Brimbank Council Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres provide opportunities for

people at all life stages to connect and learn, strengthen cultural identities, and build a sense of

belonging in individuals and groups.

2020-2021 saw the Neighbourhood House Unit embark on the implementation of Year 2 of the

Council’s Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2024.

Much was achieved in the first year of the Strategy, and momentum has continues to build in the

ambitious transformation of Council managed Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres

(NH/CCs) into sites of belonging and learning for all.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to shape everyone’s lives and in turn, Neighbourhood

House offerings to the Brimbank community during this tumultuous time.

Brimbank

Neighbourhood Houses

and Community Centres

Annual Report Card 2020–2021

In 2020/2021 Brimbank City Council’s

Neighbourhood Houses:

Provided leadership to the Brimbank

Neighbourhood Strategic Partnership (made

up of both Council managed and community

run NH/CCs)

The Partnership group meet quarterly and shifted

its focus to support Neighbourhood House led

COVID relief efforts. A coordinated approach to food

relief services between Council and community

managed centres, resulted in over 2,000 vulnerable

households being provided food hamper and

material aid.

A new Brimbank Neighbourhood Houses

Strategic Partnership Agreement and Action Plan for

2022-2025 was drafted by the partnership through

an online, collaborative process.

Provided grants totaling $220,000 to four

community managed Neighbourhood Houses. These

included $35,000 per house as Council’s annual

contribution grant and a one-off $10,000 grant for

programs to support local COVID-19 initiatives.

Supported Young People to Connect and Learn

(with a focus on young people who experience

structural discrimination)

2020/2021 saw the continued growth of BRIMBANK

LIVE, a digital radio platform that was borne out of

the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, as a creative

way for young people to connect and learn online.

24 young people received training in media and

technology to support them to write, host live

and pre-recorded radio shows and podcasts. Over

150 radio shows were produced, 8,000 people

listened to on-demand podcasts and over 200

people viewed podcast videos on the LIVE FM

website. BRIMBANK LIVE presented three special

edition Facebook Live shows attracting over 2,000

viewers.

The BRIMBANK LIVE crew also delivered three live

broadcasts (between lockdowns) at the Westvale

Community Centre Cultural Diversity Week event,

the African Music and Culture Festival at the

Immigration Museum and from the Neighbourhood

House Victoria Sector Awards. 2,300 people viewed

on-demand videos of these events.

Delivered in partnership with Equal Ed, 74 online

homework support sessions to primary and

secondary students at no cost. These session

were attended by 78 students in total and provided

critical education support during the pandemic.

In 2020/2021 ‘The House!’ creative arts program

for young people and facilitated by young people,

continued to prove very successful with young

people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

53 young people regularly attended the sessions

which ran twice a week. Participants of ‘The House!’

program produced and recorded six songs and

one music video, unpacking their experiences of

the pandemic. The young people also wrote and

produced a COVID safe summer video to support

young people to use COVID safe behaviours (the

video can be viewed

here

).

In 2020/2021 a Young Carers Project was piloted

with a group of eight young people who have

resettled in Australia. The project provided in

person and online care and support for them

and their family members through a program

that offered art therapy through a First Nations

lens; smartphone film-making; Botanical Gardens

Indigenous Heritage Walk and other excursions.

The project aimed to build connection through

shared experiences, and access to formal support

avenues during a complex time of resettlement

and COVID-19.

Supported Children and Families to Connect

and Learn:

No cost holiday programs were run online and some

face to face (between lockdowns). These included

programs in visual arts and crafts, dance, sport,

First Nations culture and knowledge and health and

wellbeing. In 2020/2021 over 300 families took

advantage of accessible, safe and creative holiday

programming for children and young people in and

out of lockdowns.

In a year of unprecedented social restrictions, two

very successful Cultural Diversity Week events

were held during lockdowns. West Sunshine

Community Centre and Westvale Community Centre

delivered cultural events that were co-designed

by local communities including communities from

the Pasifika region, Myanmar, Vietnam, the African

diaspora, Nepal and Sudan.

‘We Got You’ mentoring and support program (online

and face to face) has continued to support children and

young people during the pandemic, by mentored by

older young people aged 18-30 years who represent

cultural diverse communities in Brimbank. 27 children

and young people received mentoring weekly.

Online and face to face homework support was

delivered through two programs to 65 primary aged

students to support continued engagement in

learning during the pandemic.

Worked toward a culture of race equity in

everything that we do:

In 2020/2021 First Nations knowledge and

awareness continued to be embedded in activities

and events.

. These include: Aboriginal and

multicultural Yarning Circles, B Creative (a creative

arts project for First Nations families), NAIDOC week

programming for all life stages and the introduction of

Acknowledgement of Country as standard practice in

meetings, programs and events.

Built Intergenerational Connections and

Supported Adults and Seniors to Connect

and Learn:

Partnered with the South Sudanese Mothers Coalition

to deliver B Creative an intergenerational performance

project focused on building intergenerational

understanding between elders and young people.

This was delivered face to face and online.

Provided Men’s Health education through

programming for participants of the Westvale

Men’s Shed.

Provided a wide range of physical exercise and mental

wellbeing support through targeted programming for

women from culturally diverse communities, seniors

and people living with disabilities.

Continued to partner with a wide range

of organisations to better serve Brimbank

communities

A partnership with Victoria University resulted in an in

depth evaluation of the first year of the Neighbourhood

Houses and Community Centres Strategy and Action Plan.

To deliver community led programs to support health

and wellbeing, life-long learning and pathways to

employment. Vaccine rollout partnerships were

held with: Victoria University, MiCare, IPC health,

Football Empowerment, Making Media Australia,

The Pasefika Hub, PICAA (Pacific Island Creative Arts

Association), AAFRO (Australian African Foundation

for Retention and Opportunity), Nga Uri Whaioranga

(Maori community organisation), Clutch Sports, Raw

and Rugged (Pasifika youth organisation), Australian

Multicultural Community Services, Equal ED, Sudanese

Mothers Coalition Victoria and Australian Vietnamese

Women’s Association, Royal Children’s Hospital (Mental

Health Unit), Papuan Women’s Association and

VietLove ,Vietnamese community organisations.

Awards received in 2020/2021:

2020 Victorian Multicultural Commission’s

Highly Commended Local Government Award for

Excellence in Multicultural Programming.

2021 Neighbourhood Houses Victoria Statewide

Award for Reducing Inequity for BRIMBANK LIVE.

Brimbank Council Managed

Neighbourhood Houses and

Community Centres

Cairnlea Community Hub

59 Carmody Drive, Cairnlea, VIC 3023

Delahey Community Centre

80 Copperfield Drive, Delahey, VIC 3037

Hunt Club Arts and Community Centre

775 Ballarat Road, Deer Park, VIC 3023

Sydenham Neighbourhood House

Level 1, 1 Station Street,

Watergardens Town Centre,

Taylors Lakes, VIC 3038

West Sunshine Community Centre

25 Kermeen Street,

Sunshine West , VIC 3020

Westvale Community Centre

45 Kings Road, Kings Park, VIC 3021

Keilor Community Hub program spaces

704B Old Calder Highway, Keilor, VIC 3036

For further information contact:

NHCCSocial@brimbank.vic.gov.au

279 - 0721

9249 4000

info@brimbank.vic.gov.au

PO Box 70, Sunshine, VIC 3020

• TTY dial

133 677

• Speak & Listen

1300 555 727

•

www.relayservice.gov.au

, then enter

03 9249 4000

www.facebook.com/brimbankcouncil

www.twitter.com/brimbankcouncil

www.youtube.com/brimbankcitycouncil

Use Brimby, the online virtual assistant

brimbank.vic.gov.au