Mental and emotional wellbeing, community connections and financial instability are among the key themes to emerge from the COVID-19 Community Survey which was conducted in November.
Key data from the survey results shows:
- 50% of people want to see more community events
- 35% want more exercise opportunities
- 25% want to see more support for businesses
- 32% want more mental health support
- 33% want more awareness of services that are available
Mildura Rural City Council Mayor Jason Modica said there was little doubt the pandemic has had a huge influence on the health and wellbeing of locals and our regional economy.
"Almost half (48%) of locals surveyed were less satisfied with their health and 42% said their mental health had been impacted – mainly due to isolation and anxiety," Cr Modica said.
Less sense of community connection, fewer opportunities to volunteer and attend community events were also reported, while 44% were exercising less. 12% were unable to pay their rent or mortgage and 39% reported impacts on child wellbeing linked to isolation and home-schooling.
"The results also show the pandemic impacted specific sectors of our community more than others. Young people, older people, females, people who speak a language other than English at home, people with a disability and people aged 25-44 years were especially impacted."
Economically, 50% of businesses reported a decrease in revenue and 34% changed their method of service delivery to adapt to the pandemic. 25% of people want to see more support for businesses.
"We recognise the significant challenges our business community has faced this year, with closures and restrictions limiting their capacity to trade and Mildura Rural City Council has been tackling this head on, with a range of relief and support measures to boost local businesses," Cr Modica said.
Council has initiated fee and permit waivers, rate payment deferrals, waived penalty interest on overdue rates and supported hospitality businesses to extend their outdoor dining footprints and install free permanent umbrella sleeves.
Last week Council also endorsed an $800,000 program which will give eligible business ratepayers impacted by COVID-19 the chance to apply for a one-off credit on their Council rates bill of up to $2,000. Alternatively, Business Differential Ratepayers will be able to apply for a Stimulus Grant of up to $5,000 to help re-establish their operations, invest in their business, re-generate employment and develop new services and ways of working and adapting to the post-COVID-19 economy.
Details about eligibility criteria, the application process and application opening dates will be released in 2021.
Meanwhile a grants program to support businesses and community groups host COVID Safe events is currently open along with a grant for up to $500 for small businesses to host live entertainment and local artists at their venues.
"So many different things are happening to help revive our community and build back from the challenges of 2020," Cr Modica said.
"This data provides a thorough picture of how the local community has been impacted and we will use it to continue responding – alongside other local agencies – to support recovery.
"No one organisation can support recovery in isolation – it must be a joint community effort and that's how we're tackling it locally. More than 40 representatives from a range of social and economic organisations are working on recovery activities to best support our community."
The complete data set and results of the COVID-19 Community Survey are available at www.mildura.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
Details about support services and recovery initiatives is also listed on this site.
