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We bring people together in each federal electorate (150 electorates around Australia) to work locally in engaging our communities and our  representatives in an agenda of empowerment of ordinary people and strengthening of civil society.
 CLICK HERE to join us.
SELF-DIRECTED
SERVICES AND PERSONAL BUDGETS

You can take charge of your social support, education and health care through a personal budget.
CLICK HERE for further information.
AGM SEASON

Making a difference in our not-for-profits.
CLICK HERE for further information.
STREET BY STREET

Linking up people who live in the same street or nearby to build community through practical helping tasks - on a national scale.
 CLICK HERE for further information.
COMMUNITY BUILDING
NATIONAL NETWORK
CLICK HERE  to participate in the Network.

LEFT AND RIGHT?

"The Left and Right have been as bad as each other. The Left has allowed its distrust of markets and endless faith in government to obscure the importance of civil society. The Right has been so focused on replacing the state with markets that it has forgotten how to cultivate a trusting society.

This is the politics of the absurd. The Left identifies with the good society but rarely talks about the mutualism and trust between people. The Right recognises the importance of moral obligation but gives the impression of trusting market transactions more than civil society.

Few things seem to happen anymore without a government law or market transaction to guide them. This is how record levels of GDP in Australia now sit alongside record levels of crime, social stress and family  breakdown. The political balance needs to swing back towards civil society.

This task, in fact, requires a new type of politics."
Mark Latham, Mutualism: A Third Way for Australia," 1999.
 CLICK HERE to read more. 

SURVEYS
If you are the proprietor of a small business, please send us your thoughts on how we can support small businesses through our
SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY

If you are caring for an ill or disabled family member at home, please click here to participate in our

Family CarERS  SURVEY 

 
 
 

Community building NATIONAL NETWORk



A NATIONAL NETwork of community builders


NEIGHBOURHOOD SUPPORTED LIVING NETWORKS

 Neighbourhood Supported Living Networks are a successful model of social inclusion for people with disabilities, people with mental illnesses, vulnerable young people and others in need of supported living.

A Network consists of ten houses or flats in the same neighbourhood, within walking distance of each other. The tenth home is a residence for a Network Volunteer or Worker who lives in the same neighbourhood and acts as an anchor for the group. In exchange for free rent and utilities the Network Volunteer or Worker provides the group with support on a part-time or flexible basis. This arrangement enables the Network to build layers of support around the network members and with others in the neighbourhood.



 

Networks of this kind are a successful model originating in the UK and are gradually being developed in Australia.

We would like to see 50 Networks up and running around Australia very soon. Though sharing information and contacts, and working together, we can achieve this goal.

Bronia Holyoak from Perth describes the value of working together:
 

§"I am working in Perth, WA and I am about to embark on a project to develop the first Network here in WA. I have been informally connecting with a colleague who is a coordinator of a similar concept in Melbourne to tap into their resources and knowledge. It would be wonderful to have everyone who has experience of developing up a network across Australia come together to support the development of the networks and support and learn from each other. Setting up a new programme is a daunting prospect from new, to have a network of connections that have been through the process to support new initiatives get off the ground would be invaluable…I hope that this is something that can be coordinated from a central point, and engage with all key stakeholders.”

We would like to hear from individuals and organisations around the country interested in participating in a Network, or in supporting the development of a Network.

Further information will be posted in the members section of the Community Building National Network, including resources and contacts for people sharing this interest and wanting to work together.

Register your interest in participating by using the form below.

Further information:

Vern Hughes
03 9824 4713
network@civilsociety.org.au
 

NEIGHBOURHOOD SUPPORTED LIVING NETWORKS
Registration Form

Name  

Email  

Phone  (bh)     Phone (ah) 

Organisation  

Address  


  I would like to participate in a Network in my community.

  I would like to develop a Network.

My locality is:
  
 

     Tick the boxes in the areas that are relevant to your interest:

       Disability
       Mental illness
       Young person
       Young parent


Tell us about yourself and your interests

 

 © Centre for Civil Society 2007-2010

TRANSFORMING OUR SCHOOLS

CLICK HERE for details of our campaign for a Real Education Revolution.

PARENTS FAMILIES AND CARERS

CLICK HERE for info on the National Federation of Parents, Families and Carers.
MAKING IT PERSONAL

Charlie Leadbeater, Jamie Bartlett and Niamh Gallagher have authored this highly influential Demos Report on Self-Directed Services and Personal Budgets.
CLICK HERE to read Making It Personal.
THIRD WAY FORUM
Communitarianism,
Mutualism, Third Way Thinking
CLICK HERE to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE

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Family Carers
There are 2.7million family carers of people with a disability, a chronic or mental illness, or aged frailty in Australia. They are invisible to politicians and policy makers. Read more...
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