Our Story in Artwork

“Mura Kaymel Zageth”

(Kala Kawaw Ya dialect meaning - Our Work Together)

This artwork is dedicated to Community Gro’s work providing for Community members in need of support and access to essential services. Community Gro assists in empowering people’s lives, Working together with individuals and families from across all cultures, abilities and ages in the Townsville community.

The Circle

Community Gro’s logo with inner circle design representing the organisation’s connection to community. It is a meeting place and is a welcoming space for community members to socialise with others across cultures, abilities and ages.

The Flowers

The hibiscus and frangipani flowers represent blossoming of individuals/ families as Community Gro supports their educational, financial and emotional well-being. It also is a symbol of celebration when people are empowered to make life changing choices and succeed in areas of their lives that Community Gro has assisted them - whether it be with community education on use of computers; completing resumes and job applications; and parenting, financial and life education programs.

The Water

Furthermore, the body of water that is present in this design references the Ross River that flows through Townsville.

The Turtles

The turtles are symbolic of individuals or families on life’s journey and overcoming challenges and obstacles. The circle motifs represent food sources and how Community Gro provides food relief to families in need.

The Tree

The tree depicted as a family and Community Gro logo in amongst the leaves references Community Gro’s commitment to delivering holistic services and support necessary to ensure safety, financial wellbeing and life changing opportunities. These aspects are an integral part of Community Gro providing positive growth and development within our community.

Community Gro supports grass roots level support for individuals and families by providing essential services and to empower them to make informed decisions and explore opportunities for development.

The Dots

The black, red, yellow & white dots along the top boarders and around the tree represent Community Gro’s progressive momentum in working alongside Indigenous staff & community members in positive outreach and support programs where they are needed.

Flora

The leaf designs and other motifs in this space are symbolic of growth, opportunities and the ebb and flow in life. It also shows how Community Gro provides all kinds of support to people across the life cycle in Townsville: Information, advice, referral and advocacy; practical support including food relief and help with household items; and somebody who will listen.

Boomerang

The Boomerang & Dhari designs represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, many of which access support services through Community Gro centres in Townsville. These centre’s have Indigenous staff who provide support in culturally appropriate ways.

Upper Ross Community Centre

Belinda Jensen

The Upper Ross Community Centre continues to be a local source of activities, information, and support for our community.

Our fantastic volunteers continue to keep our centre well-presented and welcoming for our community along with JCU Social Work Students who come to our centre to learn how to support community at a ground level.

Our partnerships with OzHarvest, Second Bite and Brumby’s helps those in need in our community with food products including dairy, meat, bread, fruit and vegetables,

Over 16,590 community visits to access our Centre resources and activities including but not limited to transport, community events, computer use, enquiries, office services, emergency food relief, information, advice, and casework.

We have had over 4,300 community visits to access our regular Community Gro programs including computer lessons, JP services, legal advice, playgroup, tax help, school holiday programs, Shield of H.E.R.S. and Youth Hub.

External Centre use and hire continued to increase with over 3,000 community members accessing church groups, disability employment services, Queensland Health clinics, social group activities and Upper Ross Emergency Relief Collective.

Our Community Fun Day and Big Breakfast were both a huge success this year with over 2,000 community members attending the events. These free events assist us to continue to bring the community together.

Wednesday 20th October 8am-10am

Over the past year

16,590 community visits to access our Centre resources and activities

Family Support Hub

Claire Meikle

The service is pleased to report that the additional funding received in 2021 has resulted in the recruitment of additional staff in the Family Support Hub. This has allowed the service being able to redesign the Family Support Hub program to provide Intensive Support to more families in the Upper Ross community where there are complex needs impacting negatively on children. Family Support Hub has delivered a range of services to support parent/carer and child wellbeing with a focus on increasing parenting efficacy, increasing the number of children developmentally on track and improving rates of kindy enrolments.

Some of the key issues impacting families in the Upper Ross community include:

• Domestic and Family Violence

• Housing instability and homelessness

• Financial instability

• Parental and child mental health issues

• Children presenting with possible developmental delays not accessing assessment and intervention from Early Intervention services

• Transport issues leading to social isolation and decreased accessibility of specialist services

Family Support Hub staff have developed productive partnerships with specialist services to meet the needs of families and children. These strong partnerships have resulted in positive outcomes for families and children. Through integrated service delivery the service has seen many positive outcomes for families receiving intensive support.

Family Support Hub also continues to facilitate Playgroup with a focus on parent and child engagement. This has been successful by partnering with local services to deliver activities focused on increasing parent/carer awareness of their child’s development and improving parenting efficacy. Parents and children continue to have access to Child Health and Midwifery services.

A broad range of professional developmental activities were undertaken by staff to support service delivery, including:

• Early Years Conference

• Tuning in to Kids – Emotionally Intelligent Parenting

• Crossroads – Trauma informed, reflective parenting program for parents whose children have been impacted by DFV.

199 Playgroup total attendances

79 Playgroup individual families

140 individual families received Intensive Support