  Community Cup Carnival

Project Overview

The Community Cup Football Carnival will be an opportunity for Hedland residents to participate in an ‘on country’ carnival in Yandeyarra Community that focuses on participation, community engagement and healthy, active lifestyles.

In the past 10 years, Yandeyarra has not hosted a football carnival within the community. Community members, and people from other communities have been travelling to larger centres, such as Hedland, Roebourne or Karratha, to participate in sporting events and activities.

Many adult community members fondly remember times from the 1990s, when inter-community events were held. Most young people have not had this opportunity, and no similar event has been held during their youth.

The 2020 Community Cup Carnival would provide an opportunity for all Yandeyarra Community members to be involved in an event that supports the youth, active lifestyles and build back community pride.

These events are great opportunities for students, and their families, to travel to other communities, take part in sporting and social events. These events bring community pride, participation and engagement.

The two day event will be held in Yandeyarra, on the Yandeyarra Community Oval, towards the end of in Term 2, 2020, during the school week on a date to be agreed to by Hedland Network Schools. The games would be based on the Auskick and AFL9s rules. We would estimate that six schools or groups would participate (approximately 90 children and 20 staff, plus an additional 20 support staff and volunteers from involved parties). This would total 130 people attending as participants in the event, not counting parents and community members that would come to watch the kids play. 

Parties involved will be Yandeyarra School (host) working in Partnership with WA Football Commission and Garnduwa, and the Hedland Network Schools (South Hedland, Baler, Cassia, Port Hedland and Hedland SHS). Roebourne and will also be invited to participate as they have a very strong historical and current link with Hedland and Yandeyarra people.

Applicants: Youth Involvement Council, Julyardi Aboriginal Corporation and Kariyarra Youth Aboriginal Corporation

Amount: $10,000.00

Project:   Hedland's Got Talent - providing cultural enrichment in South Hedland

Project Overview

Hedland's Got Talent is a highlight of the South Hedland calendar, providing local young people a rare chance to be celebrated and applauded, and see themselves in a really positive light.

We seek to collaboratively expand and enhance the Hedland's Got Talent experience, providing cultural enrichment for our young people and the wider community by actively involving Traditional Owners and community Elders, and involving young people from Yandeyarra, Warralong and Strelley schools. Our collaboration will help grow the reach and impact of the event exponentially.

Many young people are disconnected from country and culture, to their detriment; providing connections to Elders helps our young people understand their history and where they come from, which is incredibly important for self-esteem and a sense of belonging.

Hedland’s Got Talent has been running for nine years. It keeps getting better, with 50 contestants in the heats and 14 selected for finals in 2019. 

In conjunction with Hedland's Got Talent, we hold the Hedland Youth Awards which give our young people a rare chance to be celebrated and applauded, and see themselves in a really positive light. It is incredibly important for young people to receive this type of feedback, helping increase self-esteem and self-worth and enabling them to see a positive rather than a negative pathway for themselves.

In 2020, Hedland’s Got Talent will run 6-9 April 2020.  Heats will be held at YIC HQ on 6, 7, and 8 April, followed by the Grand Final at the South Hedland Square on 9 April.  Elders will be involved in judging each stage of the heats at the Grand Final.

The Hedland Youth Awards will be presented immediately after the Welcome to Country. Awards will be presented by three Elders – one for each age group. 

Planning for the event will commence far earlier in the year, with our three organisations working together and extensive engagement with local Elders and Yandeyarra, Warralong and Strelley schools to commence at the beginning of Term 1. Elders will attend YIC HQ during the eight weeks leading up to the event to engage with young people, be part of their practice and preparation, and spend time yarning and connecting.

Applicants: Royal Life Saving Society WA, Rose Nowers Early Learning Centre, Child Care Links, Pilbara Community Legal Services Inc, Hedland Well Women’s Centre, Julyardi Aboriginal Corporation and Child Australia

Amount: $10,000.00

Project: Royal Lifesaving Society WA Access & Equity Project

Project Overview

The Royal Life Saving Society WA (RLSSWA) Access and Equity Program will target identified at 'risk groups' in the Town of Port Hedland.  The program will address the lack of participation and break down the barriers to encourage further participation in swimming and water safety education.

Tragically, in the last 10 years 136 people from CaLD backgrounds drowned in Western Australia which represents 39 percentof all drowning deaths. Furthermore, Aboriginal children are 8.6 times more likely to drown than non-Indigenous children.  A review of drowning data indicates limited water safety awareness combined with alarming low participation levels in swimming and water safety programs are contributing factors in the over-representation of drowning amongst CaLD and Aboriginal community members.  Action is required to develop a response to the range of factors that are influencing CaLD and Aboriginal communities lack of participation in swimming and water safety education. RLSSWA is best placed and committed to lead these efforts.

RLSSWA has identified key programming areas that our experience shows will best target the lack of swimming and water safety skills and knowledge amongst the CaLD and Aboriginal communities.  The collaboration and the delivery of these programs will be a focus of the consultation process with the communities ensuring they are culturally appropriate and are all encompassing. These programs include; swimming and water safety lessons for adults, children & youth, basic first aid training (Heart Beat Club) for adults and water safety talks for children and youth. By providing these specific programs, RLSSWA will help empower all communities in the Town of Port Hedland to be safe when they are in, on, or around water. Program participants in swimming and water safety lessons will be introduced to the Swim and Survive program which identifies 12 critical stages in a person’s development.  The lower stages focus on teaching efficient support and movement in the water while the higher stages include skill and knowledge in safety, survival and rescue.  These standards ensure participants are not only taught ‘how’ to swim but also ‘when and where’ to do so safely.

This Access & Equity program has seen great success in the Perth metropolitan area and Regional Western Australia. In 2018/19 RLSSWA faciliated 18 Aboriginal Swim and 64 CaLD Swimming and Water Safety Education programs, with over 3500 participants. This funding proposal aims to use the successes of this program to target additional regional strategy with the Town of Port Hedland. The Town of Port Hedland Strategic Community Plan 2014-2024 highlights that 40% of community members in Port Hedland are born overseas and 15% are of Aboriginal or Torres Straight descent.

RLSSWA will collaborate with Child Care Links Port Hedland, Rose Nowers Early Learning Centre, Pilbara Commuity Legal Services, Hedlands Well Women's Centre, Child Australia ans Julyardi Aboriginal Corporation in order to carry out a successful program. Engaging these community groups helps spread the interest and engage Aboriginal, CaLD and multicultural groups in the Town of Port Hedland. This project will enable RLSSWA to develop invaluable partnerships with the local CaLD and Aboriginal service organisations to further develop our intercultural understanding and promote the importance of swimming & water safety education to the target CaLD and Aboriginal community groups. This will enable RLSSWA to better connect with the wider CaLD and Aboriginal community in Port Hedland to have a sustainable impact after the life of the funded project.

Applicants: Asthma Foundation Of WA Inc and Cystic Fibrosis WA

Amount: $9,962.00

Project: Respiratory Health Outreach: Optimising Lung Health in the Community

Project Overview

The Respiratory Health Outreach project aims to provide up-skilling education workshops to Healthcare Professionals and offer one on one or group lung health sessions to consumers in the Port Hedland community. The project will provide information and practical skills to Healthcare Professionals to assist them in managing their patient's lung health, and support and information sessions to community members, encouraging them to optimize their respiratory health and get active (both in their community and physically).

Project aim:

The Respiratory Health Outreach project aims to provide up-skilling education workshops to Healthcare Professionals and School staff; and offer one on one or group lung health sessions to consumers in the Port Hedland community. The presenting team includes two educators each from Asthma WA and CFWA. The project will provide

1.    Information and practical skills to Healthcare Professionals to assist them in managing their patient's lung health. 

2.    Respiratory support and information sessions to community members, encouraging them to optimize their respiratory health and get active (both in their community and physically).

3.    School staff and sporting group education on management of Asthma and Cystic Fibrosis in students.

Rationale:

Upon diagnosis with a lung condition such as Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Bronchiectasis many people withdraw from activity within the community as well as physically, contributing to further poor health and feelings of isolation. This project aims to encourage awareness amongst healthcare staff and community members, that there is respiratory screen processes available, support and assistance in managing lung conditions, and to empower people with lung conditions to understand how to manage their condition and ‘not let it hold them back.’

Asthma WA intends to ensure their community support services reach all regions of WA. Currently Asthma WA provides support and education to people across WA with Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) via their telehealth service. However it has become apparent that outreach of these services in the Pilbara is very low and relationships with healthcare professionals and the community needs to be further established. The success of this grant will allow Asthma WA to provide these services face to face and establish the essential rapport with the Pilbara community that is needed, ensuring awareness of Asthma WA’s services are made aware. The proposed grant is for one combined outreach trip to Port Hedland. The collaborative approach with CFWA will assist in aiding people living with a lung condition to optimize their quality of life. The collaboration with Cystic Fibrosis will also mean a comprehensive Respiratory health Upskilling workshop can be provided to Healthcare Professionals in the region. Asthma WA and CFWA will utilize their already established Healthcare Professional database to promote this event and seek referrals into their community services.