2011-2012 Annual Report - Full Version - PDF - Palmerston North ...

CommunitySupportWhat the Council Does Community DevelopmentThe Safety Advisory Board has once again excelledby delivering on a wide range of safety initiativesaround the City. The commitment of the socialservice agencies who commit themselves to thisongoing collaborative working relationship is akey element in delivering the Safe City Strategy.The Safety Advisory Board, in conjunction withthe Fire Service and the Council, are continuing tooperate twice-yearly inorganic rubbish collectionsfrom student communities. The increased rapportbetween social services and students has resultedin a significant decrease in anti-social behaviour.In order to ensure enhanced safety within theCBD the Safety Advisory Board agreed to fund theprofessional monitoring of the CCTV cameras.Increased public accessibility has been enabledwith the implementation of the Safety AdvisoryBoard website (www.pnsab.co.nz) allowingincreased community participation in on-goingand planned community activities.There is increasing awareness in the communityregarding family violence as a number of agencieshave worked collaboratively to ensure the “It’sNot Ok” message gets out. An ongoing educationprogramme has been developed to work with10-17 year olds to support them to not toleratefamily violence within their homes, culminatingin a concert at Palmerston North IntermediateNormal School.In conjunction with the Ministry of SocialDevelopment and Family and Community Services,the Council worked together with the PalmerstonNorth Pasifika Group to hold a community event atWestbrook Community Centre and Bill Brown Parkon 31 March 2012. This event was to support thelocal community to develop resilience to familyviolence and to encourage community socialcohesion.The Ministry of Justice once again supported theCouncil by providing a grant that enables theSafety Advisory Board to focus on five target areas- alcohol related harm; family violence; youth atrisk; safer city design; and burglary. This funding iscrucial to enable local community safety initiativesand is one of the primary ways of ensuring theCouncil meets its objectives as included in the SafeCity Strategy.The Palmerston North Youth Council said goodbyeto six of its longstanding members who leftfor university with six new Youth Councillorswelcomed to serve the youth community. ThreeYouth Councillors were fortunate enough toattend the Youth in Local Government Conferencein Invercargill, where they were able to networkwith other Youth Councillors and to talk abouthow to make the most of their leadershippotential. Meetings and governance training wasundertaken in January, followed by a geocachingteam building activity in February (treasure huntusing GPS). Youth Councillors continue theirinvolvement with the Youth Space. They alsoorganised the Ignition event at the Youth Space,a drug and alcohol free event for 13 to 17 yearolds. As well as providing an event for the youthof Palmerston North it is also a great way for YouthCouncillors to gain new skills.Resources for the youth in the City were increasedwith the Youth Space opening in September 2011with it going from strength to strength. The YouthSpace team is building positive relationshipswith the teens that go there, and this supportis helping them to make changes in their lives.Networking opportunities have been vital inbuilding relationships with local groups withthe team working hard to promote the facility toyoung people, those working with youth and alsoparents, and to find out how they might wish touse various aspects of the space. The number ofyoung people and organisations using the facilitycontinues to grow. This includes those who bringgroups in to use the facility and those who puton activities for the youth who visit. To date wehave welcomed the Te Aho o Te Kura PounamuCorrespondence School, UCOL, Palmerston NorthBoys High School, Supergrans, YMCA, WhaioraTrust, Awatapu Special Needs and the PublicHealth Organisation, amongst others.Central Energy Trust funding has enabled the YouthSpace to create an amazing training kitchen andcafé that will offer work experience opportunities.The kitchen is already being well used, by groupsand teens alike. Good relationships with externalorganisations are providing opportunities to worktogether on projects and also to bring services toyoung people using the space. Both UCOL and TheStomach have been key in linking to individualswho have volunteered their services as well asoffering their equipment to enable the activity totake place.50 Palmerston North City Council Annual Report 2011/12