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Trust secures project's funding

Wednesday 11 July 2012, 12:51PM

By Manawatu District Council

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MANAWATU-WHANGANUI

MANAWATU Community Trust has been successful in securing funding from the Department of Internal Affairs for a three-year community development project.

The project’s aim is to ensure that the people of Manawatu District are able to access the appropriate community and social services support when required during the different stages of their lives.

The trust will host the initiative in partnership with a project steering committee consisting of representatives from the Manawatu District Council and the district’s community and social service sector.

Trustee Mary Ann Baskerville-Davies said there were some excellent community services, social services and networks currently operating in the Manawatu region, but many of these were informal and restricted to urban areas.

“Many community and social services workers, along with organisations, are struggling with increased workloads and decreasing resources,” she said.

The grant will fund the employment of a community development worker/researcher who will undertake a thorough assessment of the current community and social service sector within the Manawatu District to ensure that the district’s communities’ needs and accessibility to the services are met.

The worker will also review current funding and resourcing within the sector with the vision of developing new and innovative ways in which these sectors can work together to make resources (funding, administrators, volunteers) go further and to ensure that there is no duplication from service providers.