The Collaborative Care Small Grants Program is supporting local organisations to bring community-led projects to life, helping strengthen connections and improve health and wellbeing across Eden.

One of the successful projects is Bloom Eden, which aims to help local teenagers build social connections.

We spoke with Jacqueline Smith (the brains behind the project!) to learn what sparked the idea and what she hopes to achieve.

Can you tell us a little about your organisation and the project that received funding through the Eden Small Grants program?

Bloom Eden is a social connection project to help local teens bloom where they are planted. We're inviting young people aged 12 to 17 to co-design a series of wellbeing activities to help them develop healthy relationships, hobbies and habits that will support them to grow into confident, connected and contributing adults. The plan is to bring the group together so they can get to know each other and choose their own adventures during the summer holidays. We will make use of "third places" like parks, cafes, community spaces and businesses where they can meet new people, try new things and learn to make the most of where they live. I remember what it was like to be a teenager growing up here and thinking that anywhere had to be more glamorous than the Bega Valley. I was just biding my time until I could drive north across the bridge over the Bega River and get out of here. But then 30 years later when I had my own family, I moved back because there is nowhere better for young people to grow up. And I want to help local kids realise that too.

I can't wait to see what ideas they come up with. Maybe they'd like to do an op shop takeover or eat dumplings while they learn to play Mahjong. Perhaps they want to create a geocache hunt or do a stint on community radio! We don't know yet what the activities will look like - that is up to them, which is pretty exciting. But like any project, there are guidelines, deadlines and a budget in place to help keep things on track.

What inspired this project, and what community need were you hoping to address?

The Bloom Eden Project is a bit of a side quest for me. I see it as an intersection of my work supporting first responder families … and my experience parenting teenagers! I work as the Bega Valley Community Engagement Coordinator for a not-for-profit organisation called Fortem Australia. I organise social connection and wellbeing activities to help folks working in emergency services to carve out time for themselves, spend some quality time with their family and get to know other first responder families. So, I might take them to tenpin bowling, organise a coffee morning or a trivia night, so they can find things they like to do and meet some people they'd like to hang out with who understand their stressful lifestyle. I also connect these families to free psychology services and mental health resources, and all of this helps them be more proactive about supporting their own mental health and wellbeing. For six years I have seen the positive effects of this work within the first responder community and can see how this model could also benefit local youth.

Being a teenager is stressful too. Just as they want to become more independent, they become more at risk of anxiety, depression and loneliness. Bloom Eden is a social prescription which aims to engage kids upstream and empower them to look after their mental, physical and social health. I have two teenagers at home, and I can see how it can sometimes be a challenge for them to find something to do and somewhere to hang out with their friends. Now they are too old for the playground, Maccas on their way to sports training becomes the default place to socialise outside of school. Not all kids are sporty, have a big group of friends or can afford to join a club, but with Bloom Eden they can walk to a free wellbeing activity in town, enjoy lunch or a smoothie, get creative with other kids and help steer the project wherever they want it to go. Our hope is that local teens will come for the food, stay for the vibes and leave feeling seen, valued and less alone.

How has the grant helped you bring this project to life?

The idea for Bloom Eden has been bouncing around in my head for a long time, so when the Collaborative Care community grants started popping up on socials, and seemed to be following me around the internet, I realised that this could be an amazing opportunity to see if the project had legs. By providing funding of $5,000, the grant means we can go beyond a one-off event and support our young people to co-design a series of activities where they can develop trust, relationships and ideas over time. They can explore opportunities, try and fail, see what we should build on and what might then endure. We are just here to guide them, help create safe, inclusive spaces and remove barriers like cost and transport. And sometimes it can be helpful to have another adult other than your parents to talk to. None of this would be possible without this Collaborative Care grant funding or without the support of the wonderful team at Eden Community Access Centre who are auspicing the grant and helping bring this project to life.

How do you hope Bloom Eden will help young people connect with others and support their health and wellbeing?

Bloom Eden is a teen resilience plan drawing on a little "health by stealth" to create strong connections to self, peers and the community. By removing barriers to participation and giving them a sense of ownership, we want our young people to grow to appreciate the people, places, support and opportunities they already have here, and learn to bloom where they are planted.

Everything we do in this project is based on the Royal Melbourne Hospital's 5 ways to wellbeing framework, showing teens how to connect, move, learn, be and give, and providing them with tools to empower them to become more proactive about supporting their own social, physical and mental health.

Research tells us social connection is the key to wellbeing, and I have seen in my work with first responders that even though coming together for a cuppa, or barefoot bowls, or a trivia night may seem simple, these are also quite sneaky opportunities to improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma and influence health-seeking behaviours. You can just bring people together, feed them, give them something to keep their hands busy like colouring or clay, and then just sit back and watch the magic happen.

Is there a personal experience that has shaped what you hope to achieve with Bloom Eden?

While Bloom Eden doesn't officially kick off until the summer holidays, this is particularly good timing to help Year 6 children broaden their social network as they transition into high school. Doing things that matter to them and connecting with kids of all ages can be really powerful ways for teens to create a sense of belonging. I saw how important this was when my daughter joined an AFL team with girls aged from 12 up to 17 years old. Whenever things aren't going well at school or in their friendship group, having friends of all different ages who aren't in the same year, means teens have always got somewhere else they feel they belong if they need space and support while they figure things out. That's the kind of difference we are trying to make with this project.

If someone in the community is interested in getting involved, how can they participate and what would you say to encourage them to join in?

We have already been talking to Robyn from Eden Ground by Toast and their gorgeous back garden is the ideal place for our first Bloom Eden meet-up. We are going to get everyone together to enjoy a smoothie in the sunshine while we make some collages and plan out the activities they want to do together over the summer holidays. We will start advertising those dates in the next few weeks so keep an eye out on socials and for posters around town, but in the meantime, any young people aged 12 to 17 who are keen to participate, or families who would like to know more about Bloom Eden, can email us at bloomedenproject@gmail.com and we will keep them in the loop.

We are also looking for creative ideas and inspiration from local community groups and small businesses, so if you would like to collaborate with us, we would love to hear from you.