Safe and Healthy Communities

Index by Content Type

Practical

• 12 Gates to the City - sustainable urban areas (US)
  - Written by Francesca Lyman, this article explores twelve ideas to build strong, livable and sustainable urban areas
• A Guide to setting up a Community Garden
  - Practical advice on how to set up a community garden developed by the Community Gardens Network - Russ Grayson and Fiona Campbell
• A new youth health policy for NSW
  - The Department of Health is developing a new youth health policy for NSW.
• Aboriginal Housing for Health
  - Housing for Health is a copyright methodology for improving living conditions in Aboriginal communities.
• Active After-school Communities
  - The Active After-school Communities program is a national initiative that provides primary school-aged children with access to free, structured physical activity programs in the after-school timeslot.
• Activity packs for kids in rural and regional communities
  - This new idea is called kidsouttaschool. Our motto is “strong, smart and friendly”. It's a new program that supports children from Kindy through the transition to High School in the hours they are not at school. It's based on the "Activity Pack".
• Adolescent Health GP Resource Kit, 2nd Edition has now been released
  - Enhancing the skills of General Practitioners in caring for young people from culturally diverse backgrounds. A joint initiative of NSW Centre for the Advancement of Adolescent Health (NSW CAAH) and Transcultural Mental Health Centre (TMHC)
• Anger & Indigenous Men: Understanding & responding to violent behaviour - new book
  - This book is for social work and criminal justice practitioners who wish to develop culturally appropriate and effective programs for reducing anger-related violence perpetrated by Indigenous men.
• Australia's Homeless Youth
  - A report of the National Youth Commission Inquiry into Youth Homelessness.
• Australian Building Greenhouse Rating Scheme
  - The Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) scheme provides accredited assessments of the greenhouse intensity of office buildings by awarding a star rating on a scale of one to five.
• Australian Community Gardens Network
  - The Australian Community Gardens Network is an informal, community-based organisation linking people interested in community gardening across Australia.
• Australian Greenhouse Office, Department of Environment and Heritage
  - The Australian Greenhouse Office, part of the Federal Government’s Department of the Environment and Heritage, delivers the majority of programs under the Australian Government’s $1.8 billion climate change strategy.
• Australian Indigenous Health InfoNet
  - "Our mission is to contribute to improving the health of Australia's Indigenous people by making relevant, high quality knowledge and information easily accessible"
• Beyondblue
  - Beyondblue's mission is to provide a national focus and community leadership to increase the capacity of the broader Australian community to prevent depression and respond effectively to it.
• Blue Light Website
  - Blue Light is a successful international community policing initiative that aims to provide an opportunity for young people to be involved in a variety of entertainments that assist the police to rectify the imbalance of pro-active and re-active policing where young people are concerned. It does this by providing young people with positive lifestyle alternatives and strategies to avoid becoming an offender or victim of crime.
• Breast cancer in men website.
  - The National Breast Cancer Centre has developed a breast cancer in men website.
• Bubaa Ngambaa Gaayili, Father Mother Child
  - A book for Aboriginal parents and family workers in the New England Area. It gives simple advice about raising children aged 0-5 years to help them have a good start to a healthy life.
• Building Resilience in Rural Communities Toolkit
  - This toolkit is the outcome of a three year research project examining resilience in the rural community of Stanthorpe in Queensland.
• Building Sustainability Index for NSW homes
  - A web-based planning tool designed to assess the potential performance of new homes against a range of sustainability indices is now part of the development approval process in NSW.
• Built Environment
  - In support of the Year of the Built Environment (2004) communitybuilders.nsw put together a list of resources which can be found on our website and which remain relevant for the built environment.
• Bushfire Information, NSW
  - Preparing for bushfires and bushfire services information.
• Cabramatta CityWatch Council
  - The Cabramatta CityWatch project encourages local community members from Cabramatta to create interest groups that focus on issues of concern within their local community.
• Child Safety on Farms
  - Safety for children on farms is a major concern which this website addresses by providing farm families, managers, workers and visitors to farms with information and resources to prevent injury to children on farms.
• Children and Young People's Safety and Wellbeing
  - The Commission for Children and Young People has released a series of topical and interesting information sheets related to children and young people's safety and wellbeing.
• Committee Kit - A Guide to Running Events for Young People
  - Prepared by the Independent Entertainment Network for Young People in NSW, this kit outlines tasks you will need to think about from booking venues, licensing and security, to all aspects of event promotion and production.
• Community Foods website
  - Australian Community Foods Inc. is a small non-profit corporation dedicated to developing, implementing, and promoting appropriate web-based technologies to support local food networks.
• Community Partnerships Kit
  - A resource for groups wishing to undertake community action to prevent illicit drug use or address use where it occurs.
• Community Renewal in Public Housing
  - Reclaiming communities for people - A NSW Department of Housing perspective.
• Crime Prevention - Youth Crime
  - These fact sheets, developed by CHD Partners, focus on crime prevention for young people.
• Crime Prevention Division NSW Attorney General's Department
  - The Crime Prevention Division is responsible for providing advice and implementing programs that relate to the prevention of crime, offending and victimisation around NSW.
• Crime Prevention Fact Sheets
  - These fact sheets have been developed by CHD Partners as a result of their work with local government on crime prevention
• Crime Prevention Practitioners Network
  - CHD Partners has launched a Crime Prevention Practitioners Network to facilitate debate, information sharing and opportunities for professional development.
• Crime Reduction Toolkits
  - The UK Government's Crime Prevention Strategy includes a series of 22 online Toolkits designed to help all those involved in crime reduction to work as effectively as possible.
• Cross-Cultural Partnerships in Violence Prevention
  - This paper, by Michelle Bradford, Heather Nancarrow, Pam Viti and Ailsa Weazel, describes a school-based violence prevention program at an Aboriginal community in central Queensland which draws on community development principles and has been established through a partnership between the Woorabinda Women’s Shelter, “Gumbi Gunya”; Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research; and the Woorabinda State Primary School.
• Disaster preparedness and response
  - A list of websites to agencies that can help in time of disaster and disaster recovery.
• Doordarnbee Muggy Jarjums: Growing Up Strong Jarjums
  - Doordarnbee Muggy Jarjums: Growing Up Strong Jarjums is a book for Aboriginal parents and family workers on the Far North Coast. It gives simple advice about raising children aged 0-5 years to help them have a good start to a healthy life.
• Drugs and Driving Website
  - The Australian Drug Foundation has created a site which provides information on drugs and driving.
• Easy Guides for Living Sustainably
  - The NSW Government has provided Easy Guides for living sustainably at home, at work and in the community.
• Environmental Sustainability Kit
  - The Environmental Sustainability Kit is a set of tools, ideas, procedures, and resources to help local leaders, residents, and businesses work toward making their own communities more sustainable.
• Environmental and sustainability resources from the NSW Department of Environment and Cllimate Change
  - Environment and sustainability resources for industry, state and local government, teachers and students and the community
• Event Organisers Checklist
  - The following checklist from the Queensland Government’s Department of Communities will assist you in planning your event.
• Girls With A Purpose Facilitator's Manual
  - A resource that helps young women develop self worth, a positive identity and sense of purpose.
• Good Practice Guide for Community Gardens
  - This practical and comprehensive manual, produced by Cultivating Community, is designed to assist organisations to get gardens going.
• Graffiti – A Community Initiative in Greater Geelong
  - Based on a strong commitment to community involvement, the Graffiti Strategy is framed around three key elements: rapid removal, prevention and policing.
• Grandparents Raising Granchildren website
  - This website has been designed as a resource point for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren in NSW.
• Green Building Council of Australia
  - The Green Building Council of Australia aims to develop a sustainable property industry for Australia and drive the adoption of green building practices through market-based solutions.
• Growing Up Strong Guring
  - A book for Aboriginal parents and family workers in the Inner West of Sydney. It gives simple advice about raising children aged 0-5 years to help them have a good start to a healthy life.
• Hawkesbury EarthCare Centre
  - Hawkesbury EarthCare Centre serves as a focus and gathering place for people learning and working together for responsible stewardship of the earth.
• Health Promotion Capacity Building
  - From the Health NSW website, this Capacity Building section focuses on capacity building in health promotion.
• Home Truths: Mental Health, Housing and Homelessness in Australia
  - This report presents ten ‘Home Truths' about what must be done to ensure people with a mental illness have access to adequate and affordable housing.
• How Green is Your Home? - Quiz
  - Find out your home’s overall environmental impact, and where you can improve the most with this online quiz from the Australian Consumer Association.
• Illegal dumping: prevention and clean-up - Handbook for Aboriginal Communities
  - A handbook designed to support Aboriginal people in caring for Country by recommending actions to prevent illegal dumping and to clean waste.
• Introduction to Safer Design Guidelines
  - The Victorian government has launched an Introduction to Safer Design Guidelines to raise awareness about the need to consider safety in urban design and planning.
• Measuring the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  - Measuring the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples provides a picture of the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous Australians using data from the 2005-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) and a range of administrative datasets.
• Mutual Help Groups, Well Being and Mental Health
  - Mutual help groups provide an important gateway to wellbeing and mental health, according to a West Australian study,
• National Homelessness Information Clearinghouse
  - A website for sharing information and good practice solutions for the homelessness service sector in Australia.
• Neighbourhood Character
  - Analysis as a technique to assist with neighbourhood planning.
• No Regrets - Safe Party Tips - booklet for young people.
  - A group of northern Sydney Local Council's has produced a safe partying booklet aimed at young people and parents living in these council areas.
• Parenting Websites
  - There are a range of websites that contain high quality, accessible information on a range of parenting topics.
• Planet Ark
  - Planet Ark's aim is to show people and business the many ways that they can reduce their day to day impact on the environment.
• Premier's Council for Active Living Bulletin
  - The Premier's Council for Active Living (PCAL), which aims to build and strengthen the physical and social environments in which communities engage in active living, now publishes a monthly bulletin containing up-to-date news and research.
• Producing and Using Transport Access Guides
  - This brochure gives helpful advice on producing transport access guides that let people know how to get to your premises or venue by energy-smart modes of travel.
• Resources for Safe and Healthy Koori Communities
  - Aboriginal Safety Promotion Officers from the Shoalhaven Aboriginal Safe Community Partnership have produced an anti-depression Toolkit and a Fire Safe poster to help promote a safe and healthy community.
• Rural and Remote Health e-Journal
  - An international electronic journal committed to providing an easily accessible peer-reviewed evidence base for rural and remote health.
• STI Prevention Program: Sexual Health Campaign
  - The increase in STIs in young people is so concerning that the Australian Government has developed a new National STI Prevention Program: Sexual Health Campaign to raise young people’s awareness about the risks of infection and to generate a sense of personal responsibility to help prevent the spread of STIs.
• Safe Party Packs
  - Griffith and Leeton CDATs in conjunction with Griffith Police LAC and Griffith Lead On have produced a youth friendly information guide to conducting and attending parties.
• Safer Cities Tools from the United Nations Habitat Program
  - The Safer Cities Program, in collaboration with its partners in the different projects and through international co-operation, has developed a set of tools to deal with crime in urban areas.
• Safer celebrations - a planning guide for event managers in NSW
  - Use this practical, online guide to make sure you cover all legal and safety requirements when planning an event where alcohol will be provided. It is also a useful guide for planning any large event.
• School Angel Website
  - A new anti-bullying website which aims to support students, parents and teachers.
• Self-directed services and personal budgets for people receiving Government benefits
  - We are a national movement of individuals, families, services, businesses, and governments to change the system of funding social support, education and health care in Australia.
• Shopping Centre Security Guards and Young People: Resource Manual and Self-Paced Learning Package
  - This training resource for shopping centre security guards is produced by The Youth Action & Policy Association (YAPA) NSW.
• Slow Food, Slow Cities
  - Cities where the living is easy.
• Sustainability Street – local communities, local action
  - The central idea of the Sustainability Street Approach is that people get together as local communities, learn a bit about ecological sustainability and then do what they can to encourage, assist or 'teach' other individuals or other communities to join the groundswell for ecological sustainability.
• Sustainable urban design and climate
  - A paper by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology outlining what cities do to local climate, what city climates do to people, and the rewards of designing with climate
• The Green Directory (Australia)
  - The Green Directory is one of Australia's leading online eco-directories listing products and services that are eco-friendly and promote sustainability.
• The Wellness Guide
  - A guide for people with mental illness, their families and carers developed in consultation with people who experienced a mental illness.
• Understanding Sprawl - David Suzuki Foundation Report and action Toolkit
  - The David Suzuki Foundation's report, "Understanding Sprawl", and toolkit "Driven to Action" encourage communities to reshape urban areas.
• Urban Design Guidelines with Young People in Mind
  - Making public areas youth friendly and more attractive and welcoming for everybody
• Urban Villages and New Urbanism
  - New Urbanism is an important planning movement this century. It is an international movement to reform the design of the built environment to create new “urban villages” that will improve quality of life and standard of living by creating better places to live.
• Waste Wise Events Guide Website
  - This site offers you, the event organiser, stallholder, Council representative or venue owner, the resources to plan and implement an effective waste management and recycling program at your next event.
• Young People and Shopping Centres Protocol
  - "Creating the Space for Dialogue, a local youth shopping centre protocol", is a useful guide for those wanting to involve key groups in developing a protocol for their local shopping centre.
• Your Future Starts Now - A Guide for over 50s
  - This booklet contains important information about what you can do to make sure your wishes will be carried out and how to protect your interests, making sure your future is in good hands and things are done the way you want.

Case Studies

• CARE for Families
  - A new free program based in Enfield and Rockdale that provides case management and psychoeducation to people with a mental illness and their families, carers and friends for 9 months.
• Crime and Community Safety Partnerships - UK and South Africa
  - Through a joint project with Leeds in the UK, a Durban township in South Africa, has given its residents greater confidence, reduced crime and the fear of crime, and helped to create a thriving and prosperous community.
• Enhancing Water Safety – A NSW Safe Communities Project
  - The lifeguards in Kiama have been visiting the local primary schools for several years coming up to the long summer holidays with surf safety messages.
• HIV 0 FOOTBALL 1 in Nigeria
  - Football matches provide an opportunity to teach people about prevention of HIV/AIDS in the town of Mgbala Agwa in South Eastern Nigeria.
• Mall Walking – A NSW Safe Communities Project
  - Within the community of Kiama, there are socially isolated older people who do not exercise as much as we would wish.
• Mayfield on the Move - Developing a Sustainable Retail Environment
  - Kathie Heyman’s community showcase at the NSW Department of State and Regional Development Community Economic Development Conference describing how the community of Mayfield, an inner suburb of Newcastle got together and developed a sustainable retail environment, delivering for the community needs and aspirations.
• Northcott – observations of community and cultural development in a public housing estate
  - "What have they done there? 2 years at Northcott: An Observation of a Work in Progress" by Emily Mayo in consultation with all partners (December 2004) illustrates a process of community and cultural development in an inner-city Sydney public housing estate, part of the state’s largest cluster of Department of Housing stock.
• One Umbrella - Food Collection and Distribution
  - One Umbrella is a unique organisation which collects food that cannot be used and turns it into nutritious meals for the homeless and hungry of Melbourne.
• Resource for Urban Design Information (RUDI)
  - UK website featuring a collection of international case studies focussing on good practice in urban design.
• Shoalhaven Aboriginal Safe Community Partnership
  - Shoalhaven Aboriginal Safe Community Partnership has launched its own community web discussion group. SASCP members work together to promote a healthy and safe Koori community.
• Traffic Offender Program – A NSW Safe Communities Project
  - Medium to high range drink drivers are offered the chance to attend the eight-week Traffic Offender Program (TOP) on a voluntary basis.

Related Reading

• A Bountiful Harvest: Community Gardens and Neighbourhood Renewal in Waterloo
  - This report details research funded by the University of NSW Faculty of the Built Environment which examines the community gardens in the Waterloo Public Housing Estate in Sydney.
• Active Living by Design presentations on healthy communities
  - The Active Living by Design website contains a number of presentations on place, environment, public health and transport and their role in creating or impeding an active and healthy lifestyle.
• Broken Bodies - Broken Dreams: Violence Against Women Exposed
  - This book offers a powerful testimony of the different types of gender-based violence experienced by women and girls worldwide, through the use of photographs, individual case studies and illustrative text.
• Community Buildings
  - Community buildings often provide the vehicle through which social capital is nurtured and developed - where people establish networks, develop community trust and build co-operation for mutual benefit.
• First Aid Services
  - A list of organisations that provide first aid services for community events.
• Inquiry into Sustainable Australian Cities
  - This report from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage reports on issues and policies related to the development of sustainable cities to the year 2025.
• Mental Health Services in Australia 2004-05
  - Read the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on mental health services in Australia.
• New Directions for Disability Respite Services in NSW: A discussion paper inviting feedback
  - This discussion paper has been developed to assist in the reform and expansion of disability respite services1. It will guide the way future disability respite services are delivered, how people access those services, the types of services provided, the settings in which they are delivered and the development of new respite services across the sector.
• Overweight & Obesity: Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people: A snapshot, 2004-05 - ABS
  - This snapshot presents an overview of the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population as measured in the 2004-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS).
• Raising young children in Greater Dandenong: needs study
  - This initial study for the Communities for Children Program of the Brotherhood of St Laurence documents the needs of families with young children in Greater Dandenong, Victoria.
• Shocking the Suburbs - effects of oil prices and debt
  - A study by Griffith University urban researchers, Dr Jago Dodson and Dr Neil Sipe, has found that Australia’s outer suburban households are more vulnerable to the rising costs of petrol, mortgages and inflation because of a combination of moderate incomes, housing debt and a reliance on travel by car.
• State of Australian Cities Conference Papers
  - The papers from the State of Australian Cities Conference, December 2003, are now available on the web.
• Sustainability Education Conference Papers
  - The Council on Environmental Education has made available online proceedings and papers from the Effective Sustainability Education Conference held February 2004.
• Sydney Metropolitan Strategy
  - The metropolitan strategy is the NSW Government's long term plan for Sydney’s growth and aims to maintain Sydney's role in the global economy and to plan for growth and change - a series of ongoing decisions, actions, plans, and projects.
• The Foundation for Child Development Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI) Project
  - International Comparisons of Child Well-Being – The United States and Four English-Speaking Countries.
• The Surgeon General’s Call to Action on Global Health
  - The underlying message of this report is that disease and suffering do not respect political boundaries in an era of globalisation and mass population movements. The report was compiled by government and private public-health experts from various organisations in the United States.
• Urban Frontiers Program
  - The central focus of the Urban Frontiers Program is to improve understanding of, and provide innovative responses to, urban challenges and opportunities