‘LHAC Chats’ wins the Murrumbidgee Community Grant of the Year award

An initiative of the Deniliquin Local Health Advisory Committee (LHAC) has won the Murrumbidgee Community Grant of the Year award, as part of Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network’s (MPHN) 2020 Primary Healthcare Awards.

The ‘LHAC Chats’ project significantly increased local awareness of health services and how to access them through an information-based campaign featuring multiple print advertisements and a range of social media posts.

MPHN Board Chair Dr Jodi Culbert congratulated the Deniliquin LHAC and its Chair Lourene Liebenberg.

“The Murrumbidgee Community Grant of the Year recognises excellence in developing and delivering an activity or event to support the mental health and wellbeing a drought affected community, and was funded by a Murrumbidgee Community Grant or Murrumbidgee Youth Community Grant,” Dr Culbert said.

“We had a large number of nominations in this category, and the Deniliquin LHAC are to be congratulated for their outstanding work to increase local awareness of health services.”

Ms Liebenberg said the Deniliquin LHAC was honoured to be the award recipient.

“We thank MPHN for the initiative and the funding that’s allowed so many of the LHACs across the region to do some wonderful community projects,” she said.

“What is really exciting is to see how these initial projects are evolving into other projects through collaboration with other groups in our community.”

The Art Relief program, developed by Moulamein-based artist Narelle Witham under the auspice of South West Arts to provide art workshops for farming communities impacted by drought, was recognised as the runner-up in the award category.

South West Arts Executive Director Kerry-Anne Jones said the Art Relief program grew into something much bigger than what was originally expected.

“It’s been a big project and it’s great to see so many hundreds of people across the region in our very small and remote communities have access to free workshops,” she said.

“The whole intent of this program was so people could gather together and to give them some relief during a period of intense drought, so it was really extraordinary to see the outcome and to see the network of people that developed.”