Ms VAGHELA (Western Metropolitan) (12:10): My constituency question is directed to the Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice and Minister for Victim Support, the Honourable Natalie Hutchins. My question relates to the portfolio responsibilities of crime prevention. Youth engagement grants for small organisations are now open. Grants of up to $50 000 per project over two years are available for groups which are led by or focused on multicultural or Aboriginal communities. These grants can be used to run activities to keep young people away from the justice system.
My question to the minister is: can the minister please provide me an update on how multicultural and Aboriginal organisations of the Western Metropolitan Region can access funding through this youth engagement grants program? Through cultural connection or creative industries like arts, music or sport, organisations can create opportunities to connect young people with other supports and services to achieve the best outcomes.
Reply:
Natalie Hutchins MP Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support(18/11/2021):
The Youth Engagement Grants are a new stream of funding through the Building Safer Communities program, which is a cornerstone initiative under the government’s Crime Prevention Strategy.
They aim to give young people from cohorts over‐represented in the youth justice system an opportunity to connect with culture, community, family and social opportunities, and other supports to keep them on the right path. Grants will be given to groups led by or focused on Aboriginal or multicultural groups for positive activities that help keep young people away from the justice system. We know that when young people are connected to their communities and engaged with sports, arts, music or other creative avenues, they are much less likely to become involved in crime.
Expressions of Interest for the grants opened on 18 October to grassroots multicultural and Aboriginal clubs and organisations with an annual income of less than $500,000. Following the EOI process, groups will be invited to put together a project proposal for funding. This process allows smaller clubs with less experience or capacity in writing grant applications to be considered on an equal footing and to build their capacity to engage with government in the future.
A second round of the Youth Engagement Grants will be run in 2022.