Neigbourhood and Community Centre Background
Neighbourhood and community centres exist to strengthen their communities. They do this by promoting inclusivity through their 'open door' and 'no wrong door' policy. Each neighbourhood centre and community centre provide services, activities and programs that address needs at a grass roots level.
Neighbourhood centres have existed in NSW since at least 1961, growing in response to community awareness about self help, resident issues and welfare rights. By 1991, the core funding for neighbourhood centres was integrated into New South Wales Community Services ‘Community Services Grants Program’ (CSGP) and Community Services continues to provide renewable funds to more than 300 such centres throughout NSW.
In 2010 the CSGP was abandoned and replaced with the new Community Builders Community Hub funding, and a well deserved increase in the renewable funding levels for the first time in over 20 years was achieved.
This was well received by neighbourhood centres in a time of unprecedented demand for services from communities of people where disproportionately high levels of social and financial disadvantage are often combined with other complex and challenging needs.
Unfortunately, many newer neighbourhood centres, in our case Pottsville Beach Neighbourhood Centre, have not been able to access this funding stream to date, in spite of the recent changes.
The peak body for neighbourhood and community centres – the Local Community Services Association – supports a regional network for all centres convened by their regional representative, currently Natalie Meyer from Nimbin Neighbourhood and Information Centre. Far North Coast Neighbourhood Centres hold quarterly meetings each year and exchange views on issues of common interest and convey the outcomes of those discussions to the peak body. The peak communicates back to the regions via the Regional Representative. On a less formal note, Centre Managers provide advice and other supports to colleagues who may be experiencing problems in service delivery or other service-related issues. Each neighbourhood centre Management Committee delegates responsibility for attending LCSA meetings – usually to the Centre Manager or her/his equivalent.
All neighbourhood centres share some common principles and philosophies about their purpose or role. These come under three broad categories:
- Affirmative action towards disadvantaged people and groups
- Local participation and control
- Community development
Source: LCSA (Local Community Services Association)- http://www.lcsa.org.au/
Neighbourhood Centres and community centres build capacity and resilience in their own communities.
In the far North Coast region, a strong and enduring alliance of neighbourhood and community centres has led to the formation of the Consortium of Neighbourhood Centres - Far North Coast (CONC)