Beneficial funding for the youth of Lismore and the Northern Rivers is being rolled out. Social Futures has selected eight community organisations that will receive up to $150,000 from the Resilient Kids Youth Participation program.

Lismore PCYC is one of the recipients, receiving $128,000, and there is a wide range of benefits for the kids in our city.

Social Futures says, “The grants are a part of the Resilient Kids program, funded by Healthy North Coast through a $10 million initiative from the Australian Government to support disaster recovery for Northern Rivers young people aged eight to 18 years post-floods. Resilient Kids is being delivered in three streams: 

• Stream 1: Education and skill building through school-based supports 

• Stream 2: Community resilience building delivered from local hubs, with outreach to smaller communities 

• Stream 3: First Nations children and young people initiatives. 

“The Youth Participation Fund aims to facilitate social connection, community resilience and build youth leadership, particularly in relation to disaster recovery. Social Futures is delivering Resilient Kids across the Northern Rivers, with forty applications for grants received from organisations across the region.”

Social Futures General Manager of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Simone Silberberg, said “There were so many worthy programs, and the applications were of a very high standard. The evaluation panel needed to make some tough decisions and had to reflect on the grant criteria and the needs of the community post-floods.” 

The evaluation panel included three young people who helped to assess the applications, including 15-year-old Aidan Argent, who said young people value being outdoors, connecting with friends, and making new friends, and this was front of mind when they looked at the applications.

“There were a lot of good ideas, and that was a really positive thing to see. I am glad I got the opportunity to help make decisions to impact a community I am part of,” Argent said. 

Fellow panel member, 21-year-old Ochre Pietens, said of the selection panel experience, “It was a great process to be a part of, and I have learned valuable information regarding this industry’s processes and procedures. It also gave me an opportunity to evaluate the needs and expectations of those in our communities who require support and assistance.” 

The evaluation panel also included youth services, flooded-impacted community members and managers from Social Futures and Healthy North Coast. 

In Lismore, the PCYC programs are designed to foster community connection, build capacity, and enhance the outcomes for disengaged, vulnerable, at-risk, First Nation youth and young people with disabilities. 

Emily Huntley, the manager at the PCYC elaborates on how the grant will be used here in Lismore.

“There are 5 programs that will be funded, including FIT for Change, FIT for Life, Safe Drivers Course, term-based activity and holiday passes, and an inclusive All Ability Gymnastics program.

“A lot of our funding comes from grants, but this is a big one, it's definitely exciting. It means we will be offering opportunities to people that need more specific adaptive classes.”

Emily tells us a little about each program on offer:

FIT for Change workshops focusing on value-building and employment readiness. “This will be two 10-week programs. It is funded for 12 people in each group, aged 14 to 16 years, and that will facilitate them to get their white cards, first aids, help with writing resume and all those sorts of things that will enable them to get jobs.”

FIT for Life fitness sessions to boost confidence. “This is actually one of my favourites. It's for at-risk kids, and they come early in the morning before school; we put them through a fitness program alongside the police. The police actually run the programs we just assist and help them out. The kids do the program, we cook them breakfast, and then we drop them to school. 

“They get this really nice engagement with police in a positive way. A lot of the kids are at risk and only see the negative things that happen with police. So, to have police interact in a really positive way it's massive. It has meant an increase in school attendance.”

Safe Drivers Course for driving skills enhancement. “This is not a drivers class, it’s a safety lesson. We've got 60 places within the grant to offer a 100% discount. One-third of those will be offered directly to First Nations youth. The outcome of that one is basically to support and obtain their P1 or Red P’s. By doing this, they get a 20-hour deduction off what the driving hours they have to get to obtain their licence.”

Term-based activity and holiday passes for fun, skill-building activities: “They have given us the funding for 200 places over three terms of holidays. That's a massive one because there are not many holiday vacation cares in Lismore to offer a free program for so many kids. It's going to be such a burden lifted from families. To be able to bring our own freebie in is incredible.

“The term-based programs, we've actually got 1500 daily passes. That’s for a one-hour activity a day. It's for things like gymnastics, parkour, boxing, karate or judo.”

The final one is an inclusive All Ability Gymnastics program. “This is a new one for PCYC. This is for people with limited abilities. If anyone needs extra assistance to help with skills or learning, that is what we will offer. So it may mean we use different equipment or different coaching and training to facilitate the required needs.”

These options will be coming for the third term after July, so contact the PCYC Lismore for more information on how to get involved.

Social Futures are very happy with the project outcomes.

“The diverse range of innovative programs selected for funding through the Resilient Kids Youth Participation Fund reflects a commitment to supporting the holistic recovery and wellbeing of Northern Rivers young people post-floods. An independent evaluation of the Resilient Kids program is also being delivered with the providers to understand the impact of the program and to build upon emerging outcomes and achievements.”

The list of recipients includes:

1. Momentum Collective $76,363 To deliver fortnightly workshops to students in the Richmond Valley region focusing on life skills, relationship building, and decision-making related to wellbeing, partnering with Local Elders, entrepreneurs, community and emergency services.

2. Byron Youth Service $77,378 The Village Young Men’s Story Project, is a 36-week program which will support 15 flood affected young men (12-17 years) in Mullumbimby, who are disengaged from school. 

3. Human Nature $87,262 Human Nature will deliver ‘The Empowered Future Camps’ - designed for young people disengaged from education and affected by floods. They will offer four immersive 2- night/3-day experiences for up to 12 participants each, in various outdoor settings across Northern NSW. 

4. Mudyala Aboriginal Corporation $87,105 Mudyala will deliver a unique program for Aboriginal youth (8-18 years) in the Lower Clarence region, focusing on those with intellectual or neurological disabilities or those facing social isolation. 

5. PCYC Lismore $128,000 PCYC Lismore, in partnership with NSW Police, will deliver five essential community-focused programs over four terms across Lismore, Ballina and Richmond Valley LGAs. 

6. Murwillumbah Community Centre $148,966 The "Mission Possible" project, developed in association with local youth agencies and socialfutures.org.au emergency response organisations, aims to enhance climate disaster readiness and recovery. 

7. Surfing Australia $147,520 The Resilient Teens Project is a transformative 10-month program designed to equip Northern Rivers teens 14 – 18 years old who are disengaged from school and education, with life skills and resilience. 

8. Queer Family $150,000 ‘Young Queerios: Sprouts at the Queer Family Farmhouse’ in Mullumbimby. This unique program caters to children aged 8-12, creating an environment for them to socialise, form friendships, and engage in uplifting activities. 

For more detailed project descriptions and contact details for each project, go to the Social Futures Website.