$400,000 funding a welcomed top up for four Port Stephens community services
Port Stephens Examiner
By Chloe Coleman
Updated February 21 2024 – 1:32pm, first published 1:30pm
A welcomed $400,000 boost from the state government will go a long way for four of the region’s community services.
The Yacaaba Centre, Port Stephens Family and Neighbourhood Services, Tomaree Neighbourhood Centre and Jupiter Youth Mental Health Service have each been approved for $100,000 in funding.
Mental health service provider the Yacaaba Centre has allocated the funding to go towards an accessible lift for their premises.
“That’s been a really big project for us over the last 18 months, to do some capital works to our centre to make sure we live by our mission statement, that we can service everybody on the peninsula and be all inclusive,” Yacaaba Centre manager Louise Simpson said.
“We’re grateful for any funding that we get from the government, that $100,000 we’ve earmarked that already to be all accessible, and that’s a huge help in that area.
“We’re still trying to get some more secure funding to be able to keep our services operational for what the community needs.”
The Yacaaba Centre has had a tumultuous financial year after funding from NSW Health, which was 44 per cent of the centre’s total funding, was cut.
“For us to be able to continue those [mental health] services we’ve had to fundraise,” she said.
“We know we’re the only mental health provider of our kind on the peninsula and it’s an increase not a decrease of demand that we still have, and we don’t want to have to close or cut back, we want to be able to provide that service.”
In January the centre received a generous $5750 donation from Shoal Bay Country Club, and Ms Simpson said the community support means a lot.
“If we didn’t have the community support then we definitely would have had to close our doors for a couple of days a week, and our services would have been almost halved,” she said.
“We’re thrilled absolutely and humbled also about how much the community had helped.”
The government funding was part of a 2023 election commitment by member for Port Stephens Kate Washington. “This $400,000 boost to these important local services, will help them deliver much needed support to the Port Stephens community,” Ms Washington said.
“With cost of living pressures affecting families right across Port Stephens, I’m pleased to be backing the teams that are helping locals through these difficult times.
“I’m grateful to all of these much-loved local organisations for all they do to give locals a helping hand.”
The funding is part of the Local Small Commitments Allocation Program.
