SOUTH AUSTRALIA

South Australian Community Achievement Awards

2022 South Australian Community Achievement Award Winners

Office for Ageing Well Tackling Ageism Award

• Australian Refugee Association (ARA) delivers the Zimala Project to tackle ageism by bringing together and empowering older men in refugee and migrant communities. The Project connects people with organisations such as health information lines and government services. It also provides opportunities to explore new hobbies and connect through social games. There have been 15 excursions or group activities with 100 people attending so far.

 

 

Jones Harley Toole Community Road Safety Award

• Encounter Youth is a not-for-profit charity. They implement the Encounter Youth Hindley Street Program, a program that utilises evidence-based, situational and social crime prevention theories to increase and promote safety. Trained Encounter Youth volunteers patrol Hindley Street every Saturday night between 11pm to 5am. Volunteers provide responsible supervision on a peer level and report to SA police in moments of need or vulnerability.

 

Ricoh Australia Customer Service Award

• Communication eXtra is a specialised support coordination business for deaf and hard of hearing people. They offer a free advocacy service for the deaf and hard of hearing community to get advice when applying for NDIS. They have a weekly drop-in service, where they discuss how the scheme will benefit the new applicants long-term. They have serviced over 195 families in Australia since 2020.

 

Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation Innovation in Mental Health, Social and Emotional Wellbeing Award

• SA Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network (LELAN) has strongly advocated bringing Alternatives to Suicide (Alt2Su) systematically to South Australia after hearing from people with lived experiences of the need for peer-led, community-based support options for suicide distress and crisis. The first Alt2Su groups in SA commenced in September 2022. Individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts/feelings could have somewhere to go other than their GP, therapist or the emergency department.

 

Rural Doctors Workforce Agency Rural Community Health and Wellbeing Award

• Mid Murray Suicide Prevention Network (MMSPN) was established in the mid-2010s following the death by suicide of four men in two years in the Sedan/Cambrai area. Some MMSPN members have completed training courses to assist residents and visitors, such as SafeTalk, Mental Health First Aid, and Youth Mental Health First Aid. In 2022, they collaborated with Country Arts SA in the screening of a mental health-related movie.

 

Awards Australia Small Business Award

• Ryde Clothing was started by Nathan Woodrow at the age of 16. Ryde recognises that brand is about community. Ryde now helps other business people and community leaders realise their capacity by sharing their learnings from the Ryde journey. Over the last year, it has diversified to a more sustainable business mode, developing the Ryde Design, Ryde Consulting and Ryde Summer Sessions.

 

Community Centres SA The Loneliness Cure Award

• D’Faces Of Youth Arts Inc welcomes young people to build their confidence and social connections through art. This year they’ve opened Good Nights, a safe space for young adults and teenagers to go on Saturday nights. Each week they’re invited to try a different creative challenge, and cook and eat together.

 

 

Woolworths Sports in the Community Award

• Hub Gymnastics Club was established in 1985 by a group of volunteers to run a recreation gymnastics program. The Club has since embarked on delivering new programs for the community, allowing families access to professionally run classes with highly skilled coaches. They also offer school holiday gymnastics, after-school, and in-lesson gymnastics programs. Hub Gymnastics has around 750 members, with about 350 children on waitlist.

 

Australian Dental Foundation Community Welfare Innovation Award

• Kaleb Wilden introduced the NeuroTherapy Rehabilitation Program to service residents in the Adelaide Hills region living with acquired brain injury. The Program is goal-based and tailored to the individual’s physical disabilities associated with their acquired brain injury. Kaleb also produces educational videos that are readily available and free to access. He has serviced over 1,900 patients since launching the Program in January 2022

 

Carers SA Carer Achievement Award

• Jan Wallent has cared for her husband, David, since he returned in 1967 from the Vietnam War. David has PTSD and has had other chronic diseases, needing full-time care. Jan was a Board Director for Carers SA. She also co-founded Partners of Veterans SA in 2003. She became a carer at the age of 6, when a relative living with them became unwell.

 Awards Australia Volunteer Award

• Christopher Wright is a 72-year-old volunteer. He spent 6 months cooking for 130 Volunteers during the Kangaroo Island bush fires. Christopher also cooks for the needy, including a homelessness Fundraiser for 220, and runs cooking classes for widowers and careers. A foundation member of Victor Harbor Men's Shed, Christopher helps others achieve more.