Community Projects

Everyone deserves access to food. Some people, groups and areas in our community experience barriers to accessing sufficient, nutritious and affordable food on a regular basis. This is known as food insecurity.

To address food insecurity in our community, we first need to understand the local food system and environment.

The Rural City of Wangaratta is undertaking the VicHealth Local Government Partnership (VLGP) program module ‘Building better food systems for healthier communities’ and the action ‘Create a local food coalition’. Through this action, Council engaged with Sustain: The Australian Food Network and collaborated with health services, community groups, schools and individual community members to form the Rural City of Wangaratta Sustainable Food Alliance.

The Sustainable Food Alliance will serve as a forum for discussing food system issues and foster collaboration across different sectors.

This information sheet contains more information about the Alliance and the different ways to be involved, including receiving email updates, being involved in working groups, and joining the steering committee: RCoW-Sustainable-Food-Alliance-Expression-of-Interest-Information-2025.pdf(PDF, 189KB)

Express your interest in being involved and hearing more from the Sustainable Food Alliance at this link: https://forms.office.com/r/RVFX38MPcR

Please contact recreation@wangaratta.vic.gov.au with any questions.

The Rural City of Wangaratta is currently funded to facilitate the primary prevention of gendered and family violence.
Primary prevention efforts are targeted to reach everyone in our community, with the aim of addressing the underlying causes of violence against women.

Respect. Where do you stand?

We all deserve to be safe, equal and respected.

We want our community to live free from violence. Ending family violence and violence against women, girls and gender diverse people starts with gender equality.

On average, a woman in Australia is killed by a man they know every nine days. Violence by an intimate partner is the leading contributor of disability and illness in women aged 15-44. Family violence is also one of the main reasons why women and children become homeless.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Violence against women and girls can be prevented. Respect sits at the core of all safe, healthy and equal relationships. We can all be part of creating a future where disrespect, sexual harassment and violence towards women are not tolerated.

Council's commitment to ending violence

At the Rural City of Wangaratta we are committed to a vision of our community as a safe, respectful and supportive place for all – free from all forms of inequality, violence and discrimination. A life free from violence starts with equality and respect.

Local government plays a role by being an employer, a connector, a service provider, and a community leader. From the design of our facilities to the delivery of our programs, we have a role in ensuring everyone is treated with respect and that discrimination is challenged.

As an employer, we are making a commitment to creating an inclusive workplace, where assumptions are questioned and barriers are removed, to ensure equitable outcomes regardless of gender. We recognise that addressing gender inequality is crucial to better health and social wellbeing, and the prevention of violence against women.

Help and Support

If you are worried about someone, or need to seek help yourself, contact one of the support services below.

In an emergency or if you are or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 000 for Police and/or Ambulance assistance.

The following crisis and counselling services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

• 1800RESPECT – A 24-hour national sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling service for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Call 1800 737 732 or visit Home | 1800RESPECT
• Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre – A 24/7 family violence response centre, providing specialist support services for anyone in Victoria who is experiencing or afraid of family violence. Call 1800 015 188 or visit Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre - 24/7 support for Victorians
• Kids Helpline - Private and confidential phone and online counselling service for people aged 5 to 25. Call 1800 55 1800 or visit https://kidshelpline.com.au/
• MensLine Australia - Help, support, referrals & counselling services for men via telephone, online and video. Call 1300 78 99 78 or visit https://mensline.org.au.

Help and support for all people affected by family violence may also be found through the following specialist services:

• Orange Door – A free service for adults, children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced family violence and need support. There are Orange Door hubs all around Victoria, and no referral is required. Visit Family violence support and extra help for children and families (orangedoor.vic.gov.au) and for contact details to your closest Orange Door service visit Locations | The Orange Door
• Djirra – Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Victoria – Provides legal advice, information, referral and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at immediate risk of, experiencing or recovering from family violence or sexual assault (women and men). Call 1800 105 303 or visit Djirra – Sharing stories finding solutions | A culturally safe place where culture is strengthened and practical support is available
• With Respect 1800 LGBTIQ – Provides support for LGBTIQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Gender Diverse, Intersex, Queer, Asexual, BrotherBoys, SisterGirls) people of all ages and their families experiencing difficulty in their relationships, including family violence. Call 1800 542 847or visit WithRespect
• Rainbow Door – A free specialist helpline providing information, support and referral to all LGBTIQ+ Victorians, their friends and family. This includes support for people of all ages and identities who are experiencing relationship issues, family and intimate partner violence (including elder abuse) and sexual assault. Call 1800 729 367 or visit Rainbow Door
• Women’s Information Referral Exchange (WIRE) - a free support, referral and information service for women, non-binary and gender diverse people experiencing issues including family violence, financial abuse and housing. Call 1300 134 130 or visit Support, Referrals & Information for Victorian Women | WIRE
• Sexual Assault Crisis Line - Crisis counselling service for people who have experienced past and recent sexual assault. Call 1800 806 292 Sexual Assault Crisis Line » Sexual Assault Crisis Line (sacl.com.au)
• Men’s Referral Service – a men’s family violence telephone counselling, information and referral service operating in Australia by No to Violence, which provides a point of contact for men taking responsibility for their violent behaviour. Call 1300 766 491 or visit NTV | What we do

In February 2023 the Rural City of Wangaratta facilitated a forum on housing and homelessness. The forum consisted of participants from various sectors including registered housing organisations, local family violence and homelessness support services, health services, local businesses such as real estate agents and property developers, and Regional Development Victoria. Key actions taken as a result include:

1. Council developed the Affordable Housing Strategy; this was adopted by the Rural City of Wangaratta in June. The strategy outlines key action areas to generate social, affordable, and key worker accommodation in the region. The plan is available here Affordable Housing Strategy Rural City of Wangaratta

2. Facilitation of the development of the Ovens College site for social, affordable, and residential housing. This project will provide for a significant increase in housing stock, located close to public transport and amenities.

3. Development of an action group consisting of local partner agencies was formed to consider short term projects to improve the lives of those experiencing homelessness in Wangaratta. These projects include providing freely accessible lockers, installing community laundries, and producing a pocket card listing local community services.

Short-Term Community Lockers

Council partnered with the Wangaratta Night Shelter and a group of students from Wangaratta High School, to assist with the installation of lockers at Apex Park and Wangaratta Showgrounds. The students spoke with people experiencing homelessness and found that many wanted somewhere safe store their belongings during the day. The lockers at Apex Park are available year-round, 24 hours a day. The lockers at the Showgrounds are always available except for a few times a year when major events are using the area.

Community Laundries

 After identifying a need for people experiencing homelessness to clean their clothes, Council negotiated with State Government to allocate some of its home and community care funding to the installation of two free community laundries. The laundries opened in June and are located near the lockers at Apex Park and Wangaratta Showgrounds. Council has installed signage in the laundries which list additional support services available in Wangaratta. The laundries are conveniently situated near free shower facilities, offering easy access to these essential services.

In need of a helping hand cards

 These cards list key information about local support services in a handy pocketable size.
The listed services include housing & shelter, family violence help, health, food, internet, showers, and laundry.
The cards are available from Customer Service in the Government Centre and participating local businesses and services.