A Canberra community support organisation will receive "more certainty than we've had in many, many years" in the upcoming ACT budget.
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The government will provide Self Help Organisations United Together with $469,000 over four years to enable the Canberra not-for-profit to continue to provide other community sector groups with infrastructure and administrative and governance support.
Self Help Organisations United Together - or SHOUT - looked likely to close last year due to a gap in funding caused by the transition to the NDIS. After a hard-fought public campaign, the ACT government handed SHOUT $70,000 to recalibrate and prove its long-term sustainability.
Community Services and Social Inclusion Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the government's upcoming investment would provide certainty to SHOUT, "recognising its value as core social infrastructure and ensuring the service remains part of our community for the years ahead".
"As our city grows, backing local community organisations is critical to ensuring Canberra remains a supportive and inclusive community that doesn’t leave anyone behind," she said.
Welcoming the announcement, SHOUT board member Rebecca Davey said the organisation had actually grown since last year's uncertainty.
Thirteen health and disability organisations now use SHOUT's Pearce office as their headquarters while dozens more use the service for governance training or administration support. Beneficiaries include the ACT Down Syndrome Association, the Canberra Region Kidney Support Group and Bosom Buddies.
Ms Davey said: “This money means that we are stable now for the next four years. It means that everyone that we work with now has certainty for the next four years and that is more certainty than we have had in many, many years."
But Ms Davey said an unfortunate side effect of last year's uncertainty was the loss of two staff, who had "gone through a horrendous period".
"We had invited them to stay but their jobs did have to change quite a lot, so they chose to leave," she said.
"We completely understand that - they have given the community a lot of support."
Ms Davey paid tribute to Ms Stephen-Smith and the Canberrans who rallied behind SHOUT in 2017.
“We would really like to thank the Canberra community who supported us while we were going through a rough time last year and the people that really came out and [The Canberra Times]," she said.
The ACT budget will be handed down on June 5.
