This week the Alphington CWA is joining forces with Latrobe Community Health Services to run a session exploring how to access help through My Aged Care.

This is the program that gives older people the flexibility to stay at home for longer through government funded help services.  

The information session is right here at ACC on Wednesday 10 August at 7.30pm. No need to book, just come along if you are interested.

The session will look at:

• What is My Aged Care

• ·How can My Aged Care help you stay at home for longer

• Eligibility Criteria for getting help

• Registering with My Aged Care

• Details on accessing services under the Commonwealth Home Support Program

• What’s included in a Home Care Package and what to look for in a provider

• Other available services for older persons.

It will run for about 40-50 minutes depending on the number of questions. 

Latrobe Community Health Service is a not for profit organisation committed to taking care of the vulnerable members of our communities with 47 offices across Victoria.

This week we had a call from Vimal letting us know about a new telehealth service that is being supported by the Federal Government.

Multicultural Health Connect is providing information, resources and a concierge platform for CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) populations regarding health services.  

The helpline is free and individuals can call about anything health related and connect in with a multilingual and multicultural team. The helpline enables access to clinical support and advice from a nurse over the phone and it can also help people navigate health matters and help build links between different services that they access or need to access.

More information can be found here.  

If you know someone who would benefit from this new telehealth helpline, the number to call is 1800 186 815 between 11.30am - 8pm, 7 days a week (including public holidays).   

Thanks for letting us know about this program Vimal!

We had such a great turn out to our visible mending class in Term 1 … and some requests for a regular opportunity to get together and chat and stitch … and learn new skills.

In response to this community interest, Serene (who ran the session last time) has offered to come along on the 1st Saturday of the month to run our new Visible Mending Club from 10-11.30am. You can bring along your clothes or pillows or towels or blankets that need mending … and tap into Serene’s skills and expertise to mend and perhaps even transform your beloved item(s) with beautiful stitching!

The slow art of visible mending is super rewarding and is a perfect way to relax. And these regular sessions will be a great way to get to know others in the neighbourhood who also enjoy the slow arts. The cost is $15 per session.

If you are keen to come along you can book in here.

The dates are:

• Saturday 6 August

• Saturday 3 September

• Saturday 1 October

• Saturday 5 November

Hi Leanne here. In March (along with what always seems like half of our suburb) I went once again to Port Fairy Folk Festival - where Archie Roach has regularly performed over the years. He was looking very frail. He’d been in a wheelchair last time I’d seen him, but this year he really couldn’t walk at all and had an oxygen tube.

I have seen him in concert for half my life, since going to Folk Rhythm and Life Festivals around the late 1990s and through the 2000s where he and his partner Ruby Hunter were often the feature act.

As you know if you’ve seen him live, he generously shares his story throughout his performances, and his recounting of reconnecting with his family here in our neck if the woods - Fitzroy - is mind bogglingly eye-opening and deeply sad. The stolen generations experience is such a tragedy for whole families and communities and it’s not a distant thing - the trauma sits here now today, close to the surface. It happened to our neighbours and friends, it is their lived experience. Archie Roach was only 66 after all.

It’s very sad that he died so young. Amazing that he was so willing to share his life so openly.

You can get a taste of his connection to Fitzroy and his family story in this great episode of Kutcha Edwards’ show Kutcha’s Carpool Koorioke that is also jam packed with understated kindhearted love, respect, caring, gratefulness and joy in community and connection.

If you are a local with young children you might like to come along and join the other families who hang out in our front garden on Wednesday mornings. Come hail or shine, Playtime in the Garden is running in the front yard near the cubby and under the pergola. Pop in anytime from 10am-12pm and catch up with other families in a Covid-safe way.

Please note this is an outside program - but our toilets and kitchen are of course available if you need them.

And … if you’d like to borrow some toys to take home for the week you can join our Toy Library which is open inside. You can borrow up to 4 toys at a time. So handy! And neighbourhoodly …