Community Gro’s Garbutt youth hub set to expand with million-dollar lifeline
A Garbutt youth hub once facing closure is making a comeback, expanding its services after receiving a $1.8m lifeline just weeks before its funding was set to dry up.
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A Townsville youth hub once facing closure is making a dramatic comeback, expanding its services after receiving a $1.8m lifeline just weeks before its funding was set to dry up.
Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber and Townsville MP Adam Baillie recently stopped by Community Gro in Garbutt, reaffirming an LNP election promise that will keep their hub running until 2028 and allow them to expand operations from three nights a week to four.
“This means that four nights a week, our young people will have a safe place to go until 10pm,” said Community Gro CEO Kathrin Meehan.
“We provide a safe space, meals, structured programs, and vital connections with our youth workers.”
The youth hub currently supports 113 children and teens aged 8 to 17, offering a safe haven for at-risk kids in a community grappling with youth crime.
The funding signals a major turning point for Community Gro, which faced possible closure when the $1.4 million it had received under the Federal Government’s Safe Communities Program dried up last April.
Ms Meehan said luckily they were able to keep the doors of the youth hub open for the kids by securing another small grant but that funding is set to run out next month.
“This stability is huge,” she said. “It’s also a relief for our youth workers, who’ve been stuck operating ‘contract to contract.’”
When asked if the $1.8 million funding was sufficient for the next three years, Ms Meehan was optimistic.
“Three years is an amazing amount of time to grow and develop this program and ensure we’re hitting the right targets,” she said. “It is enough funding for those three years.”
Minister Gerber said funding was part of the government’s broader focus on early intervention and assured that organisations like Community Gro will be able to apply for further funding after the initial period.
“They’ll be working closely with the Department to make sure that they’re delivering on what they need to deliver on,” she said.
“There’ll be an assessment, and they can apply for ongoing funding. This is all part of gold standard early intervention. It is not set and forget. It’s about providing ongoing funding to community organisations that have proven results that are delivering for communities.”
Originally published as Community Gro’s Garbutt youth hub set to expand with million-dollar lifeline
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