Toowoomba community encouraged to work together to address social issues

The forum attracted a wide range of organisations

Tackling issues such as homelessness, drug abuse, youth suicide and loneliness amongst the aged in Toowoomba must be a group effort from the community.

This was the overriding message from the Community Capacity Building Workshop, which was held at USQ last week.

Around 150 people, including representatives from the police, Toowoomba Regional Council, community groups and education providers were on hand for the Workshop that was organised to explore ways of building community capacity and well-being.

'This was an opportunity to get together people from a wide range of backgrounds and experience to discuss better ways to use the resources available to address some of the major problems facing society,' coordinator of the Community Capacity Building Project at USQ Professor Glen Postle AM said.

'It was the first step towards a closer and more effective working relationship between different community service groups.

'A major outcome from the Workshop was an acknowledgement that there needs to be greater interaction if we are to solve these problems in our local community.'

Professor Postle, who is also an Honorary Professor of USQ, said that while it was important that the community looked towards a solution to these issues, it was just as vital that the causes were also examined more closely.

'This is where we can really make a difference. By putting more effort into preventing the problems from occurring in the first place we can achieve better outcomes and prevent a lot of pain and suffering in the community.

'At USQ there is already research underway which is looking at possible causes of these social problems, which we hope to bring to the attention of governments to help with the development of policies and processes that might make a difference.

'We must all work together to bring good ideas to the table. We can’t expect others to do the work for us. These are problems faced by the community and the answers lie in a more active and compassionate community finding the solutions.'

While the Workshop was the first of its kind in Toowoomba there are already plans to make the initiative an annual event.

Plans are also underway to build a website to communicate the workshop outcomes.

Contact Details:
Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559 or 0400 025 429