A new Whittlesea sports program is tackling youth isolation, especially following pandemic restrictions, with a special focus on migrant groups.
Whittlesea Community Connections children’s program worker Serdar Tackiran said the Kids Get Active program was connecting local children through team sports.
“It’s become a way to tackle a lack of social connection,” he said.
Mr Tackiran said this was particularly important in the face of isolation experienced during COVID-19 in the past two years.
“Migrant and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) kids are targeted, ” he said.
Mr Tackiran said almost 100 local children aged five to 17 years old had become involved in sports like AFL football, cricket, netball, soccer and basketball.
He said equipment were among the things bought with the state government funding for the program.
The funding came from VicHealth’s JumpStart! program aimed at building communities through food, art and play.
Part of VicHealth’s Future Healthy initiatives, community groups submit their ideas on how they would support children, youth and families to get physically active, learn and share knowledge about their own food and identity and connect via the arts and cultural and play-based activities.
One-hundred-and-twenty-three Victorian organisations shared in $3.75m-worth of first-round funding in July.
Details: stackrian@whittleseacc.org.au or 9401 6666.
Dora Houpois
