- Projects in Toowoomba and Goondiwindi will share in more than $740,000 in funding under the Palaszczuk Government’s Community Partnership Innovation Grants.
- In Toowoomba, Indigenous mentor Adam Wenitong will deliver an intensive program for young offenders while Raw Impact will engage at-risk young people in intensive cultural connection.
- In Goondiwindi, Winangali Infusion will deliver ‘The Block’ project, which will provide a safe and supervised community hub.
- In total, 12 projects in communities across Queensland will share in more than $3 million in funding in the second round of the grants program.
- The local projects complement the wide range of government programs and initiatives aimed at tackling the complex causes of youth crime.
Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard today announced that projects in Toowoomba and Goondiwindi are among 12 new projects to receive a Community Partnership Innovation Grant to tackle youth offending.
This funding, part of the second round of the grant program, totals more than $3 million in one-off funding for projects to enable local communities to deliver locally designed solutions to tackle the complex causes of youth offending.
Indigenous mentor Adam Wenitong will receive almost $143,000 to deliver an intensive 30-week program for young people who have reoffended. It will include a seven-month cultural project that provides cultural mentoring and connection to the First Nations community.
Raw Impact will receive $300,000 to deliver their project, which will see at-risk young people engage in an intensive period of cultural connection over seven weeks, with the option of ongoing cultural activities and projects that support the rejuvenation of native title land at the Yumba.
Winangali Infusion will receive $300,000 to deliver ‘The Block’ project, which will provide young people in Goondiwindi, and in the New South Wales border towns of Boggabila and Toomelah, with a safe and supervised community hub for pro-social opportunities, cultural education and recreational activities.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Youth Justice Leanne Linard:
“The Palaszczuk Government continues to listen and act on youth crime.
“Local communities are often the first to see when a young person disconnects from family, stops attending school or shows anti-social behaviour, all of which are indicators that the young person may engage in criminal behaviour.
“When I have met with local community groups, they have told me that they want to work with the government and put their local experience and knowledge to good use to help divert young people from crime.
“The Palaszczuk Government’s Community Partnership Innovation Grants enable grass roots organisations to work with local young people to stop offending before it starts or reduce offending and make a real difference to their lives.
“The projects receiving grants complement the wide range of programs and initiatives delivered by State Government agencies to tackle the complex causes of youth crime.
“We are committed to addressing youth crime and recently announced a comprehensive suite of measures, including an additional $100 million in funding for programs proven to make a difference in diverting young people from crime.
“I am looking forward to seeing the results each of these organisations achieve through their respective projects.”
