This $10,000 grant will allow the Foundation to extend its Life Connections program, which offers participants a set of practical tools to build resilience – the ability to recover effectively from stress and setbacks. The program will be offered to two community groups in the Hunter region whose members have experienced domestic violence, relationship breakdown and other trauma.
The program will expand from six to 10 weekly sessions to include an artistic component, such as scrapbooking or rock painting, which will help participants create a new chapter in their life stories, free from the turmoil of the past.
Facilitators will draw on existing relationships with local community groups and law enforcement to further support participants and forge stronger connections within families and in the wider community.
The Iris Foundation gratefully acknowledges the Westpac Foundation for supporting its efforts to improve mental health in the Central Coast-Hunter region.
