Here’s a great idea!

Homeshare is a government funded program that enables ‘householders’ (aged 65+ / 50+ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) to remain at home as they age. The program matches an older person with a ‘homesharer’, who provides practical support and companionship in exchange for affordable accommodation.

Darebin Council has now partnered with Care Connect to run the program, manage the matching process, undertake careful screening and to provide ongoing support for you and your homesharer.

So … if you (or someone you know and love) live on your own and miss having someone in the house that you can talk to, or have a spare room that you could offer to a trusted person in exchange for assistance with daily living tasks, this could be a great solution for you!

To find out more, you can visit the Care Connect website or contact the Care Connect Homeshare team on 1800 692 464.

This year we’re running formal playgroups on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings and then welcoming families to pop into our garden on Wednesday mornings from 10am-12pm for an informal play.

Grab a coffee from Alphington Foodstore next door or an icy pole from the milkbar, and enjoy our mud kitchen or our sand pit, our ride on toys etc.

There are tables and bench seats scattered around to relax and enjoy conversations with other parents or just sit and take a breather for 5 minutes. Come along with your kids, arrange to meet another family here … our house is your house!

We hope to see you at ACC when we return for Term 1. Our programming recommences in the first week of February.

Jen Neille has been teaching in our shed and building art in the garden spaces at Alphington Community Centre for a little while now.

So we thought you might like to know a little more about her!

I asked Jen how she came to be an artist and how she found her way here.

Jen said that she has never been a traditional girl. Instead she won prizes for her art and her efforts at sport. She loved science and still does today. She explained that when she was small her family went to church and because she hated to sit still, her mother brought things so she could draw and colour. From there she explored all her interests in art, including drawing and painting, and then branched out into sewing, fashion styling, landscaping (which was part of her family business), renovating houses and mosaicking (which she learnt at Traralgon Neighbourhood House - her intro to neighbourhood houses!).

Jen originally attended Traralgon Neighbourhood House with her children, but she ended up teaching there. And in doing so she discovered a passion for teaching women.

It was in 2010 when she was working in bushfire relief in the West Gippsland region that she met Laurie Collinsa metal sculptor who would become a friend and teacher to Jen. In 2015 Jen took Laurie up on his offer to show her how to use a welder and Jen went to Jindivick twice a week to learn and create with him. Here is a link to explore Laurie’s art.

It was a couple of years ago, when Jen was living in Kew, that she heard that there was a shed space opening in Alphington. And so she popped by and talked with Leanne during a community lunch - and from that conversation Jen ended up working with us. We have been so lucky to have Jen sculpt signs and make art as well as teach here at ACC.

She is now teaching our Women in the Shed program, that empowers women through practical projects involving timber, tiles and metal. The program is open to beginners on Monday and those with some knowledge of tools on Tuesdays.

And in 2021 we are also offering an additional class for women of all skill levels on Thursdays with Maylei (another creative out).

You can find out more about the program and enrol here.

For many of us, 2020 was the year to embrace online services and connections. At ACC we’ve been super pleased to have built up our digital presence in the neighbourhood via our newsletter over this time. And we’ve also been joining in other online local connection networks so that we ourselves know what’s going on.

Facebook pages such as Mums in Darebin (for parent support), Darebin Hard Rubbish Heroes (for both the hoarders and the minimalists/disposers, those that hate waste) and the Northcote Good Karma Network (another swap and share network) are all rippers. As is the Fairfield 3078 Community Group for local info.

Then we’ve also signed up to Nextdoor Alphington, which is a local networking site that communicates via emails. This is quite handy for knowing what’s going on in the ‘hood (why is the fire truck on Grange Road?) but also for finding local tradies.

Like Matthias Weber, who brought our outdoor kitchen space together. He lives round the corner, and we subsequently found out that his young family have been playgroup attendees with us - which is always nice!

Anyway … once just a little sink, our new community shed kitchen now boasts a bar fridge and BBQ spot, storage and an all purpose stone benchtop.

We love it. Thanks Matt! If you too need something done you can contact him on 0423 045 493.

And if you are keen to build more local online connections, we hope some of the sites mentioned might be interesting to you too!

If your family is looking for some creative fun in the park during January, Darebin Council is offering Capoeira sessions for young children (0-4) and their parents/carers in our public parks in January.

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. It was developed by African people in Brazil at the beginning of the 16th century.

The sessions will be focused on simple music and physical movement for young children in a fun family atmosphere. The sessions are facilitated by a qualified Capoeira Instructor/Musician, Yusuke Akai and a Darebin Supported Playgroup Facilitator.

Groups will be small and capped at 15 people. Multiple sessions are available. The dates are Monday 11 and 18 January at Edwards Lake in Reservoir and Tuesday 12 and 19 at All Nations Park in Northcote.

This is a COVID-Safe activity with social distancing and face masks required by all people aged over 12 years in attendance. Pre-screening for COVID-19 symptoms will be required by telephone at the time of booking and at arrival at the session.

Please email early.years@darebin.vic.gov.au to find out exact locations and to book in.