THE tears welled up in Cr Ron Bauer’s eyes when he started to speak about his first experience visiting his local Neighbourhood House, the Phillip Island Community and Learning Centre (PICAL), and saw all the food bank meals lined up for needy people in the community.
He urged support of Cr Mat Morgan’s motion, calling for funding to Neighbourhood Houses to be restored to historical levels, with a 25 per cent increase, saying anyone in government with a heart must support it as well.
“Madam Mayor, fellow councillors and ratepayers watching this meeting,” said Cr Bauer, starting with his now familiar refrain.
“The thing that really stood out to me when I first stood for election all those years ago now was when I was given the guided tour of PICAL.
“And the thing that really shocked me, and it still affects me today, is when he opened the kitchen door, and there was all those food bank meals, to think that I was lucky enough to go home for lunch and have a bowl of soup,” said Cr Bauer.
“These Neighbourhood Houses are critical, critical for our people that have not got the ability to look after themselves.
“I thank Cr Morgan for this motion. I endorse it and anybody with a heart in the government must endorse it too.”
Cr Bauer was responding to a Notice of Motion moved by Cr Morgan at last Wednesday’s Bass Coast Shire Council meeting in which he not only sought to formalise council’s support for Neighbourhood Houses Victoria’s ‘Keep Our Doors Open’ campaign and a restoration of funding for cash-strapped local Neighbourhood Houses but also a boost to the body’s core funding from $300,000 annually to $500,000.
And everyone on council, it seemed, wanted to have their say.
“Every week 185,000 people access Neighbourhood Houses in Victoria for resilience, friendship, wellbeing, learning, inclusion and connection,” said Cr Morgan.
“Our community is growing, and I welcome that with places like Wonthaggi North and San Remo marked for state government expansion. But at the same time, we're welcoming our new community members, our community houses are being starved of the funding required to service their needs. “Neighbourhood Houses are facing rising costs, increasing community needs and erosion of core funding. I'm bringing this motion into the chamber calling on the state government to urgently restore funding to historical levels through a 25% increase, allowing Neighbourhood Houses to continue providing communities with the essential support and connection that they do.
“If we want better health, social and educational outcomes, this is where it starts. We have wonderful Neighbourhood Houses here in Bass Coast. We all know that, but they have been under appreciated, undervalued and underfunded for years, being drip fed tiny grants attached to oversized cheques and photo ops.
“The ‘Keep The Doors Open’ campaign has seen 1000s of postcards signed and handed to state MPs to deliver to the Treasurer, and today, I'm delivering a message to the Treasurer too.
Ninety-four per cent of Neighbourhood House visitors experience improved physical wellbeing, and 96 per cent report improved emotional wellbeing as a result of participating. Neighbourhood Houses Victoria calculates the overall benefit to the Victorian community at $922 million-a-year.
“If we want better social, educational and health outcomes, invest in our community and support our Neighbourhood Houses to continue providing the essential supports to our growing community.”
Cr Tracy Bell was among the other councillors to speak in support of Cr Morgan’s motion, providing details of the struggles faced by PICAL to open their doors with limited funding, keeping the doors open 30 hours-a-week and providing two courses-an-hour plus a wide range of educational, social, work and lifestyle courses, while operating the PICAL Pantry supplying upwards of 350 meals per week.
“They can apply for grants, but they are usually for specific programs, not the everyday running costs. The Phillip Island community, the whole community recognises the vital nature of PICAL services, even those community members who don't necessarily need to utilize them,” said Cr Bell.
“And the fact that PICAL provides such an extraordinary service to our most vulnerable community members through the pantry with such little financial support from the state government is an absolute miracle. Imagine what benefit PICAL could provide and Mitchell House and the other Neighbourhood Houses if they didn't have to worry about whether they could turn the lights on every day.”
Cr Meg Edwards spoke about attending the regional Neighbourhood Houses AGM recently, underscoring the reach of their support and services into the community over a wide area.
She also acknowledged the presence of Mitchell House committee president Helen Searle and manager Leslie Adams in the gallery at the council meeting.
“I think one of the things that, for all the challenges in our society today, one of the things that we have growing over the last number of decades, is the lack of a sense of connection and community to each other and I see Neighbourhood Houses as a linchpin of connecting community, bringing people together at a local level,” said Cr Edwards.
“The value they provide to our community far outweighs the investment, leveraging an exponential increase to every dollar that goes in. I can't speak highly enough of our Neighbourhood Houses, and I don't think there's a figure that we could put on their value that would be too much.”
A former secretary of the Corinella and District Community Centre, Cr Jan Thompson’s connections to the community house scene are well known, noting at council that her local centre provide a vital community connection.
“They get people together, supporting each other with courses and counselling, such as legal aid services. More important is the community pantry, where those who cannot afford food can get a meal,” said Cr Thompson.
“But even during power strikes, you can go down there and charge up your phones and have a cup of tea. This is really important and very vital for our community and I'd like to thank everyone in all the community centres who are providing all that work, particularly the volunteers.”
Several local MPs, including Bass Labor MP Jordan Crugnale, have pledged their support for the Keep Our Doors Open campaign.
“Neighbourhood Houses do extraordinary work across so many programs, services and are always there to best support community members in need, whether it’s through emergency relief, meals, activities, events, assistance in applying for energy discounts, IT, Centrelink and the list goes on and on,” Ms Crugnale said in a recent Sentinel-Times’ interview.
She has offered to personally deliver ‘Keep Our Doors Open’ postcards to Minister for Carers and Volunteers, Ros Spence.
Eastern Victoria Region MP Renee Heath put a question to the Minister in Parliament during the past week.
“My question is for the Minister for Carers and Volunteers. In the Eastern Victoria Region there are eight Neighbourhood Houses operating under the state government’s Neighbourhood House coordination program. On October 12 the minister said: ‘I encourage everyone to find a way to Care for a Carer’. That message rings hollow when the government is failing to save over 200 community houses from closing across the state. These houses provide direct support to carers and those they care for. They reduce isolation, build skills and ease pressure on our healthcare system. The peak body Neighbourhood Houses Victoria says that every dollar invested delivers approximately $21 in community benefit, so if the government met their $11 million funding request, they would save $256 million. How can the minister justify urging Victorians to care for carers while refusing to fund those that make that care possible?”
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien said last week the State Government’s “wasteful spending habits were putting the future of Gippsland’s Neighbourhood Houses at risk”.
Mr O’Brien said Neighbourhood Houses Victoria has warned that without an additional $11.7 million in annual state funding, around half of the state’s 400 Neighbourhood Houses could be forced to cut programs, reduce staff, or close their doors altogether.
“Early last year I wrote to the Minister for Carers and Volunteers seeking a commitment of better support for our Neighbourhood Houses,” Mr O’Brien said.
“It’s extremely disappointing that, more than a year on, our houses are still having to plead for basic support just to keep doing the essential work they do in our communities.”
Mr O’Brien said “the Allan Labor Government’s misplaced priorities were on full display, with millions wasted while key community services struggle to survive”.
“The Allan Labor Government found $13 million for machete bins but can’t find $11.7 million to support the Neighbourhood Houses that help more than 185,000 Victorians every week.
“Instead of wasting money on political stunts, the Allan Labor Government should be investing in the services that actually change lives,” said Mr O’Brien.
Here’s your ‘Keep Our Doors Open’ postcard.
Attach it to an email and send it to the minister at Ros.Spence@parliament.vic.gov.au
