A new idea for village operators, the Government’s trial program of 10 village hubs, with grants to support them, is moving to the next stage.
Independent Living Assessment (ILA) has been appointed as the National Grants Manager for administration of the Village Hubs Grants Fund.
It is an initiative of the Australian Government’s Seniors Connected Program.
The Seniors Connected Program was established to execute the Government’s 2019 election policy: ‘More Support for Older Australians’.
The program aims to relieve loneliness and social isolation among older Australians by creating new social and community hubs and it will run from 2021 until 2024.
The Village Hubs Activity involves working with communities to fund the establishment of at least 10 Village Hub projects across Australia to provide pathways for residents to improve mental health through increased social connections.
ILA’s focus is to support people through assessment, navigation and sector capacity building initiatives.
Expanding the number of Village Hubs will give more older Australians the opportunity to connect to a network of residents in their community for social activities and mutual support to improve mental health through the benefits of increased social and community connections.
The Village Hubs typically provide a diverse range of member-led social activities such as:
- physical: walking groups, excursions and fitness classes (e.g. Yoga)
- social: trivia, fundraising events, morning teas, lunches and dinner events
- learning: guest speaker programs, digital skills mentoring
- arts and cultural: art classes, book club, choir.
ILA is seeking expressions of interest from Australian communities and organisations interested in setting up a Village Hub – the submission window will close this week on March 20.
