Over 800 multicultural senior citizens organisations in Victoria are set to benefit from the second year grant payment allocation.
The initiative from the Victorian Multicultural Commissions Community Grants Program will open up $1.5 million to help seniors organisations meet more regularly and continue to offer culturally specific programs.
The Minister for Cultural Affairs and Citizenship, Nicholas Kotsiras, says the grants not only support and empower Victoria’s culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse communities but they also provide the opportunity to preserve the heritage of the cultures that have helped shape Victoria.
The Multicultural Senior Citizens Grants now operate on a three-year funding cycle and each group successful in application to the program is entitled to apply for complementary public liability insurance, which greatly assists the groups to facilitate regular activities for their members.
In 2012, over 113,000 senior citizens benefited from the grants, with the a boost in participation in programs such as language classes, heritage sharing activities with youth, as well as culturally specific health and well-being programs for isolated seniors.
“These grants provide significant support to our State’s culturally and linguistically diverse community organisations, and strengthen their capacity to offer important social services and cultural activities to their members, assisting with the prevention of social isolation,” Mr Kotsiras said.