Huddle Community
Support for the Constitution Hill community and others in the local area.
Introduction and Mission:
The Huddle is a group of local service providers and community residents working together to increase access to knowledge and services for families and children in Constitution Hill. Their mission is to provide relevant early childhood education services, early childhood intervention, fostering empowerment, social inclusion, and equity within the community.
EarlyEd’s role:
EarlyEd became part of the Huddle project in 2019 when funded for a small grant with United Way Dolly Parton Imagination Library to not only provide books to children as part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program but to support families to make the most of books and story time in their daily life.
EarlyEd then continued as part of the Start Strong Pathways program funded through the Department of Education NSW. This enables EarlyEd to bring the expertise of special educators, physiotherapists and speech pathologists with experience in supporting the inclusion of all children of all abilities to the Huddle community and to help support children identified with delays or concerns about their development.
Members and Collaboration:
The Huddle includes various members such as Karabi Community & Development Services, and others. They collaborate by meeting regularly to discuss community needs and work together to build and support the community.
Key Community Members
Community Collaborators
Goals and Values:
The Huddle aims to foster empowerment, social inclusion, and inspire the community through their website and early intervention services. Their values include inclusiveness, responsiveness, empowerment, equity, positivity, sustainability, evidence-based practices, and strengths-based approaches.
Why the project started:
A community partnership with Western Sydney University in 2019 led to better understand the needs and residents of Parramatta LGA specifically in the Wentworthville area. These residents were identified as needing supports through current SEIFA data. Community consultations identified the need for services and supports particularly for involvement in early childhood education experiences. Insights from families have helped to improve access to services and inform community directions.
Projects and Achievements:
The Huddle has undertaken several projects including community BBQs, a website, a Transition to School project, a street library, web videos, and family fun days. They have also received grants and collaborated with local institutions to support these initiatives.
Why did Huddle need a website?
https://huddlecommunity.org.au/
One of our local residents and Huddle members brought to the group the need for one place to go to find local services and resources for the community.
They wanted to be able to provide better access and knowledge of the systems to help families to navigate them more easily and for service providers to have another local resource when assisting and working with families in Constitution Hill and surrounding areas.
Future Plans
The Huddle is working on a Transition to School Resource for families with children with disabilities, aiming for a mid-2025 launch. They also focus on inclusion for all children.
Contact Information for The Huddle
The Huddle Constitution Hill
Head Office: 1 Lurgan St, Constitution Hill NSW 2145
Phone: (02) 9631 7055
Have you got some ideas or feedback for us? Drop us a line or get in touch via the enquiry form.
LGAs / Suburbs We Cover as a Group
Awards
Finalists in The ZEST Awards 2024
Outstanding Community Partnership
The ZEST Awards are an annual event that acknowledges the achievements of community leaders and groups in Western Sydney. The Huddle was honoured to be recognised as a Finalist in the Outstanding Community Partnership category.
Judging Criteria
This category recognises a successful small scale community partnership that has achieved an extraordinary social impact through community collaboration in Western Sydney.
