New projects share funding

New social and community development projects in the Peats electorate will share $150,032 in additional funding this year.

The grants were made under the State Government's Area Assistance Scheme (AAS) and were approved by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, Dr Andrew Refshauge.

Member for Peats, Ms Marie Andrews, announced the grants as part of grants for a total of 145 community projects state wide totalling $3,529,472.

Peninsula-related projects that received grants are:

Peninsula Community Services ($20,186) to employ a social welfare worker for 20 hours per week to run a drug awareness program for parents;

Central Coast Community Women's Health Centre ($34,643) to provide relevant health and lifestyle education for women and girls in the Peninsula; and,

RAISE Network ($14,363) to establish drop-in centres and meeting venues, and provide workshops for families and carers of people with disabilities.

"The State Government, local government and community organisations are working together through the Area Assistance Scheme (AAS) to meet community needs in regions experiencing the impacts of significant population growth or economic change," Ms Andrews said.

"The AAS builds the capacity of the community and local councils to deal with the challenges of change.

"The scheme is able to respond strongly and effectively to local and regional needs because the community and local councils are actively involved in setting funding priorities and in developing and assessing proposals," she said.