Indicator: Social Cohesion (volunteering, Mutual support, ‘Sociable’ Recreation)

Status:

What we know from research

What the data indicates about Mildura
SOCIAL COHESION – INCORPORATING: VOLUNTEERING, MUTUAL SUPPORT & ‘SOCIABLE RECREATION’
When the degree of social cohesion or ‘connectedness’ of people in neighbourhoods is assessed by their involvement in volunteer services, by their expectation of mutual support in difficult times, and by the extent to which they take their leisure and/or exercise in the company of others, then certain communal benefits appear to follow in the high scoring localities. The harmful effects that generally accompany social conditions like unemployment, limited education and low family income are held in check or dampened by relatively strong bonds between people.
The information needed to gauge the degree of social cohesion in Mildura is obtained from continuous health and sport and recreation surveys conducted across Victoria. By comparison with the census data and collections that form the basis of other indicators included in this report, the number of people from the Mildura region included in those state-wide surveys is comparatively small. Now that the surveys have been instigated the numbers will build up over time. Meanwhile the results presented here need to be interpreted with caution and should be regarded as illustrating future data possibilities rather than conclusive results.
With the above variation in base figures in mind, the respective rates of volunteering, the degree to which residents are confident of mutual support, and their participation in group recreation and/or exercise can be calculated for each locality except Merbein (from which no survey responses were available). Obviously at this stage more confidence can be placed in the results for Mildura Central and the Municipality but Red Cliffs and Irymple are included for illustrative purposes:
Mildura Central and Mildura Municipality had reasonably similar scores on the volunteering and mutual help components and both exceeded the rates for Victoria as a whole, substantially so in the case of volunteering. The Municipality rates on these two indicators benefited from the Irymple results that were based on comparatively small numbers. However the credibility of the Irymple findings was enhanced somewhat by the high group recreation rate (based on 41 respondents). This was higher than the state-wide average and contributed to an overall cohesion score that placed the area among the 10% highest postcode areas in Victoria. It is necessary to see whether this pattern is sustained as larger base figures become available. The overall cohesion scores for Mildura Central and the Municipality were close to the state average.

NUMBER OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS IN SUB REGIONS (2001/02)
Source: DHS, Australian Sports Commission 2002 Unpublished Data

Legend
	Upward trend			Progress away from desired direction
	Downward trend
	No observable trend		Progress towards desired direction
	Under construction

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 February 2007