HACC Volunteers Newsletter June 2015
Welcome
Welcome to the latest edition of our volunteer newsletter – hope you have enjoyed the
previous editions.
Five new volunteers have joined the Maroondah City Council HACC Services Team since
January this year:
 Margaret Headland
 Rachel Greaves
 Radha Ambeka
 Graham Fisher
 Olwyn Smiley
We extend a warm welcome to you all and hope you find your time volunteering enjoyable
and rewarding.
I would also like to extend a warm welcome to all the Maroondah Police Seniors Register
volunteers that started with Council earlier this year.
National Volunteers Week certificate
Last month’s National Volunteers Week ran from 11 to 17 May.
By now you should have all received a certificate of appreciation in the mail from our
Volunteer Coordinator, Anastasia Antonio. If you haven’t received your certificate, please
contact Anastasia on 1300 88 22 33 or 9298 4598.
I would like to take this opportunity once again thank you all for your invaluable support.
Did you know?
Council currently has funding available to provide additional delivered meals as part of its
Meals On Wheels service.
If you know anyone that may benefit from this service, please encourage them to contact
our Aged & Disability Services Intake Officer on 9294 5729 to discuss their needs.
We would also like to ask you to encourage anyone that you think may benefit from
increasing their meal deliveries.
Introducing Wendy King
A warm welcome to Wendy King in her role as Manager, Community Services.
Wendy has been with Council for 12 years and brings with her extensive experience and
knowledge in the management area.
She is based at the Croydon Service Centre, so make sure you say hello if you see Wendy
out and about!
Maroondah Police Seniors Register
The Maroondah Police Seniors Register is available for Maroondah’s senior residents and
more vulnerable members in the community.
The register’s focus is: ‘safe and confident living’
The register was established in 2007 and is located at Maroondah Federation Estate,
Greenwood Avenue Ringwood.
Council supports and coordinates the register, in partnership with Victoria Police and
Croydon RSL.
The register has 18 volunteers, with two staffing the office weekdays from 9am to 12 noon.
Volunteers call members to check on their welfare and also conduct home visits.
To date, 1130 members have been registered, with their details kept on a confidential
database.
The register works in conjunction with the HACC team to identify and support vulnerable
people in our community.
Realm – Council’s library, learning and cultural centre
Have you noticed Realm – Council’s library, learning and cultural centre – being built in the
west mall section of the Eastland redevelopment?
The state-of-the-art facility will provide exceptional levels of service provision – featuring an
integrated Council service centre, library, curated arts spaces and a new innovation and
business centre.
It will also include a café area incorporating reading spaces and a magazine and newspaper
collection, as well as an interactive local history display.
For the latest updates, including a time-lapse video showing the progress behind the fence,
visit www.ringwoodgoingplaces.com.au
Get ready to take the plunge at Aquanation
Aquanation, on the site of the old Ringwood Aquatic Centre, opens on 15 August and will
feature:
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a 66.5 metre 10 lane pool and diving facilities
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a warm water pool
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a dedicated learn to swim pool
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large toddler and children’s leisure play pool
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a large gym with three separate group fitness rooms
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child care facilities
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a café.
A highlight of the facility will also be two large waterslides that have just recently been
installed.
The slides have everyone talking, with many locals stopping by to take a look from the
viewing platform on Greenwood Avenue, and the site abuzz with talk of who will be daring
enough to take a ride on the high speed slide.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a member at Aquanation, visit
Aquanation’s information and sales hub at Eastland. The friendly team there will be able to
walk you through the membership options that will suit you.
As we continue to prepare for the opening of Aquanation, there are also many employment
opportunities coming up, so keep an eye out in the usual places, including the Aquanation
Facebook page, and the Maroondah leisure website at www.maroondahleisure.com.au
IDAHOT celebrations
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) is celebrated across the
globe to raise attention to the discrimination that is often experienced by those identifying as
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* or Intersex.
The date of 17 May was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health
Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
For the first time this year, Maroondah City Council recognised IDAHOT through a raising
the rainbow flag and holding a flag raising ceremony, where the Mayor of Maroondah,
Councillor Tony Dib, acknowledged the challenges that can be faced by LGBTI people in
Maroondah, and pledging Maroondah's support to ending Homophobia and Transphobia.
The flag raising ceremony was put together by the Inclusive Maroondah Cross Functional
Working Group, which includes three staff members from Aged and Disability services Tanya Clark, Kathleen Merry and Geof Collister.
Aged and Disability services have done a lot of work in ensuring that their services are
inclusive of people of all sexualities and gender identities, and have been a significant leader
for inclusion within Council. As part of the IDAHOT flag raising ceremony, Geof Collister
spoke about his personal experiences of homophobia, and spoke about how homophobia
and transphobia can affect LGBTI seniors.
It was fantastic to see the unique challenges experienced by LGBTI seniors recognised as
part of the day, and a challenge put to the community members, staff and Councillors to
stand up against homopobia and transphobia, always.
For more information about the Inclusive Maroondah Initiatives, contact Tanya Clark, Geof
Collister or Kathleen Merry.
Planned Activity Group at Kerrabee
On Wednesday, 8 April, Council’s Youth Services team and a group of young people spent
the day with the Maroondah residents who attend the Planned Activity Group (PAG) at
Kerrabee.
This intergenerational program was the brainchild of Mel Jeffery, Youth Program Worker,
and Dale Noonan, Activity and Transport Officer, Community Services.
Six young people attended and after a get to know you session and sausage sizzle lunch,
the young people showed the PAG group how to use the Wii games console on the big TV
screen, which was fascinating and lots of fun for the older residents.
The day ended with the PAG group saying how much they liked having young people come
and visit, and that they hope it’s not too long until the young people come back and have
another day of fun at Kerrabee.
The young people also said how much they enjoyed the day and they will be more than
happy to come back next school holidays. One of the young men enjoyed himself so much
he left the program at the end of the day and went to visit his grandmother who he had not
seen for some time.
A big thank you to the Youth Services team and Social Inclusion staff and volunteers who
helped make the day so successful.
Pets at Home
Council’s Aged and Disability Services team work to support seniors living in their own
homes including many of those who have pets.
We understand that many of our seniors with pets in the home consider them as part of the
family, and this is discussed as part of the assessment process for our services.
If Council’s Care Coordinators identify that a person may be struggling to care for their pet either due to their own health needs or financial situation - our team work with the person to
provide the required support.
The Aged and Disability Services team work in close partnership with a number of providers
who support seniors and people with a disability with their pets such as Bridges Connecting
Communities Pet Program, Wesley Do Care and Animal Aid including the Seniors for
Seniors adoption program.
Bridges Pet Program assists with dog walking, grooming, vet visits etc within the Maroondah
area. Animal Aid works with Council or the owner to provide temporary accommodation for
pets when their person has to spend time in hospital, in respite or away from home when
there are no other options to care for the pet.
If you would like more information or know someone who requires assistance please contact
the Aged and Disability Services team on (03) 9294 5729.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) 15 June
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June each year, raises awareness of the issue of
elder abuse and encourages people to seek help, either for themselves or for older people
they know and care about.
The perpetrator can be a close family member, friend, volunteer or paid worker. Both women
and men are equally vulnerable to abuse and in Australia it is estimated that as many as
167,000 older people (5% of the population) may have been abused in 2014.
The World Health Organisation defines elder abuse as, “a single or repeated act or lack of
appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust
which causes harm or distress to an older person“.
There are many forms of elder abuse, including:
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physical abuse (hitting, pushing, rough treatment)
emotional abuse (verbal threats, put-downs, being ignored)
financial abuse (taking money or assets without consent, being forced or tricked into
signing wills or financial documents)
social abuse (denial of contact with friends or social outings, isolation)
neglect (lack of medical or physical care, ignoring basic needs such as proper
nutrition or clothing)
The international colour for the day is purple, and on 15 June, Council staff dressed in purple
to support the campaign.
Maroondah City Council organised several different activities, including:
 Lighting the Clocktower in Ringwood with purple lighting.
 Hosting information sessions and morning teas at the Social Inclusion and Wellbeing
Centre (Kerrabee) to discuss elder abuse and how to seek help.
If you know someone might be a victim of elder abuse, you can contact the Eastern
Community Legal Centre (9762 6235) or Seniors Rights Victoria (1300 368 821).
Volunteer profile: Adele Allen
Adele Allen has been a volunteer for the Croydon Meals on Wheels (MOW) service for 45
years.
Adele began with MOW in the early 1970s, after a call for volunteers to a Ladies Evening
Fellowship meeting that she attended.
At the time, Adele was a young mother with two very young children and working as a part
time nurse.
Due to her commitments, Adele could only afford to volunteer once a month, and did so with
a friend that attended the same Ladies Evening Fellowship meeting.
In 1996, Adele’s husband, Les “took over the reins” as the MOW driver and they both
volunteer on a monthly basis, filling in extra spaces in when required.
Adele said she enjoys the contact made with the consumers and in some small way being a
help to them and the community.
SRS Multimedia Exhibition
The HACC Supported Residential Service (SRS) Program participants held their first
Multimedia Exhibition at Kerrabee, Maroondah’s Social Inclusion and Wellbeing Centre.
All of the participants of this program reside in SRS's within Maroondah and many have an
intellectual or physical disabilities and/or mental health issues.
The purpose of the HACC SRS Program is to provide opportunities for our participants to
have greater social connection to the community and to explore a range of health and
wellbeing activities and programs.
The program is unique and supports some of Maroondah’s most vulnerable residents. The
exhibition is a way to showcase some of the positive things that these people have been
doing this year.
The Exhibition included a photographic display, a film screening and a performance by our
SRS Band - Synergy. All of which, were developed by the participants with the support of
program staff and volunteers
The photographic art on display was outstanding with almost all pieces sold and monies
raised, going back to the artists. This experience of their artwork being appreciated by
people has brought on self-esteem in the photographers in leaps and bounds. They are now
looking forward to the next challenge with their newly developed skills.
The short film that was produced gives a rare insight into what the SRS Program offers as
well as guided tour of the accommodation of an SRS. Without delving into too many of the
issues that individuals living in an SRS may have, the film is entertaining by showing some
of the personalities that I enjoy each working on this program.
The live performance by ‘Synergy’ included some debut performances of new songs that the
group had composed. The band has performed at a number of live venues and festivals over
the past year and is currently midway through the recording process with their EP to be
released later this year. They are on a steep learning curve but enjoying every minute of it.
From a personal perspective, what I enjoyed about this evening was the opportunity to show
why I am so passionate about the role of the Supported Residential Services Officer and
why I enjoy coming to work each day. To see the pride of the program participants showcase
their best work was just the icing on the cake.
It was a big night for my program tonight but it could not have been achieved without the
support of others. There are so many people behind the scenes that deserve a pat on the
back. Myself and the SRS Program participants are truly grateful for the enthusiasm that
people bring. May this be just be the beginning…
Graham Bergroth
Supported Residential Services Officer
We hope you have enjoyed this issue
Look out for the January 2015 issue!
Please send any feedback, suggestions for articles, or photos to Angie Mirra, Maroondah
City Council Food Services Coordinator, at angie.mirra@maroondah.vioc.gov.au or call
9298 4540.