Youth Minister Dave Kelly today announced the latest round of grant recipients of the McGowan Government’s COVID-19 Youth Recovery Grants Program.
The program provides grants of up to $10,000 for projects that encourage young people to be actively involved in innovative activities that support young people during the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
$183,919 has been allocated to support the delivery of 26 youth-focused projects.
A particular emphasis has been given to projects that assist young people in gaining and retaining employment opportunities, and in creating awareness of and improving mental health.
The diverse range of projects being funded include:
- a ‘surf therapy’ group program for young people aged 12 to 25 years who have experienced an episode of psychosis or are at a higher risk of developing psychosis;
- an art therapy program to support young people during the recovery phase of COVID-19 to support, inform and build capacity in mental health;
- a ‘roller disco’ in Augusta to promote and support mental health and wellbeing, and strengthen community engagement with young people;
- a specialist peer mentoring program to support university students on the autism spectrum; and
- ‘end to end’ young driver training in Collie to assist young people in learning and developing responsible driving skills to obtain their driver’s licence.
The full list of grant recipients and projects can be found here https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/covid-19-youth-recovery-grants-program-recipients.
As stated by Youth Minister Dave Kelly:
“The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Western Australia’s young people is sometimes overlooked.
“For many, there have been prolonged periods of limited face-to-face social interaction and fewer opportunities for employment and training.
“These have had compounding, negative impacts on the mental health of many young people.
“The projects being funded by the COVID-19 Youth Recovery Grants Program will help develop the knowledge, confidence and skills young people need to once again be actively involved in community life, and to respond to issues impacting on their lives.
“They will also provide opportunities for young people to learn and develop life skills to help them to achieve their goals.”
