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Community Services

The Blue Mountains Community Sector is a rich and diverse sector delivering a range of programs and services that strengthen our community. These organisations include:

  • - Neighbourhood centres
  • - Family support services
  • - Youth services
  • - Children’s services
  • - Food Product and services
  • - Health services (including mental health, women’s health, and drug & alcohol recovery services)
  • - Community transport services
  • - Legal services
  • - Accommodation support services
  • - Domestic violence support services, and
  • - Disability support services

More information about individual Blue Mountains Community Sector organisations can be found in the Blue Mountains Community Sector Profile and on individual MCRN Member websites.

Interagencies

Community sector organisations, groups, professionals and government organisations have traditionally convened through a range interagency groups - networks, coalitions, steering and working groups, to facilitate an integrated, coordinated and best practice approach to service provision across the Blue Mountains region.  

Sadly, recent funding cuts by the NSW government mean that future convening of/attendance at all interagencies in the Mountains is no longer funded, making the survival of these critical partnerships and collaborations tenuous at best.  As MCRN (and some of Council's community development team) has been de-funded by Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), those interagencies marked with an asterisk (*) will no longer be convened by MCRN as the peak body.  These interagency groups include:

  • Blue Mountains Community Interagency (BMCI)* - a generalist interagency for local community services sector including individuals, community groups, not-for-profit organisations, charities and government organisations.
  • Mountains Multicultural Interagency (MMI)* - for community and workers from government and non-government sector to collaborate on issues relevant to CALD communities in the Blue Mountains
  • Stronger Families Alliance (SFA)* - a network of government, non-profit and voluntary organisations working together to bring friendship, fun and professional support to Blue Mountains familiesCALD communities in the Blue Mountains.
  • Blue Mountains Community Care Forum – for organisations who provide services and programs to people with a disability, the frail aged, people living with a mental health issue and their carers.
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing* for all agencies and community members who are concerned about domestic and family violence, sexual assault and all forms of violence and abuse against children, and
  • Coalition Against Violence and Abuse (CAVA) for all agencies and community members who are concerned about domestic and family violence, sexual assault and all forms of violence and abuse against children, and
  • Recovery, Resilience & Preparedness Working Group* – a group established to strengthen relationships between emergency services and the community sector at an organisational level, and thus provide a united platform for the delivery of a broad range of resilience and preparedness programs within the community.
  • BM Community Sector Leaders' Group*.

More information on interagency groups, including contacts and meeting details can be found on each of their individual pages.

Meeting details can also be viewed on the Sector Meeting Calendar.

Groups Auspiced by MCRN

For more than 40 years, MCRN supported unfunded and/or unincorporated community groups and social justice campaigns and auspices a range of local action groups including:

  • Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters (BMETS) - a generalist interagency for local community services sector including individuals, community groups, not-for-profit organisations, charities and government organisations.
  • Trek for Timor Blue Mountains (T4T) - a group organised by members of the Blue Mountains East Timor Friendship Committeeand Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters Project and other community volunteers and aims is to raise much needed for funds for the people of East Timor.
  • Pink Mountains – an online community information guide and pink pages business directory for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex people, their friends and supporters living in or visiting the Blue Mountains.
  • Blue Mountains Interfaith Group – representatives of the different religious and spiritual traditions in the Blue Mountains who seek to work together on causes of common interest, such as the Care and Celebration of the Environment.
  • Blue Mountains Trade Union Council’s (BMCU) Politics in the Pub – BMCU convenes regular public forums in the Blue Mountains on current and controversial issues.
  • Links for Life - a group of volunteers based in the Blue Mountains working towards the prevention of family violence and protection of children.

More information about individual Blue Mountains Community Sector organisations can be found in the Blue Mountains Community Sector Profile and on indivdual MCRN Member websites.

Our Sector