By Benjamin Millar
A groundbreaking program that has been kicking goals for health in the west has scored a major windfall.
Health Minister Jill Hennessy visited Laverton Community Hub on Tuesday to announce $800,000 in funding for the flagship Sons and Daughters of the West programs run by the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
The funding boost will enable 800 men and women living across the western suburbs to take part in the popular program over the next three years.
Sons and Daughters of the West offers a series of free sessions that help people to develop good mental health, improve their nutrition and increase their physical activity, while also working towards gender equality and respectful relationships to assist in preventing family violence.
The eight-week program has been specifically tailored to target the social and healthcare needs of people living in Melbourne’s culturally diverse western suburbs.
Daughters of the West was introduced last year following the success of the Sons of the West in helping hundreds of men over the past four years.
Ambassadors include Bulldogs’ AFLW players Libby Birch and Lauren Spark and health professional Roz Richards.
The Daughters program now runs in Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham, as well as Ballarat and Maryborough, while Sons of the West offers men’s programs at 17 sites across Melbourne’s west.
Health minister Jill Hennessy said the programs make a real difference by giving people the skills and the confidence they need to tackle what life throws at them.
“We know that men and women can grapple with problems such as mental health, social isolation, respect and gender equality,” she said.
“We’re helping navigate these difficult issues so that they can be the best they can be.”
