New wellness centre for Yarrabah in Far North Queensland
Yarrabah will be home to a new learning and wellness centre thanks to a $1.474 million grant. The fit-for-purpose facility will be located at the Gindaja Treatment and Healing Centre and will ensure the ongoing delivery of critical and culturally appropriate alcohol and drug programs for the area.
Gindaja Chairperson Gregory Fourmile said investment in infrastructure through the CIIP program will assist Gindaja to continue to deliver much-needed services in the community in assisting people with their alcohol and drug recovery journey.
Gindaja CEO Ailsa Lively said the Gindaja Board and Management have worked hard over the past 10 years to build an evidence-based model of care to support the case for the new infrastructure. “COVID-19 impacted our service delivery and this infrastructure will assist in ensuring we can still operate under a pandemic situation,” Ms Lively said.
The project comes thanks to the department’s Community Infrastructure Investment Partnership program. The program invests in social infrastructure to boost services for communities impacted by COVID-19 and to create local jobs.
Yarrabah has seen an increased demand for outreach and support services due to COVID-19 restrictions. The new facility will ease this burden, with increased capacity and staff to continue delivering programs, services and counselling activities for local workers, community members and families. The new facility will also provide OH&S and wellbeing benefits for the centre’s staff.
The Gindaja Treatment and Healing Centre is currently a 19-bed hostel catering for people with drug and alcohol-related issues. The grant will fund the construction of the new facility, including kitchen, office, meeting spaces, vehicle access, and carpark, as well as landscaping and site clearing.
Work is expected to begin later this year and be completed by June 2022, pending development application approval.
More information about the Community Infrastructure Investment Partnership program.
Last updated: 25 Nov 2021