Migrant Services

•   Migrant Settlement Service
•   Local Area Multicultural Partnership Program

Legal Services

•   North Queensland Women's Legal Service (monthly outreach from Cairns)

Family Support and Self Help Groups

•   Nursing Mothers Association
•   ADD and ADHD Support Group
•   Single Parents
•   Cancer Support Visitors
•   Diabetes Support Group
•   Grow
•   Queensland Homicide Victims Support Group
•   Survivors of Suicide Support Group

Key Issues

Following discussions with various family support services in the community, a variety of environmental, social and economic pressures on the industry are evident:
•   Alienation - Volunteer numbers are low in educational, sporting, cultural and environmental areas.
•   Mobility - 70% of youth leave the Shire after schooling. Families move away in search of employment.
•   Divorce rates and breakdown in couple relationships. A total of 273 male and 277 female "separated" people and 505 male and 446 female divorced people live in the Shire.
•   Extended family - Mobility and relationship breakdown distances people from the older generation
•   Premature death in Indigenous communities - high incidence of suicide of Indigenous males
•   Disenchantment with organized religion - reduction in people attending services regularly.
•   Employment - trend of employed people to work long hours
•   The percentage of women in the workforce means the traditional neighborhood role is not being fulfilled
•   Lack of awareness of new services and existing services
•   Networking/Collaborating - family support agencies need to support each other
•   Public/Private Transport - limited transport affects community involvement increasing isolation
•   Lack of support for people who are Indigenous or from a non-english speaking background
•   Pressures on industries and families in the Shire are increasing stress, grief and depression
•   Financial Constraints - Limited funding available for support organisations