National Child Protection Week

Each year, NAPCAN coordinates National Child Protection Week across Australia starting on Father’s Day. The 2016 campaign is ‘Stronger Communities, Safer Children,’ which means children need an entire community to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Children value being part of a caring and safe community.

Anglicare NT’s Communities for Children in Alice Springs aims to improve the health and wellbeing of families and the development of young children, from before birth through to 12 years of age, paying special attention to healthy families, supporting families and parents, early learning and school transition and engagement. Communities for Children, also offered by Anglicare NT in the East Arnhem region, is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.

Through Communities for Children, Anglicare NT subcontracts to other agencies, called Community Partners, to deliver placed based early intervention activities to provide positive and sustainable outcomes for the most vulnerable and at risk children in these communities. The current Community Partners in Alice Springs are Akeyulerre, FAST NT, Holyoake, Lutheran Community Care, Multicultural Community Services Central Australia and Relationships Australia NT. The activities that they provide include ‘Bush Camps’ and family nights for Arrernte families, a ‘Multicultural Playgroup’, a therapeutic program for children affected by trauma called ‘Holding Children Together’, a side by side ‘Educational Training Program for parents and a parenting group called ‘Circle of Security’. Other activities include ‘Sand Play’ therapy for children and a school based ‘Families and Schools Together,’ which is a series of family nights held at schools.

The Alice Springs Communities for Children recently funded a number of community based events including a children’s prize at the Beanie Festival and a school based workshop to teach children how to make beanies, special events to celebrate Harmony Day and additional children’s toys for the Alice Springs Women’s Shelter. They also organised a one day workshop for the community to learn about the effects of trauma on children which was attended, at capacity, by one hundred people.