Successful community wellbeing (2-year) grants

The Community Wellbeing (2-year) grants stream supports projects which address local issues, promote social justice, enhance wellbeing, strengthen the sustainability and capacity of the Inner West community and foster inclusion, equity and social connection.

2024 Community Wellbeing (2-year) grants

These projects are being implemented throughout 2024-2026.

Flight Path Theatre (trading under Inner West Drama for projects and teaching)

• Project: Worthy - Creative Living Workshops
• Funding: $20,000

Worthy will provide creative living workshops to empower, connect, bring joy and employment possibilities to adults living with disability. Working with professionals from the disability sector and those living with disability to develop and deliver workshops created by and for people living with disability.

Metro Assist

• Project: Recycled Rhythms
• Funding: $20,000

The project will provide three-days school holiday program each term over a period of two years, targeting primary aged children residing in the Inner West Council areas. These programs will deliver engaging and educational workshops to foster environmental sustainability by creatively reusing recyclable materials into musical instruments and finishing off the program with an interactive jam session. Parents/guardians will have the opportunity to participate in informative sessions with KidsXpress, Sydney Local Health District Early Childhood Dietitian and Kidsafe.

Midjuburi Youth Resource Centre

• Project: Weaving Wisdom: Koori Girls' Yarning Circle
• Funding: $20,000

This project targets Aboriginal young women aged 12-17. It will offer a weekly Girls' Yarning Circle during school terms, featuring activities like weaving and traditional dance. Facilitated by Midjuburi Youth Resource Centre staff and an indigenous creative artist / domestic violence specialist, these sessions aim to foster cultural connection, identity, and community support.

Stepping Out Housing Programme

• Project: Social Inclusion Program for Female Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence
• Funding: $20,000

Stepping Out will run a holistic social inclusion program to empower adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse and/or domestic violence with a connection to Inner West Council local government area who experience marginalisation and disadvantage as a result of the trauma.

The Survivor Hub

• Project: The Survivor Hub Balmain Meetups Expansion Project
• Funding: $20,000

The Survivor Hub Balmain Meetups are survivor-led peer support groups which harness the strength, knowledge and live experiences of sexual assault survivors in a safe, open and inclusive space. Meetups are non-gender specific (16+ years) and are held on a monthly basis.

Inner City Legal Centre

• Project: Trans Legal Service Drop-in at the Inner West Pride Centre
• Funding: $19,607

In 2025, Twenty10 has invited Inner City Legal Centre to run monthly drop-in clinics to assist with legal gender affirmation at the Inner West Pride Centre. The Centre has identified increasing demand from Inner West residents for assistance with identification documents. Legal identification is central to personal affirmation and practical matters including access to housing, employment, and healthcare.

Good Neighbours Australia

• Project: Connection Through Creativity - Intergenerational Art Project
• Funding: $10,000

This project is an intergenerational art project developed specifically for seniors from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to interact with young adults. Up to 26 participants meet for four sessions over four weeks to paint, chat, share morning tea and get to know one another. As art is a universal activity, all ages/ethnicities can participate.

2023 Community Wellbeing (2-year) grants

These projects are being implemented throughout 2023-2025.

Addison Road Community Organisation

• Project: Break Bread, Break Barriers
• Funding: $20,000

This program will provide nutritional literacy and education to marginalised community members experiencing food insecurity and social isolation. Two six-month programs provide fortnightly workshops and demonstrations on how to budget, shop, understand nutritional value in ingredients, safely handle and store food, meal plans and wholesome cooking. Specific needs, such as allergies, health conditions and cultural requirements, will be considered. Each session will culminate in participants sharing meals and stories, with two bi-annual feasts to celebrate with the wider Addison Road community, using rescued food from our food pantry and community garden.

Community and Cultural Connections

• Project: Filling Gaps for New and Emerging Communities - new Migrants with Nepalese and Vietnamese backgrounds
• Funding: $20,000

The project targets new local migrants with Nepalese and Vietnamese backgrounds, which are identified on the top five of recent arrivals Birthplace-Inner West Council. Each group will be provided with a safe place to connect, learn, share experiences with new and established community members; to provide needed information, services, and referrals; and to initiate workshops and activities for mental health wellness and wellbeing. It aims to build residents’ capacity; to enhance local engagement; to promote holistic wellbeing and meaningful social connections through a co-designed social and recreational program with an appropriate culturally and linguistically approach.

Sydney Community Safe Space

• Project: Community Safe Space Educate
• Funding: $20,000

The project aim is to educate the carers, family members, friends, or colleagues of someone who is struggling with suicidality, mental distress or chronic loneliness in the Inner West Community. Through a series of workshops, meetings and help seeking activities.

The Infants' Home Child and Family Services

• Project: Sing&Grow Partnership Program for Vulnerable Children and Families
• Funding: $19,712

In partnership with Sing&Grow Australia over two years, The Infants' Home aim to deliver four free six-week Music Therapy Playgroup programs for 12 children from birth to school age who are living in vulnerable circumstances and/or who are developmentally at risk (two groups per year). Additionally, each year, a series of three free Family Workshop sessions for parents/carers facing adversity will be delivered to build participants’ capacity to use music to support their interactions and relationship with their child, support their child's development and support daily routines. Sing&Grow is a national evidence-based music therapy program delivered by registered music therapists.

Dress for Success Sydney

• Project: Empower Her: Elevating Careers Through Dress for Success Sydney
• Funding: $14,000

Dress for Success Sydney helps women who have fallen into financial difficulty find work and get back on their feet. Each year, it helps over 2,500 women across metropolitan, regional, and rural NSW into work and regain financial independence. Due to an increase in demand means moving to a larger Sydney showroom to ensure the programs reach more women across NSW, to empower more women across the inner west (and NSW more broadly) into employment.

Mr Perfect

• Project: Better mental health through a free BBQ with mates and men from the local community
• Funding: $10,000

Mr Perfect hold free community BBQ's once a month from 10.00am - 12.00pm on a Sunday morning. Men are encouraged to come along, have a free sausage sandwich, get out in the sunshine, and have a chat and make a connection with other men from the local community.

Older Women's Network NSW

• Project: Expressive Ties: Connecting Older Women through art to combat social isolation
• Funding: $10,000

The project, "Expressive Ties", is designed for older women from diverse backgrounds to combat social isolation and improve wellbeing. Led by an experienced Art Therapist, the workshops will offer a nurturing and non-judgmental space for women to forge deep connections with one another. This shared creative journey cultivates a sense of community, understanding, and support, empowering these women to strengthen their social bonds while finding solace and empowerment in their collective artistic pursuits.

2022 Community Wellbeing (2-year) grants

These projects are being implemented throughout 2022-2024.

Dance for Parkinson's Australia

• Project: Jive, Thrive and Energise! Dance for Wellbeing
• Funding: $19,310

The project is an all-encompassing reach into the Inner West. While sustaining our vibrant Rozelle class we will further the relationships developed with Aged Care facilities in 2022, initiate new relationships in 2023/24 while demonstrating through community events the benefits of the programme to health professionals and bringing intergenerational fun.

Flight Path Theatre

• Project: Woven together - an intergenerational storytelling project
• Funding: $20,000

Woven together is a continuation of the intergenerational storytelling project which we began in 2019. Woven was so deeply affecting, moving, inspirational and uplifting that we want to be able to roll the project out again and to a wider Inner West participation group.

Gunnawirra

• Project: Bamul - earth
• Funding: $18,000

In 2022, Gunawirra was funded by Inner West Council to run some cultural workshops, (cultural experiences) for the Inner West community. Due to the community's high demand for more cultural experiences, we would like to continue to support the community's needs.

Marrickville Legal Centre

• Project: Inner west Youth Justice Ambassadors training program
• Funding: $20,000

Train the Trainer is a capacity-building and training program that aims to upskill young people from diverse backgrounds in Sydney’s inner west to improve access to justice through community participation and inclusion.

Midjuburi Youth Resource Centre

• Project: Revolving Door No More
• Funding: $20,000

This project is focusing on Aboriginal Young People 12-17 years. The activities that will occur are initially to have the Aboriginal young people attend 8-10 weeks of soft entry activities to build rapport with staff and each other. Once this has been achieved each young person will be asked to yarn with a MYRC facilitator to identify what are their current issues, goals and to develop an achievable plan. Once adequate supports are in place, we will go away on a camp on Yuin Country, to take part in cultural activities and teachings.

Together Two Limited

• Project: The Patch - a place to gather, work, learn and grow
• Funding: $20,000

The Patch is a garden space that will provide the community with a place to work, learn, contribute and most importantly socialize with a wide range of community members of varying demographics. Activities and events will develop lifelong skills while fostering greater wellbeing for the individual.