The beating heart of our community | Mindful Margaret River

Mindful Margaret River’s Danielle Fitzgerald recently sat down with Margaret River Community Centre (MRCC) manager, Lydell Huntly, to discuss the importance of the bustling heart of the local community and the work involved with supporting local residents across all aspects of their lives.

What led you to work at the Community Centre?

I am a Social Worker with 28 years experience in youth work, women’s refuges and community development and support services. I moved to Margaret River 25 years ago and have been employed by the MRCC for 22 of those years in various capacities, becoming the Centre Manager in 2016.

What does a typical day look like for you as the manager of the Community Centre?

My days are always busy and diverse. It keeps me on my toes! I am answerable to an amazing team of mostly long-term committee members who are all part of the overall decision making, planning and governance of the organisation. I manage an extraordinary team of staff who you can meet on the front desk, in the gardens or maintaining these lovely old buildings. Amber Fairbrass is the Coordinator at the Community Centre for Children and has a larger team of wonderful and dedicated childcare staff.

Days pass quickly in a range of tasks, assisting in the delivery of our emergency relief program and a wide range of people who need support or information and referrals to other agencies; in the twice weekly operation of the ‘Soupie’ and it’s volunteers; liaising with any one of our permanent tenants or agencies who book rooms casually, and with a 100 year old building there are always repairs and maintenance!

How do you prioritise and manage the services and programs?

Prioritising a day’s work is an ongoing balance of immediate, short- and long-term needs. Luckily my job is made so much easier due to volunteer committee members, staff, plus Amber and her staff, in addition to the soup kitchen volunteers and the ‘Staying in Place’ Coordinator. To have these staff and volunteers is central to the success of this complex and all it achieves.

What do you enjoy most about your role at the MRCC?

That is not an easy question to answer. Working in this complex is such a satisfying role. Our 8 tenants are all either human service groups, community groups and services – the likes of Playgroup and Toy Library, Just Home, Nature Conservation MR Region, Belong at Home, WACHS – Community and Child Health, SW Counselling and the MR Theatre Group. Each of these groups are doing incredible things.

Then there’s the daily role of providing emergency relief supports to people in the form of vouchers, referrals, food, showers and laundry for those experiencing homelessness. Building close working relationships with other services and supports also enables our community to better support people in need. I get a lot of satisfaction out of working with such passionate people.

Can you share a memorable experience or success story?

A recent memorable experience was the Centenary Celebration of this historic complex. We celebrated 100 years of this space, firstly, as a hospital, filled with doctors, nurses and staff whose skills and expertise supported the community’s health and wellbeing. In the last 35 years this complex has been a central gathering point for supports for people after tragic community events such as the Gracetown cliff collapse and the Osmington family tragedy. It is a place where people have gathered to commemorate, grieve and support each other.

What are the sources of donations for the Food Bank, and how can the community contribute?

Our Food Bank is firmly part of the Emergency Relief Services that the MRCC are funded to deliver by the Dept for Social Services and Lotterywest. We use some of the funds we are allocated under this funding contract to purchase food for our own food bank – generally pantry staples that are useful to families doing it tough.

We source goods from local supermarkets or directly from Foodbank WA (Bunbury). We receive weekly donations through the Second Bite initiative. Excess, damaged or surplus vegetables, fruit and bakery items get distributed on Mondays and Wednesdays at Soup Kitchen.

The local community of farmers and home producers regularly donate excess garden produce that are offered to families in need – or used in the Soupie’s vegan curries and salads. Any left-over meals are frozen and provided to people in need. If the community want to donate to our Food Bank stocks, we accept all sorts of goods. We have limited fridge and freezer capacity, but people can call the office on 9757 3200 to chat with office staff to check if we can take goods you might want to donate.

Our dedicated team of kitchen volunteers are the backbone of the Soup Kitchen. It ran until recently under the supervision of founder, Dave Seegar, for 28 years. For the last year or so it has been managed by Jen and Di and a team of committed humans who chop, cook, clean, and serve some thousands of meals per year. Food preparation and cooking happens Monday and Wednesday mornings in the commercial kitchen and then in the evenings another team opens the ‘Soupie’ Cottage and grounds. They serve meals, clean up and support those in need of a tasty affordable meal. Week in week out they are there donating their time. There is no Soupie without them!

What feedback have you received about the impact of the Soup Kitchen?

Having been in operation for 30+ years, there would be very few people in this town who have not had a soupy meal, or at the very least know about it. The regular feedback is that getting an affordable healthy meal once or twice a week is something they rely on. No one will be turned away. There are suggested prices for meals but there has always been a motto to ‘give what you can’… and sometimes, if you have no money, you will find a feed anyway! Many people also report that the social connections they make at ‘Soupie’ have also been a lifeline in times of need. It is a place where people from all walks of life come and share a meal and company, it is an open and accepting place to be.

What Emergency Relief assistance do you provide?

In general, our support is in the form of supermarket vouchers or food boxes, pharmacy and fuel help. We also have strong relationships with other agencies and will refer people to other supports such as the Community Pantry, financial counselling and Tax Help programs. For those with insecure housing there is access to shower and laundry facilities. We deliver a Winter Warmers program each year where you can donate warm clothing and bedding, and a hamper program to take financial pressure off at Christmas. Current funding does not cover the staff time it takes to work with each family or individual. Many services are not located here and people often have long wait times or extensive travel to access supports. Our not-for-profit chooses to invest and ensure the service is provided. We hope that the upcoming re-tendering process will fully fund what the service requires.

How have your services made a difference?

We have many success stories where people who have had their initial crisis diverted have been linked into other supports that have resulted in deeper change. Clients have worked with Anglicare Financial Counselling to address financial and debt challenges, which keep them in financial hardship and ongoing stress. There have been some truly remarkable outcomes when people work with someone who knows the systems and processes. Our Tax Help program has likewise seen some positive outcomes with people working through years’ worth of messy tax challenges and lodgements – a familiar phrase is “I should have come in years ago!”.

What is your advice to anyone not sure about engaging with these services?

Asking for help is often very hard to do. Sometimes it is simply having a chat about your circumstances and our staff might be able to connect you with a service or support that could make a lasting difference. Sometimes a small amount of support early on can help challenges from becoming bigger issues and can short circuit the anxiety and stress you might be experiencing.

What’s the latest at the MRCC?

Staying in Place is the newest program – our committee became aware of the SIP model in other towns. The program is an innovative community approach making it possible for older people in rural and regional areas to stay living in their own homes. It is a model that draws on ‘locals supporting locals’ through coordination from a local group, with oversight from approved aged care provider InCasa Country. Coupled with local workers who provide their services through the Mable platform.

We would like to thank Lydell, the staff, volunteers, committee members and tenants for taking part in showcasing the incredible work that takes place here. Anyone can call the office on 9757 3200 between 9am – 1pm Monday to Friday.

Mindful Margaret River is funded by the Mental Health Commission, FRRR, the SWDC and AMR Shire. Find out more at mindfulmargarteriver.org.au.