Seville Community House co-ordinator Mandi Goosen and president Ciska van Spankeren welcomed a funding announcement from Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe.
By Mara Pattison-Sowden
SEVILLE Community House is seeking funding to increase its hours and that of Neighbourhood Houses across the state.
Co-ordinator Mandi Goosen said Neighbourhood Houses had become a place where people of all ages, nationalities and social standing come together to learn new skills and meet people with similar interests.
She has welcomed a Liberal Coalition announcement of $30,000 in funding that would upgrade the Seville Community House equipment.
But Ms Goosen said the house is only funded for 20 hours a week, below the state average of 23.8 hours “and well short of what this community requires”.
Seville Community House was established in 1986 and provides a range of activities for the community including playgroups, book clubs, gardening, fitness and art classes.
Community houses aim to reach out to those who may be isolated and bridge any social divide.
Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe, who made the announcement last Tuesday, 16 November, at the Seville Community House, said she was also committed to advocate for more hours.
“I am not surprised by Seville Community House’s frustration at the lack of resource support under the current Brumby Government.
“I will do my utmost to ensure that our community house gets the hours it needs to co-ordinate the activities and services they provide,” she said.
Mrs Fyffe said the community house needed to upgrade from its bare basics, which were more than 10 years old.
“In order for any office to function efficiently, it needs to have reliable office equipment that works properly and is compatible with the software that modern systems use,” she said.
Ms Goosen said the funding commitment was an acknowledgment of the great work the house provided to the community, but it was time the parties dug deeper to fund the extra 4000 hours that Neighbourhood Houses state-wide were campaigning for. “Thousands of local people teach, learn, work, volunteer and contribute to their community in Neighbourhood Houses every week,” she said.
“We can’t deliver the learning, volunteering, social and recreational activities our community wants without additional coordination funding.”
