Healthy North Coast wins Resilient Australia Award Coffs Coast Coffs Coast - popup ad Coffs Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - September 20, 2024 Kate Van Saane (Healthy North Coast), Jihad Dib (NSW Minister for Emergency Services), Monika Wheeler (CEO Healthy North Coast), Dr Jean Renouf (Founder and CEO, Plan C) and Joanna Quilty (NSW Reconstruction Authority). Photo: NSW Reconstruction Authority. HEALTHY North Coast’s (HNC) Community Wellbeing and Resilience (CWR) program has won the NSW Mental Health and Wellbeing category in the 2024 Resilient Australia Awards. Its entry was titled “Climate Ready North Coast: Elevating the community service sector” and showcased community-led, place-based initiatives to build health and wellbeing resilience in the face of increasing climate disasters. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au CEO Monika Wheeler acknowledged the great work being undertaken across the North Coast. “Northern NSW is one of the highest disaster-declared regions in the country for frequency and severity across all three measures of fire, flood and storm,” she said. “Together with South-East Queensland, our North Coast region has been labelled a disaster ‘hotspot’. “For this reason, a connected, engaged and vibrant community that supports each other in times of need is so important. “It’s been wonderful to have this important work recognised at a state level.” Previous recipients of HNC’s CWR program include Bellingen’s Neighbourhood Care Network, OzGREEN’s Resilient Communities, Woolgoolga Neighbourhood Centre and Mid North Coast Legal Centre. This year’s round trialled an innovative “Participatory Grant Making” approach, which includes communities in the decisions that impact them, and prioritises trust-building over traditional competitive grants. Winners will be announced soon. By Andrea FERRARI
