Government and Council Join Forces to Grow Communities

Hastings District Council is stepping up to lead a Work and Income scheme to get unemployed young people working in the communities that need help most.

Community Max aims to support 18 to 24-year-olds, who are currently on an unemployment benefit, to work on community or environmental projects, between now and December 2010.

Sixteen to seventeen-year-olds will also be considered for the scheme.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule received Council support to drive the community scheme through HDC and joined forces with Work and Income to create Growing Communities.

Growing Communities will see HDC take on the role of employer on behalf of any community group with a project idea and add value to the skills employees gain while working on the project through additional training and employee assistance.

Mayor Yule says without the assistance of Council many of these groups would not have the resources to employ staff.

“From my perspective, it will be hugely satisfying to see this initiative from its inception at Taskforce for Jobs right through to a young person picking up a spade or learning something new in the communities that need their help most.”

“Hastings is the first council to take this great initiative on and push it to this level. We already have huge interest and more ideas coming in from the community by the hour,” Mayor Yule says.

“Council is using this opportunity to to provide a do-able, accessible programme which gives real workers a job and real community groups some hard workers.”

“It’s about putting people in the right place. Council is facilitating an initiative that will have enormous positive outcomes for Hastings through creating job growth, maximizing youth potential, promoting sustainable behaviour and addressing social challenges – all issues Council is charged with addressing.”

Growing Communities workers will be paid $12.50 per hour for a 30 hour week.
There is also the opportunity to employ a supervisor if community groups take on four or more workers and some existing unemployed.
Regional Commissioner for Social Development, Annie Aranui, is applauding the council’s fast response to the Community Max initiative.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for community groups and our young people. Working collaboratively with councils and local groups in our region will benefit us all,” she said.

Growing Communities projects already proposed to council include labour for organisations that recycle secondhand goods, after-school sports activities, referencing in school libraries and support for the elderly.

To qualify for Growing Communities, a project must:

• be of benefit to the community or the environment
• not displace existing staff or contractors
• be additional to the normal work of the organisation
• be non-commercial
• be at least 26 weeks in duration (six months)
• provide 30 hours work per week.