Community & Business
10 November, 2024
Wellness help on the way
A MALANDA group is one of four in the Far North to receive a grant to support local wellness and suicide prevention activities that meet the specific needs of people in their communities.
Funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN), the grants are part of the Targeted Regional Initiative for Suicide Prevention program and are designed to promote effective, accessible, and affordable community-led activities to help those experiencing distress or who are at risk of suicide.
The grants focus on two types of community-led and innovative initiatives:
• Project-ready initiatives: Projects that are already developed and ready to be launched or are already being implemented and need more financial support to continue.
• Pitch-ready initiatives: A working concept or idea that needs financial support to become project ready.
The grant for the “Tis The ‘Tism” project, based in Malanda, will be used to establish a youth neurodivergent group with the support of social workers utilising their lived experience to help young neurodiverse people with self-care, bullying, and stigma.
NQPHN interim chief executive officer Ben Tooth said the grants would help address the factors that contributed to suicide in North Queensland.
“We know suicide can be linked to feelings of helplessness or being overwhelmed, as well as stressful life events such as relationship difficulties, social isolation, loss of a job or income, and financial or housing stress,” Mr Tooth said.
He said teams had engaged with a range of people over the past year and he was “inspired by the innovative initiatives that have been created by and for the community, and more specifically for their local area.” He hoped to see more grants go to groups and organisations in the future.