A local township group is making an urgent appeal for renewed funding to support its most vulnerable members.
The Village Township Group of Ferntree Gully is urgently calling for action to renew its local Ferntree Gully Community Safety Outreach Project, a program which ran until August 2024.
With the gains from the program slipping away, the group are advocating for renewed funding to keep two outreach workers from Foothills Community Care working in the area.
“These workers connected our most vulnerable community members to essential services, including food, medicine, medical appointments, and opportunities for social connection,” said Village Township Group President Seamus Smith.
CEO of Foothills Community Care, Stephen Barrington, said employing the workers, especially for the project, supported locals in need of an extra hand-up.
“This happens through the building of relationships or respect and trust, and where possible supporting them to address challenges they are facing,” he said.
Building on the work Foothils is already doing in Fertree Gully, Mr Barrington said the outreach project worked with their local community to co-design responses, activities, programs and events to build positive community outcomes for all.
“It was a community development project, looking at long-term changes, and complemented, but was different to our food relief program,” he said.
The program supported the outreach workers to provide critical support to both rough sleepers and residents of the seven boarding houses near the Ferntree Gully Village centre.
“The results were transformative, antisocial behaviours decreased, residents’ wellbeing improved, and community participation flourished,” said Mr Smith.
The Victorian Government’s Building Safer Communities program in Knox ran for 16 months from April 2023 to 2024, and Foothills received just over 200 thousand dollars for it.
A spokesperson from Knox Council said Knox secured the grant funding in 2023.
“As part of this initiative, Council awarded $465,545 to local community groups and organisations across six projects to enhance community safety in Ferntree Gully,” they said.
“It was based around the Ferntree Gully village community and addressed issues of safety and social connection, especially for the most vulnerable within our community,” said Mr Barrington.
“The project centred around four key stakeholder groups, including local community groups, traders, law enforcement and vulnerable people in the area,” he said.
State member Daniela De Martino MP said that the one-off grant funding helped identify and address issues of local concern and that she would continue working to advocate for continued support from all levels of government.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work delivered by local organisations in Ferntree Gully to make it a safer and more liveable community thanks to over $400,000 in funding from our State Government’s Empowering Communities Program,” she said.
On the ground in Ferntree Gully, Mr Smith said not continuing the funding in 2024 has put the gains from it at risk.
“Without ongoing support, rough sleepers and boarding house residents face renewed challenges, including isolation and reduced access to critical resources,” he said.
Rooming or boarding houses are multi-room residences with shared facilities, and the Knox area currently has 22 registered, with recent community upset about another nine-bedroom rooming property under review by Council on the cards.
“The Victorian Government has established planning exemptions to support the development of rooming houses and they do not require Council approval provided they meet certain conditions,” said a spokesperson from Knox Council.
Foothills Community Care have looked into other options without success, highlighting a need for both government and community action.
“We lobbied for ongoing funding and were told by Knox Council there were no further options,” said Mr Barrington.
A Knox Council spokesperson said that the Council continues to support community groups and organisations like Foothills Community Care in other ways,
“Knox Council and the group recently received a $20,000 Emergency Relief Fund grant,” they said.
While the fund addresses immediate needs for the vulnerable, the rapid use of the emergency grant by local community groups in Knox suggests a growing need for basic support to the community.
The fund has 11,531 dollars remaining of the 100,000 dollar budget for the rest of the financial year.
Mr Smith said that the Village Township Group have put forward a budget submission to be heard at forthcoming Knox Council deliberations, calling for this program to be reinstated, along with other incentives to enhance the village environment.
“The Village Township Group of Ferntree Gully call on the Victorian Government, Knox City Council, and local stakeholders to immediately reinstate funding for this vital program,” he said.
“We would like to see it returned so we can offer intensive, outreach support, wrap-around services, to the most vulnerable in our community, and in turn, help keep our community safe,” said Mr Barrington.
“The evidence is clear – investing in outreach workers strengthens our community and transforms lives,” said Mr Smith.
Mr Smith invites all to join the group in advocating for renewed funding by contacting your local representatives, or supporting the Village Township Group’s efforts at villagetownshipgroup.ftg@gmail.com
