Diverse Communities Grants Program

Diverse Communities Grants Program is sponsored by Victorian Government (Department of Health). This program supports community-led organisations from diverse communities, including people with disability, to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Diverse Communities Grants Program | health. vic. gov.au Diverse Communities Grants Program Helping community-led organisations support the mental health and wellbeing of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, LGBTIQA+ people and people with disability.

The Victorian Government is delivering a grants program for community-led organisations from diverse communities to support the mental health and wellbeing of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, LGBTIQA+ people and people with disability.

The final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System recognised the strength and knowledge of diverse community leaders and community-led organisations in understanding the mental health and wellbeing needs of their communities and supporting the delivery of safe, responsive and inclusive mental health services.

Diverse communities, as defined by the Royal Commission, are: culturally and linguistically diverse communities In 2023-25 the Victorian Government has allocated a total of $4. 2 million for projects that will deliver an extensive range of programs, direct services, advocacy, research and workforce development to help create a more diverse and inclusive mental health and wellbeing system.

This builds on the 2021–22 and 2022-23 grants funding rounds, which aimed to establish the foundations and support diverse communities to engage in the mental health reforms. Find out more about our work to support the mental health and wellbeing of Victoria's diverse communities. Phase 1 of the program ran from 2021–2023.

During this time, the funded projects aimed to establish the foundations of effective practice and service delivery for diverse communities. 1 It takes time Working with different groups of people needs time. It can mean having more staff compared to the number of people taking part.

When we involve people who have experienced certain things in planning, we have to think about the time it takes to find them, help them, and teach them so they feel comfortable being involved. 2 We need real change now Some people have been disappointed with how mental health services work now and how little things have improved over time. They might feel tired of being asked their opinions without seeing any real changes.

Seeing actual improvements is important to keep people interested. 3 GP's are key It's important to talk to General Practitioners (GPs) and groups that help new arrivals about changes in mental health services. Many people go to their GP first when they need mental health help or get referred by them.

4 In person is better, but there are problems When events happen in person, some people don’t show up or cancel at the last minute a lot. But for those who do come, they often feel like they connect better and learn more. Virtual training sessions are easier for people to attend, especially if they're shorter.

Organisations developed innovative and grassroots approaches to support mental health and wellbeing. Some built on pre-existing projects, while others achieved something totally new. This is a summary of their achievements during 2021–2023.

It sets out 5 streams of activity – however, most projects worked across more than 1 stream. Community engagement in mental health reform Victorian Refugee Health Network (Foundation House) Project title: Enhancing Capacity of Refugee and Asylum Seeker Communities and Service Sector to Promote and Engage in Victoria’s Mental Health reforms and initiatives.

Community in focus: Multicultural communities (refugees and asylum seekers including Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani groups). Syrian–Iraqi and Afghani community advisory groups Surveys and interviews with service providers, including regional Workshop with refugee health nurses Victorian Refugee Health Network website . Ethnic Communities Council Victoria Project title: Multicultural Mental Health Project.

Community in focus: Multicultural communities. Multicultural Mental Health Network comprising: multicultural and ethno-specific organisations specialists in multicultural mental health and policy mental health services and organisations people from migrant and refugee backgrounds – including individuals and carers with lived experience of mental illness. Ethnic Communities Council Victoria website.

Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health Project title: Building Bridges: Engaging Migrant and Refugee Women in Mental Health and Wellbeing System Reform. Community in focus: Multicultural communities (migrant and refugee women). Co-design workshop with Bilingual Health Educators Interviews with service providers Community of practice sessions Share Circles in Arabic, Dari, English, Nepali, Punjabi, English, Karen, Mandarin, Vietnamese.

Building Bridges research report Coming soon: plain language resource – Navigating the mental health support system Project title: Amplifying LGBTIQA+ voice. Community in focus: LGBTIQA+ communities. Position paper on needs of LGBTIQ+ people with lived experience available.

Research advisory group meetings with LGBTIQ+ sector. Project title: Community Connectedness – improving the social and community connection of Deaf people in Victoria. Community in focus: People with disability (Deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing).

Deaf-led education workshops and support program. Barriers to Deaf accessing mental health services. List of talk therapists with deafblind, Deaf and hard of hearing awareness in Victoria.

Deaf cultural competency training Deaf-led baseline data report and community consultations. These organisations also delivered projects in phase 1: inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence Australian African Sports Association Lived experience leadership Amaze Project title: Autism and Mental Health – Community Connections and Peer Leadership. Community in focus: People with disability (Autistic adults).

Autism Advocacy Intensive Workshop New autistic peer support groups and new connections among existing groups Guidelines for creating autistic-inclusive environments African Australian Welfare Bureau Inc. Project title: Goulburn African Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Program. Community in focus: Multicultural communities (African communities). Outreach service including bicultural youth mental health workers with lived experience.

Workshops and training materials Disability Resources Centre Project title: Belong (Previously The Buddy Network). Community in focus: People with disability. Operation manual of policies and procedures Member-only chat application Belong evaluation and group meetings Disability Resources Centre Cerebral Palsy Support Network Project title: Tribal Wisdom Mental Health and Wellbeing Initiative.

Community in focus: People with disability (Cerebal Palsy). Mental health first aid training Board governance training course Learning journeys sessions Brains trust advisory sessions Cerebral Palsy Support Network Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria Project title: Leadership approach to mental health and engagement of diverse communities. Community in focus: Multicultural communities.

Training resource: ‘Understanding the impacts of mental health and wellbeing of multicultural communities using a lived experience approach’ Lived experience framework Training delivered for ECCV multicultural workers Training delivered for Multicultural Mental Health Network and other community and mainstream organisations.

Transforming Victoria’s mental health system Project title: Affirm Mentoring Project Community in focus: LGBTIQA+ communities (transgender women) Recruitment and induction of new interns New training modules and events Community sector outreach and capability National Disability Service (NDS) Project title: Building Back Better. Community in focus: People with disability.

Disability sector service setting/workforce focus meetings – more than 600 participants. Individual and group consultations. Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) tool introduction and stakeholder launch.

Meetings to engage with mental health reform. Meetings to engage with Locals and Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs. Report: Boosting mental wellbeing in disability service settings.

Mental health service navigation guide Update on new Victorian mental health and wellbeing service options National Disability Services Project delivered in partnership with Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability. Project title: Building sector capability in relation to mental health needs of people with intellectual disability. Community in focus: People with disability (Intellectual disabilities).

Resources (population group and disability sector) to identify supports. Update on new Victorian Mental Health and Wellbeing service options Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights Project title: Supporting community understanding and strengthening sector response. Community in focus: Multicultural communities (Muslim women).

Mental health workshops for community. Capacity building workshop: ‘Mental health Practice with Muslim Communities’. Research report: Our health, our mind: mental health needs in Muslim migrant and refugee communities.

Flyer: Caring for our mental health in four languages (English, Dari, Arabic and Pashto). Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights resources Project title: Mental health crisis workshops: ‘How families can support autistic girls and gender-diverse youth’. Community in focus: People with disability (autistic girls and gender diverse young people).

Workshops for parents and carers Resource: Supporting the mental health of autistic girls and gender diverse young people. Yellow Ladybugs resources Korin Gamadji Institute, Bachar Houli Foundation and Connected Minds Psychology Project title: Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing for Diverse Young Victorians. Community in focus: Multicultural communities (Muslim and Indigenous young people).

Two sets of culturally appropriate resource packs, one for Indigenous youth and one for Muslim youth Project title: Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing. Community in focus: Multicultural communities (refugees and asylum seekers). Breaking barriers together: culturally inclusive mental health video and presentation Project title: UBUNTU Mental Health Specialist Program.

Community in focus: Multicultural communities (African communities). Mental health information sessions Project title: Building LGBTQIA+ workshop capacity and capability in Victorian mental health. Community in focus: LGBTIQA+ communities (young people).

Workshops in Victorian schools, community groups, workplaces and not for profits, including regional and rural locations Minus 18 Foundation website Mental health literacy and education Guide Dogs Victoria Project title: Working Together to Improve our Mental Health Literacy. Community in focus: People with disability (low vision or blindness).

Co-design of mental health training needs Mental health first aid training Guide Dogs Victoria web resources Multicultural Centre for Women's Health Project title: Let's Talk Mental Health. Community in focus: Multicultural communities (migrant and refugee women). Modules for targeted health education with migrant and refugee women.

Training for Bilingual Health Educators. Mental health sessions for community in diverse languages. Resource Pack for Bilingual Health Educators.

Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health website Centre for Muslim Wellbeing Project title: Mental Health First Aid for Muslim Communities. Community in focus: Multicultural communities (Muslim communities). Culturally responsive Mental Health First Aid Training workshops Centre for Muslim Wellbeing website Project title: Mental Health Promotion Among CALD Women.

Community in focus: Multicultural communities (women). Mental health first aid training workshops. Mental health first aid instructor course.

New resources co designed with community – including videos, fliers, safety cards and posters. Wellsprings for Women website Australian Vietnamese Women's Association Community in focus: Multicultural communities (Vietnamese communities).

Project steering committee Web-based mental health app (bilingual) Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association – New pathways to wellbeing Mental health sector capability Drummond Street Services Project title: Mental Health at the Margins Community in focus: Intersectional approach Community survey and focus groups Practitioner focus groups Coming soon: Intersectional toolkit and training materials The Department of Health is undertaking phase 2 of the program during 2024–2025.

It will also conduct an evaluation of the program. This will capture and share insight.

2023-2025 grant recipients Organisations receiving grants in the 2023-2025 round are: Afri-Aus Care Inc : for African Australian communities African Australian Welfare Bureau Inc : for young African Australians in regional Victoria Albury-Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council : for multicultural communities in regional Victoria Amaze : for Autistic people Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) : for Autistic women and children Deaf Victoria : for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria : for multicultural communities Flat Out : for trans and gender diverse people in custodial settings Guide Dogs Victoria : for Victorians living with low vision or blindness Muslim Mental Health Professionals : for the Muslim community Pathways Melbourne : for Jewish youth Richmond Football Club with Bachar Houli Foundation and Korin Gamadji Institute : for Muslim and Aboriginal youth Shapes and Sounds : for international students Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health : for older LGBTIQA+ people Three for All Foundation : for LGBTIQA+ refugees Victorian Refugee Health Network : for refugees and asylum seekers Youth Disability Advocacy Service (under Youth Affairs Council of Victoria) : for disabled young regional and rural Victorians Young People’s Health Service : for diverse young people experiencing homelessness) Youth Projects Limited : for LGBTIQA+ youth with disabilities