By Margarita WindischYesterday I went to the launch of the "Full House" campaign by West Footscray Neighbourhood House for 40 hours of staff funding. It currently receives 25 hours of coordinating funding but needs more so it can stay open 5 days a week.
Despite being under-resourced it manages to run a toy library, childcare, kindergarten, English as a Second Language classes, health and wellbeing programs for starters. But this high level of community support can’t continue without staff burn out. As coordinator Helen Rodd said staff are facing burn out and such important community services should be run by paid staff and not rely on volunteers.
State MP Marsha Thompson was presented with over 1500 postcards from the community. She said she would present them to Dick Wynne Minister for Housing Local Government. But in a letter last month he wrote to Helen Rodd refusing the extra 15 hours stating there is no money available until after June 2013. There is no excuse for not fully funding this fantastic centre. When governments can't prioritise money for such grassroots community services we know it time to kick them out!
This is Helen Rodd again, quoted from their press release:
“Not only is the house straining under population growth pressures, but it is constantly needing to provide specialist services to meet the complex needs of its community. Thirty-five per cent of residents of Maribyrnong are from a non-English speaking background compared with the Melbourne average of around 20 per cent, many of whom are newly arrived to Australia and negotiating a range of complex settlement issues.”
