More than 200 Moree residents now know where to go for help should they ever need it, thanks to a special day aimed at bridging the gap between local services and the community.
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The inaugural Community Connect Day, held at the newly-developed Cooee Park on Wednesday (September 20), was an outstanding success, with close to 40 services having the opportunity to get information about what they do out to members of the public.
“It was really well attended, I’d say we had well over 200 through the gate,” coordinator Ros Laws said.
“Overall the day was a total success. Even if we only had five people walk in the gate, it still would have been a success.
“It was really good, the community got the chance to speak one-on-one with the services which is the focus of the event.”
With services covering everything from aged, youth, children, homeless, housing, health, education, employment and more, Ms Laws said the day highlighted the large number of organisations available in the Moree, as well as a need for the community to establish relationships with these services should they ever be in a situation where they need help.
“A lot of people sit back and think, ‘there’s no-one out there to help me, I don’t know where to go’,” she said.
“Something like this highlights there are so many services and the variety of services out there.
“A lot of people said there were services there they didn’t know existed.”
Many of the services stalls were interactive, with FACS Housing doing online applications for people, Moree Family Support running the popular kids corner and Pius X had elders there to talk to the community, as well as provide information about what they’re doing.
Members of Barwon Local Area Command had a constant stream of people talking to them, while the SES had set up a great display showcasing what they do.
The Salvation Army and Lifehouse were not only providing information, but selling clothing and goods at pop-up stalls.
Ms Laws said all services were pleased with the day, and the support from the community.
“They thought it was fantastic; Centrelink said they got rid of all their information, and TAFE were the same,” she said.
“A lot of information got out there which is great.
“It’s an opportunity for people to know what they do, not just welfare services, but to know what’s out there in the community.”
The Community Connect Day wasn’t a funded event, with all services who attended contributing in some way to the day, whether it was providing their own marquee, tables and chairs, buying bread or meat for the barbecue, or supplying bottled water.
Ms Laws said it was great to see everyone come together to put on the day.
“It’s not something we have to sit and wait for funding for. It’s something everyone is a part of,” she said.
“It was these services that held this day. They saw there is a need in the community and we took it to the community.”
On the day, a survey was distributed to find out what services the community knew of and what they think can be improved. That feedback will then be used for services to improve what they do to better suit the community’s needs, as well as used to improve the day for next year.
Ms Laws hopes the day will become an annual event.
She would like to thank everyone who was part of the day, including all services and community members who supported it.
More photos here.
