Community Health & Wellbeing

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Your Health & Wellbeing Plan

 

 

Winner of the 2009 Health & Wellbeing Category in the Australian National Awards for Local Government!

The City of Port Phillip was thrilled to learn that it won the Federal Government's 2009 National Awards for Local Government in the Health & Wellbeing category for municipalities with more than 15,000 residents. The awards reward excellent and innovative work of local governments across Australia.

“This award represents many years of hard and creative work by Council’s Community & Health Development team, other areas of Council and the partnerships they’ve formed with large networks of community members," former Mayor Frank O'Connor said.

“The City of Port Phillip’s Health and Wellbeing program has recruited hundreds of community members to form coalitions that plan, implement and evaluate dozens of creative, pragmatic projects designed to improve the community’s health and wellbeing. It has provided many new, exciting opportunities for people to become meaningfully involved in the issues that affect their lives.”

“The program highlights the importance of the connections we have with the places we live in and the people around us.  Not only do we share common spaces such as parks, beaches and shopping strips, but we also share many common dreams, hopes, set-backs and struggles.   Our neighbours’, friends’ and family’s experiences are part of ours and the health and wellbeing we enjoy is at least partly dependent on theirs.”

“The CoPP’s Health & Wellbeing Plan was launched in November 2007.  By February 2010, 93% of the plan’s 94 strategies across 17 complex subject areas were either completed or in progress as long-term projects.  Projects covered a diverse range of topics including fresh food rescue and re-distribution, neighbourhood friendliness, community-based assessment of long-term trends, youth employment, the liquor licensees accord, reducing drug-related harm, promoting affordable exercise and improving community spirit.”

“Many of the projects we developed with community partners have been the first of their kind or adopted elsewhere.  For example, the Help Yourself Free Food Cooperative project has distributed more than 30 tonnes of surplus food from the South Melbourne market to people in need and our street party program was adopted by State government as a model for other municipalities.”

Compared to figures in 2000, crime rates have fallen by more than 9000 crimes per year in Port Phillip; residents feel safer and know more of their neighbours; our life expectancy has increased by 4 years for women and 6 years for men and there have been sharp decreases in injuries and deaths from road crashes.   These figures represent reflect a number of factors including gentrification, new methods of policing and a large coordinated community effort. “Even though we would never take complete credit for the trends among many global indicators of health and wellbeing as they are influenced by many factors and largely the result of a whole community effort, it is heartening to see many positive trends in areas that we focus on.”

The program has recruited hundreds of community members to form coalitions that plan, implement and evaluate dozens of creative, pragmatic projects designed to improve the psychological, social, cultural, environmental, political, and economic determinants of health. It has provided many new, exciting opportunities for people to improve their connections to the places and people around them and increase their level of participation in the issues that affect their lives.

The most recent Health & Wellbeing plan was developed after an innovative consultation process with a broad spread of over 1100 members of the community.  We trained and employed a team of residents who ventured deep into their neighbourhoods to interview people about their ideas for a healthier community.  Interviews included many from marginalised backgrounds in their homes, parks and shopping strips.

Where Can You Get Free or Affordable Food & Exercise Classes in Port Phillip?

Sometimes it can be difficult to find good quality, affordable food and exercise options in your local area. Here are some guides to what is available:

• Free and Cheap Meals in Port Phillip 
• Affordable Exercise Guide in Port Phillip

What do you know about your community?

Many facets of health and wellbeing are measured in the City of Port Phillip. Have a look, you may find something surprising.

• Demographic Change in the City of Port Phillip
• Health and Safety Trends in the City of Port Phillip
• Community Pulse Indicators
• Victorian Health Priorities

Healthy and Wellbeing Alliance - Implementing the Plan

The group directing the implementation of the Health and Wellbeing Plan is known as the Healthy and Wellbeing Alliance. The Alliance includes representatives of local health and welfare organisations, police, business community representatives and the Council. Alliance members have an active involvement in many facets of the implementation of the plan. Members include:

Organisation	Member(s)
South Port Uniting Care Inner South Community Health http://www.ischs.org.au/	Anne Garrow Linda Williamson, Kathleen Mitakakis
Department of Human Services http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/	Monica Bensberg
Victoria Police - St Kilda http://www.police.vic.gov.au/	Inspector Lisa Hardeman
Salvation Army Crisis Centre http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/melbourne/default.asp	Linda Connor
Vic Roads http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/	Maria Falzone
Department Education Employment & Training www.education.vic.gov.au/	David Green
MetroAccess	Alexius Pepper
Community Representatives	Cate O'Brien, Bernardene Voss
City of Port Phillip Inner Sout East Partnership In Community Health http://www.isepich.org/	Mayor Cr Rachel Powning, Peter Streker, Erika Soto, Robyn Szechtman Valerie Kay

Current Projects of the Plan

• Drugs & Alcohol - Projects include community education, Licensees Accord, National Local Government Drug & Alcohol Advisory Group, ICLEI Healthy Communities Project, City of Port Phillip Alcohol Action Plan, and lots of work with local drug and alcohol agencies.   See this page for more information Drugs & Alcohol

• Community Pulse involves community members in measuring and analysing long-term trends to help prevent the aspects that they love about their neighbourhoods from eroding away. The indicators stretch across natural (e.g., penguin egg counts off St Kilda pier), social (e,g. Smiles per Hour), economic (e.g., cost of a staple basket of groceries in supermarkets),  built (e.g., affordable housing), and cultural (e.g., how children get to school) environments and build evidence that stimulates community action.  The ground-breaking Smiles per Hour project has featured in articles in 16 newspapers throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia and the Middle East. See this page to check the latest Pulse or become as a volunteer who's keen to keep us honest! Community Pulse
• Community Safety - Council is involved in may projects designed to improve community safety in partnership with members of the public, police, local commnity agencies, traders.  Projects include those designed to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads, reduce violence in and around licensed venues, reduce violence in our homes and reduce deaths and injuries due to extreme heat. Some of the initiatives can be found on the following pages  Port Phillip Licensees Accord

• Social Cohesion - People in the CoPP averaged 2 street parties per year before the StreetLife Street Party program was launched in 2004 - they now average more than 26 per year. Since that time, thousands of neighbours have made long-lasting connections with each other.  We have seen many tangible spin-offs emerge such as new friendships, street baby-sitting clubs, and the provision of dinner and care for frail elderly residents.  Street Parties and Block Parties

• Food Security -The Help Yourself Free Food Co-Op program has rescued over 30 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables from South Melbourne Market that would otherwise go to landfill and distributed it to the poor.  Food is collected by volunteers from charity Second Bite on Sunday night that was on sale that day, but won’t last until the market’s next trading day on Wednesday and is stored in Council’s coolroom.  Local welfare agencies help themselves to it on Monday.  We also sponsor a local network for people who want to make Port Phillip more edible - the Port Phillip Urban Fresh Food Network (PPUFFN). See the EcoCentre's website if you want to get involved with growing your own food, community gardening or sharing your surplus food with others in your neighbourhood.  The background paper on our food security project is here  Municipal Food Security Part V

How Do We Know If We are Making a Difference?

The Health and Community Development team at CoPP use a wide variety of evaluation techniques to measure the success of their projects. Snapshot_of_Project_Evaluations. 

 

Past Projects

The projects and partnerships below represent a sample of projects that we have initiated, sponsored or have been major partners in since the previous Healthy & Safer Cities Plan was launched. Many of these gave birth to other projects that are not listed.

SOCIAL SUPPORT
1)  StreetLife Street Parties & BBQ with Port Phillip Community Group & Standard Roads
2)  StreetLife Photo Exhibition
3) StreetLife Poster/Coaster campaign on the micro-skills of community building
4)  “Dig In” - Port Melbourne Community Garden for people of all abilities
5) Pets & Companionship project – research and photo exhibition at Gasworks, Albert Park on the health benefits of pets as companions
6) “Meet Your Neighbours” Mobile Coffee Machine day
7) Globalism Institute (RMIT) research on sense of community in an era of globalisation
8) Community Engagement in disconnected areas (e.g., St Kilda Rd)
9) Social Cohesion Project sponsorship of other projects (Mobile Activity Centre in South Melbourne, Percussion Group at the Elwood/St Kilda Neighbourhood House, Hip Hop group at Port Melbourne, Good Shepherd’s Project ME in St Kilda)

ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG ISSUES
10) Local Drug Strategy – Public Place Management (Talbot Reserve, St Kilda; Duggan Reserve, East St Kilda; Dundas Place, Albert Park)
11) City of Port Phillip Liquor Licensing Accord
12)  Responsible Serving of Alcohol training for over 1200 bar staff in CoPP
13) Inner City Entertainment Precinct Taskforce
14) Local Drug Strategy – Sex & Drug Historical Walking Tours (2003), Hit the Road Walking Tours (2004), Habits of the Heart (2007)
15) Local Drug Strategy – Park Towers Community Wall, South Melbourne (2005)
16) Local Drug Strategy –Community Mural, Barkly St St Kilda (2007)
17) Local Drug Strategy – Substance newsletter
18) Local Drug Strategy – Community Education activities (e.g., Local Drug Forums)
19) Local Drug Strategy – Drugs Round Table
20) Local Drug Strategy – Overdose Day
21) Local Drug Strategy Primary Health Care Facility development brief management (2002-03)
22) Local Drug Strategy – Small Grant Projects – VIVAIDS Hep C community education graffiti mural at St Kilda light rail station
23) Local Drug Strategy – Small Grant Projects – Songs of St Kilda CD
24) Local Drug Strategy – Small Grant Projects – VIVAIDS community education theatre
25) Local Drug Strategy – Small Grant Projects – Lentil as Anything/Ecocentre Art project
26) Local Drug Strategy – Small Grant Projects – Community reintegration (4 projects)
27) Local Drug Strategy Policy Development (1999-2000 & 2005-2006)
28) Family & Friends (of drug users’) support group in Elwood (2000-2003)

MARGINALISATION AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
29) On-going work on the health and safety aspects of street prostitution for all people (e.g., responding to complaints and requests for information)
30) Street Sex Work Services Coordination Meeting
31)  Representation on the Attorney-General’s Street Prostitution Advisory Group
32) Street Sex Work Services Research “Street Walking Blues” with RMIT & others
33) Same Sex Attracted Young People’s Health Project
34) Gay, Lesbian, BiSexual, Transgender and Intersex Advisory Committee
35) Gay, Lesbian, BiSexual, Transgender and Intersex Awareness Training

FOOD ACCESS
36)  Food Security Project working group
37) Local research into food security in the municipality (Volumes 1-6)
38) Port Phillip Food Network
39) Conference papers on Food Security
40) Help Yourself Food Cooperative

HEALTH PROMOTING NETWORKS & EVENTS
41)  CoPP Healthy & Safer City Alliance
42) Community Beats & Feets Stage at the Global Garden Party (2002-04)
43) Health and Wellbeing Village at the St Kilda Festival (2001)
44) Men’s Health Forum with ISCHS (2005)
45) Children’s health Expo with ISCHS (2006)
46) Emergency Food Relief Forum (2005)
47) LAMP Community Arts Conference with PPCG & Borderlands (2005)

UNEMPLOYMENT
48) HEAT project (Hospitality Employment for young people) – raised $540,000 from philanthropic trusts with St Kilda Youth Service, IELLEN, Victoria Police, local businesses & William Angliss College of TAFE
49)  SWEAT (Local Employment Opportunities) steering committee
50) SWEAT 60 second survey on current business activities

EVALUATION
51) Australian Research Council PhD Project on Health Promoting Coalitions
52) Community Pulse/ Sustainable Community Progress Indicators (SCPI) working party & progress report
53) Smiles per Hour
54) Non-Crime Hotline
55) Building Relationships for Better Health book
56) Community Safety Survey – Perceptions of Safety (2002 & 2006)
57) Friendly Neighbouhood Survey

Projects that we support (e.g., on other people’s steering committees)
58) National Local Government Drug and Alcohol Advisory Committee
59) Australian Local Government Harm Minimisation Project
60) Victorian Community Indicators project
61) RoadSafe Inner Melbourne Community Road Safety Council
62) Inner South Domestic Violence Network
63) VicHealth’s “Taking It To The Streets” campaign
64) Safety Audits with Victoria Police
65) Minutes Exchange (Gay, Lesbian Bisexual Transgender and Intersex Advisory Committee, Multicultural Reference Group, Young persons Reference Group, Older Persons Reference Group)
66) ISEPICH – Health Promotion Working Group
67) Inner South Area Health Council
68) Local Area Mapping Project (LAMP) steering committee
69) Memories, Markers and Margins - VicHealth Mental Health Art Grant

See the health and well being benefits of Animal Companionship

See the 1999 health and safety plan, Creating a Healthy and Safer Port Phillip, on the following link Creating a Healthy & Safer Port Phillip

Improving Community Participation in the City of Port Phillip

A Toolbook of Participatory Techniques

This Toolbook of Participatory Techniques resulted from a review of community participation within the City of Port Phillip and a review of current national and international literature on the subject. It documents a wide range of techniques that have proven to be useful in involving diverse communities in the decision-making processes of local government.

View a copy of the Improving Community Participation at COPP - A Toolbook of Participatory Techniques, written in October 2001. 

For more information about the Toolbook or to ask us a question, request information or give us feedback online use eServices. If you prefer phone ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777 or TTy (03) 9209 6713 and ask for a member of the health and community development team.