Maldahnalanga: Reducing Alcohol-Related Injury and Violence in Rural Aboriginal Communities’ impressive results were released on Thursday with wide acclaim.

The Griffith program has assisted the local Aboriginal population in developing its own solutions to alcohol related harms since 2014.

However, with government funding coming to an end the program is wrapping up, unless the community can band together to save it.

Project coordinator Ronnie Bamblett said there was a ‘big need’ for the events hosted during ‘at risk’ alcohol abuse times, such as Midnight Basketball, which had met with great success.

Program committee member Richard Bamblett further noted the challenges faced by many services in gaining the confidence and trust and how damaging it would now be to take the Maldahnalanga project away. “The relationship has already been established and the community may lose confidence in the next program that comes along,” he said.

Researcher Mieke Snijder from the national drug and alcohol research centre at the University of NSW explained the improvements caused by the program to the audience. “A third of community members who were surveyed reported feeling safer at night and more than 10 per cent reported reductions in alcohol injuries and verbal abuse,” she said.

“Those who attended a specific community activities reported significant increases in their sense of personal well-being and level of empowerment that positive change is possible. Teachers have noted positive changes in the attitude of high-risk students, shop owners report fewer break-ins, community members talked about the importance of the cultural programs, and those with service delivery jobs liked the focus brought by the data-based approach to defining harms and the challenge of modifying their existing roles to ensure key activities can be sustained.”