Kensington Neighbourhood House receives $20,000 grant to support vulnerable locals

Kensington Neighbourhood House (KNH) has been awarded a $20,000 grant from Bank Australia to support its new Kensington Neighbourhood Help Hub – a program designed to empower vulnerable residents and strengthen social support in the area.

The funding is part of Bank Australia’s annual Community Customer Grant program, which distributed $200,000 to 11 organisations this year working across priority impact areas including housing, First Nations recognition, and support for refugees and asylum seekers.

KNH’s Help Hub will provide tailored, one-on-one support to help residents – particularly people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds – navigate essential services such as housing, health care, and education.

The initiative uses a place-based, person-centred approach to address complex, overlapping challenges including discrimination, housing insecurity, family violence, and social isolation.

KNH manager Rebecca Smith welcomed the funding and praised Bank Australia’s commitment to supporting grassroots initiatives.

“Our Help Hub offers individual support for some of our most marginalised residents, effectively combatting intersecting issues like discrimination, housing insecurity, family violence and isolation,” Ms Smith said. “We are very grateful to Bank Australia for supporting this much-needed work.”

Founded in 1975, Kensington Neighbourhood House is a local charity that plays a vital role in the area by offering low-cost adult education, social groups, volunteering opportunities, and community-building events from its base on McCracken St.

Bank Australia’s head of impact, Jane Kern, said the bank’s customer-owned model meant it could focus on supporting causes that mattered most to the communities it served.

“Our customers consistently tell us that supporting refugees and people seeking asylum is important to them,” Ms Kern said. “We’re proud to support KNH through our community customer grants program, helping them continue their important work.”

Since launching its grant program in 2016, Bank Australia has distributed more than $2 million to 160 projects. Find out more about this year’s recipients. •