The Little Village Project

The Latrobe Health Assembly, in partnership with Kindred Spirits Enterprises have launched The Little Village Project in the Latrobe Valley. The Little Village Project is a community-based initiative set up to support the vulnerable children in the community at school, where they feel safe, connected and are surrounded by attuned, highly qualified early childhood professionals.  The premise is simple – combine the knowledge and expertise that Department of Education & Training staff have with capital raised in the community to provide timely and effective interventions that will allow children the best opportunity to access their education. 

The Little Village Project was established to make sure students of Traralgon’s Stockdale Road Primary School get the therapeutic and allied health attention they may need.  The costs of such services can be a great burden for many families, which is why major local businesses and organisations across the Latrobe Valley have provided grants to this foundation.

An initiative of Stockdale Road’s welfare support officer, Benjamin Tunks, The Little Village Project began in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and, as at June 2023, has helped 50 students with things like mental health care, speech therapy and sensory needs. With the removal of these barriers to a student’s engagement at school, they can more fully participate in classes and other activities, setting them up for a better future.