MEDIA & ARTICLES

OCTOBER 2024

📸 PHOTO COMPETITION- Living with the River 📸
Known as Dyarubbin, the Hawkesbury-Nepean River holds spiritual significance for many.
It is the lifeblood of farmers, inspiration for artists, and a place to play and relax.
Heavy rainfall and the natural beauty of the catchment areas and river can also create devastating flood events.
Capture your unique connection to the river for a chance to win!
$5,000 prize pool to be won across primary school, high school, open, AI and semi-professional categories.
Closes 2 February 2025.
For more information visit nsw.gov.au/living-with-the-river

OCTOBER 2024

IT’S MENTAL HEALTH MONTH 🧠 💪
🌟Let’s Talk about How to be a Mental Health Ally🌟
Here are three simple steps to help you start meaningful conversations about mental health:
1️⃣ Connect – Reach out and check in with the person.
Ask how they are?
2️⃣ Listen – Just listen, leave lots of room for them to talk.
3️⃣ Continued Support – Check back in with them.

SEPTEMBER 2024

A CONVERSATION CAN CHANGE A LIFE || R U OK?
Ask R U OK? Any Day because life happens every day.
By having regular, meaningful conversations, you build trust and normalise talking about what’s really going on, so when the people in your world find themselves struggling, they know you’re someone they can talk to.
So whilst R U OK? Day on Thursday September 12 is the National Day of Action, it is important to Ask R U OK? Any Day of the year because a conversation could change a life.
You don’t need to be an expert to reach out – just a good friend and a great listener.
Use these four steps and have a conversation that could change a life:
💛Ask R U OK?
💛Listen
💛Encourage action
💛Check in
📲Useful contacts for someone who’s not ok:
If your life is in danger or you’re concerned for your own or someone else’s safety please call 000.
You can find support by contacting your local doctor or one of these crisis lines available 24/7:
👉Lifeline – 131114 lifeline.org.au
👉Beyond Blue – 1300224636 beyondblue.org.au
👉Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467 suicidecallbackservice.org.au

 SEPTEMBER 2024

Child Protection Week – 1 to 7 September 2024.
This year National Child Protection Week continued to champion the message ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’.
This message captured the essence of National Child Protection Week which aims to promote a safe and supported life for every child, now and into the future.
In 2024, the message that ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’ was complemented with the theme ‘Every conversation matters’.
Conversations are powerful tools to keep children and young people safe and well. We know change happens when we start talking, when we share our challenges, and when we work together to find solutions.

SEPTEMBER 2024

Australian Disaster Resilience Conference
We were so thrilled to present at the recent Australian Disaster Resilience Conference, with WESTIR on our work for the Wellbeing Project, a fantastic initiative that demonstrates the importance of local people, local relationships and local trust for building resilience.
Read more about our Wellbeing Project here

SEPTEMBER 2024

SPRING HAS SPRUNG IN RIVERSTONE
Spring has sprung in Riverstone🌸🌼
How pretty are those beautiful gardens on Garfield Road looking!

AUGUST 2024

Scams Awareness Week 2024 || Share a story, stop a scam
We need to talk about scams.
Anyone can be scammed. And everyone has a part to play in shutting down scammers.
This Scams Awareness Week, ScamWatch is encouraging all Australians to speak up, share and report scams to helps others to spot, avoid and report scams, and to recover from them.
If you’ve identified or encountered a scam, tell someone – it could be your friends, family, colleagues, social networks, or community. When you share a scam story, you can prevent someone else from having their money or personal information stolen. By talking to each other, we can make sure no one is alone in the fight against scams.
Find more information here👇👇

AUGUST 2024

COMMUNITY PROJECT OFFICER

NWCS  has an exciting role for a suitably qualified and experienced professional to join our Community Connections Team. Reporting to the Team Leader, the position will provide programs and services that focus on building the capacity of individuals, families and communities. 

APPLY HERE 

 

WELLBEING PROJECT REPORT

JULY 2024

A fantastic initiative that demonstrates the importance of local people, local relationships and local trust for building resilience.

Read the report here

MEDIA RELEASE : SUCCESS OF PLACE-BASED ORGANISATION DELIVERING CARE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY

JULY 2024
“Following the major flooding events in 2022, Western Sydney Primary Health Network opened applications for our Wellbeing and Resilience Grant Program, designed to support flood affected communities in Western Sydney. Grant recipient, North West Community Services Inc (NWCS), has played a pivotal role in supporting community through disasters, as highlighted by the Wellbeing Project report conducted by WESTIR Ltd”.
Read the full media release here

COMMUNITY CABINET – RIVERSTONE

2 JULY 2024

The NSW Premier and Cabinet Ministers are visiting Riverstone
If you live in the Riverstone area, you are invited to attend a Community Forum with the NSW Premier and Cabinet Ministers to discuss the priorities for your community.

Event details
Date: Tuesday 23 July 2024
Time: 11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Location: Riverstone-Schofields Memorial Club

Register at:
nsw.gov.au/communitycabinet

FLOOD ADVICE

6 JUNE 2024
The NSW SES advises people in the following area(s) to STAY INFORMED about predicted possible moderate flooding on the Hawkesbury River: Windsor and surrounds
You should stay informed by monitoring warnings issued by NSW SES on their website and Facebook page, listening to your local ABC radio station, and checking the latest weather information from the Bureau of Meteorology.
 
www.ses.nsw.gov.au
www.bom.gov.au
 

TATES TYRES CELEBRATES 40 YEARS BY GIVING BACK TO COMMUNITY

JUNE 2024
Cheers to 40 years!!!
On Saturday 1st June 2024 we joined the Tates team for their 40th celebrations.
We are delighted to share that $454 has been donated to our organisation, with an extra pledge of $200 from Tates director Ron.
This donation will go directly to our emergency relief program that assists our most vulnerable community members.
Thank you Tates Tyres & Brake Service for giving back to our community.

VOLUNTEER WEEK 20-26 MAY

MAY 2024

To celebrate Volunteer Week and to show our appreciation we spoilt our amazing volunteers with a day out on spectacular Sydney Harbour. 

Giving back to our Volunteers who give so much to our community!

Our volunteers are so important and special.
Thank you for all that you do 💕

NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRES WEEK 13-19 MAY

MAY 2024

Thank you Warren Kirby MP acknowledging the amazing work of our team member Vanessa Sokalik with this speech given during Neighbourhood Centres Week. It is people like Vanessa and our whole team here at NWCS who help build suburbs into communities.

You can read the speech that was given in the NSW Parliament by Member for Riverstone Warren Kirby as part of Neighbourhood Centres Week here

 

NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE WEEK 13-19 MAY 2024

MAY 2024

Kate Washington – NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services shares a message of support to all those celebrating Neighbourhood Centre Week (13-19 May 2024).

NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE WEEK 13-19 MAY 2024

MAY 2024
It’s Neighbourhood Centre Week (13-19 May 2024).
This is an annual nationwide event to celebrate the role of over 1,000 Neighbourhood and Community Centres (NCCs) in Australia, including 180 across NSW.
Neighbourhood Centres are the heart of the local community. We strive to embody the essence of togetherness. We bring people from all walks of life together to connect, learn, and play. Through collaborative initiatives, inclusive programs, and shared spaces, we cultivate an environment where every voice is heard, every story is valued, and every member contributes to the vibrant mosaic of our shared community.
Find out what’s on this week at North West Community Services

BLACKTOWN’S FINEST – ANGELA VAN DYKE

APRIL 2024

This month North West Community Services CEO Angela is featured in an article in the Blacktown City Independent  👏

Find the article on pages 6-7 of the April issue or access the digital article here.

WARRAGAMBA DAM & FLOODING IN THE HAWKESBURY- NEPEAN VALLEY

APRIL 2024

There is some anxiety in our community about the dam spilling and creating further flooding for our neighbourhoods. This short video shows how the gates on Warragamba Dam work. 

IMPACTED BY FLOODING?

NEED SUPPORT?

We are here to help!

APRIL 2024

🤝 If you or someone you know has been impacted by floods, we are here to help, contact us for support.

📞 9627 3622
Keep up to date on the latest from our SES here

 

SES URGES SYDNEY COMMUNTIES TO PREPARE FOR HEAVY RAINFALL

APRIL 2024
Severe weather is on the way! (Friday 5- Sun 7 April 2024)  

Now is the time to prepare for potential severe weather to hit the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, Metropolitan Sydney, Blue Mountains, The Illawarra and South Coast over the next few days. Prepare your home by cleaning out your gutters and drains, trimming overhanging branches and tying down any loose items 🌳

If you are travelling over the next few days – do not drive, ride or walk through flood water. Plan your trip using livetraffic.com and local council websites.
📲 Stay up to date with the latest warnings on the Hazards Near Me App and the NSW SES website: www.ses.nsw.gov.au.

👉Stay vigilant and monitor conditions.

📞 For emergency help in floods and storms, ring the NSW SES on 132 500.

HANDY APPS TO HAVE || Hazards Near Me NSW

APRIL 2024
Hazards Near Me shows current information about local emergencies, including flood, bushfire and tsunamis, and advice on what to do to stay safe. The app can send you push notifications when there are new incidents or when information changes.
Don’t have a device that can download apps? View hazards on a desktop:
-Visit NSW SES for floods, storms and tsunamis alerts and warnings.
-Visit NSW Rural Fire Service for fire alerts and warnings.

Social Infrastructure: Investing into the Neighbourhood and Community Centres of NSW

APRIL 2024
Pre-Budget Submission 2024-2025

Local Community Services Association (LCSA) is the peak body and membership organisation for Neighbourhood and Community Centres (NCCs) in NSW. Our purpose is to represent the interests of our diverse place-based, locally-governed member organisations with a particular emphasis on community development.

Our network of 175 NCCs are the largest community-led infrastructure network in NSW. NCCs are uniquely placed to know and respond to the needs and aspirations of their communities. They facilitate community development projects, coordinate service delivery, and they are an integral part of frontline responses to, and recovery from, natural disasters. NCCs are recognised as service providers in a diverse community services sector.

This Pre-Budget Submission follows consultations with LCSA’s membership about policy priorities. Most of these recommendations have been canvassed extensively with NSW Parliamentarians over the past year. The Parliamentary Friends of Neighbourhood Centres Group formed in February 2024 to support NCCs and LCSA’s call for core funding to enable the social infrastructure of NCCs across NSW

Anthony D’Adam – Private Members’ Statement on Neighbourhood and Community Centres in NSW

MARCH 2024

On 20 March 2024, Anthony D’Adam MLC gave a Private Members’ Statement to the NSW Legislative Council on LCSA’s Pre-Budget Submission. He highlights the tireless work of neighbourhood and community centres during the COVID-19 pandemic, recent natural disasters and the current cost-of-living crisis. Anthony calls on the NSW Government to fund social infrastructure in NSW by investing in neighbourhood and community centres.

Blacktown City Woman of the Year 2024-Angela Van Dyke

MARCH 2024

A Big Congratulations to Angela Van Dyke, CEO of North West Community Services, for her remarkable achievement! Named Blacktown City Woman of the Year, she exemplifies leadership and community dedication!

Three Cheers to Angela!

Every vape is a hit to your health

MARCH 2024

The campaign Every vape is a hit to your health utilises powerful creative advertisements to encourage young people to consider the proven health harms of vaping, such as nicotine addiction, lung damage, breathlessness, nicotine poisoning and burns from exploding vapes.

The campaign includes testimonial videos of young people who have experienced the health harms of vaping. To find out more please visit the website, view the videos on YouTube and share posts from the Cancer Institute’s Facebook page.

For more information for young people, parents, carers, teachers, schools and health professionals, go to the NSW Health Vaping Toolkit which includes two new factsheets to support the campaign – Nicotine addiction and Vaping Quit Support.

The NSW Health: Guide to support young people to quit e-cigarettes, supports all health professionals and others who work with young people to effectively address e-cigarette use, support young people to manage nicotine withdrawals, and assist young people in quitting e-cigarettes.

Volunteering Report 2023

MARCH 2024
Check out these incredible stats from the NSW State of Volunteering Report 2023! 
In 2023:
• 4.3 million people volunteered their time, adding a whopping $178 billion value to NSW!
• Volunteers contributed 893.9 million hours of giving back!
A special THANK YOU to all NWCS volunteers for their unwavering dedication and passion!
Read the full Volunteer report 2023

NCOSS PRE-BUDGET SUBMISSION 2024 – 2025

FEBRUARY 2024

Summary of recommendations identifies urgent and targeted cost-of-living support is needed for communities barely hanging on. Read more:

SUMMARY-NCOSS-PBS-2024-2025

AFFORDABLE FUN – Return to Nature 🌳🌼🌞

JANUARY 2024

This month we have an article featured in the Hawkesbury District Independent Magazine about returning to nature for affordable family fun. As a bonus, being in nature has proven therapeutic benefits for us all, so get out there and enjoy 👏

Find our article on page 17 of the January issue or read it here.

 

CONGRATULATIONS FOUAD 

Urban Taskforce’s 2023 Property Person of the Year- Fouad Deiri OAM

Fouad has been a Blacktown local, and did his apprenticeship with Bill McNamara, another local legend that supports community and donated the building for our youth centre many years ago. Deicorp has been supporting the work of NWCS for a few years and this support has enabled us to provide critical support and programs to our local community. We thank Fouad for his continued support of NWCS and congratulate him on a well deserved award!

READ MORE HERE

We’re thrilled to share that our very own Dr. Kim joined us for our Spring Fair in South Maroota! 🌺
Check out the wonderful piece that’s been published into the Hawkesbury Community News!

Read more at https://hillstohawkesbury.com.au/south-maroota-spring-fair/

Sustainable living in Blacktown City

Get involved and help build a more resilient sustainable city. 

Our friends at Blacktown City Council have a range of exciting sustainability initiatives and programs. Check out the information & resources for residents including:

  • Events and Workshops
  • Sustainable Living Blacktown monthly newsletter
  •  Community gardens, bushcare
  • Sustainable schools network
  • Cool Streets in Blacktown
  • More canopy, more cooling

Read more here