All things being equal, we will be able to resume our Women in the Shed program (because it falls under the umbrella of adult education) when metropolitan Melbourne moves to stage 3 of reopening - currently scheduled for 26 October.

From this date (fingers and toes crossed) we will run two session of this program on Mondays and Tuesdays over 6 weeks. There are currently seven people booked in and we have up to five additional spots if you’d like to join in too.

Jen Dentoom, who teaches this course, is a welder and mosaic artist and is responsible for the fantastic metal and mosaic signs and sculptures around our centre. She knows her tools and has an infectious can-do attitude. This is a great opportunity to get familiar and comfortable with drills and dremmels, jigsaws and more in a safe and friendly supervised space. This program runs as a low-cost subsidised Learn Local course, so it is also very affordable.

To find out more and book in just click here.

Victoria’s neighbourhood houses emerged at the grassroots level in the 1970s (and began to be recognised as a collective in the 1980s) - community organisations created and driven by women, primarily for women, enabling and encouraging 50% of our population that had been largely confined to living private lives, to take-up new opportunities to participate more fully in the economy and public life.

However, nothing’s simple … and when our society finally allowed women to work post-children (this concept in itself is hard to imagine today for anyone like me born after this era), and to divorce without fault (providing a whole other level of autonomy), many women discovered that in reality their ability to seize the opportunities was severely limited by a raft of missing/absent social support structures. In this vacuum they set about creating them for themselves.

The new grassroots place-based neighbourhood house model that emerged consistently included some mix of childcare and occasional care to support women who increasingly wanted or needed to participate in the economy, playgroups and babysitting clubs for women who needed a break and/or needed to build a community family, and adult education for women keen to build their skill sets.

Alongside these services the houses became hubs to share, learn and access creative skills and talents. They also embraced physical health classes, nutrition education programs and mental health support services. As a twin born in the 1970s, I can remember many an hour spent at a neighbourhood house in the Dandenongs - which hosted Australian Multiple Birth Association meetings (my mum was actively involved in this support service at the time).

This week is Women’s Health Week, and it is a great time to reflect on the role that neighbourhood houses historically played, and continue today to play, in every aspect of promoting and underpinning women’s health.

Playgroups, community lunches, line dancing and choir, women in the shed programs, craft club, community markets supporting local makers and micro businesses, counselling … these are just some of the services we offer at ACC, and we’re just one example.

Neighbourhood houses began life, and continue today, to focus on providing, promoting and building social, emotional, physical, mental, community, environmental and economic health and well-being for the marginalised in our communities.

Yes, the remit has broadened - in 2020 neighbourhood houses deliberately include services for the whole community.

On the other hand the fight for equity and access for women that was at their foundation is not forgotten. Women’s health, in the most holistic sense, remains a central tenet, and I would suggest is still part of the core business of most neighbourhood houses across Victoria today.

To find out more about Women’s Health Week click here.

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Today is RU OK day. And it really couldn’t have come at a more timely time.

At ACC we’re focusing on the positives of living a contracted neighbourhood life, celebrating the daily things and little joys in these strange times. We’re hoping that our efforts are making a bit a difference to your life. And in addition we’re hoping that you are coping okay with all the other things.

So today we’re taking this opportunity to let you know that we are sincerely here and willing to listen and help as much as we can if you are feeling down or overwhelmed.

Call us if you need a one-off chat. If you need ongoing support we can facilitate a regular catch-up. We can connect you to fresh food services if you are struggling with bills and to pre-prepared food if you are struggling to get around to eating healthy meals.

If you are feeling completely or even mildly overwhelmed financially, we can help you navigate a raft of support and services.

We can also connect you to neighbours willing to shop for you, pick up prescriptions, or even bake you something to cheer you up (the offer is out there friends - community bakers with a good heart are LOOKING to share their talents … so don’t be shy to put your hand up for this one). And of course we can deliver you a mask if you need one.

Throughout this pandemic we’ve been talking to people regularly and responding to individual needs through little things like helping people access jam jars for pickling, helping people de-clutter through our op shop, helping out with IT questions, providing one-on-one zoom tutorials to get people digitally connected … and this week we’ve even taken delivery of some polyester stuffing that needed a good home. Nothing is too big or too small.

So, today we ask you again, R U OK? And if the answer is no … please get in contact and let us know how we can support you.

We’d really like to thank Alphington CWA for donating a stack of masks to Gurwidj Neighbourhood House in Thornbury.

Julie, who runs the North East Neighbourhood House Network (which provides fantastic professional support to all the neighbourhood houses in the corridor from Fitzroy through to Diamond Creek) was speaking with Cindy from Gurwidj, and offered to round up some free masks for her to give out to those in her community who were in need.

Alphington CWA (and Jan in particular), stepped up to help out.

Julie is now also looking to provide free masks for health workers at the Northern Hospital … there is a need for personal masks for staff to wear as they head home. Carlton Learning Centre (another neighbourhood house friend just down the road) is also keen for some masks to distribute into the Carlton flats.

So if anyone loves sewing or is feeling a bit flat and would like to do something for others … here’s a worthy cause! Just let me know. We have a simple pattern that we can share, or you can make your own favourite style, as long as the masks are effective (ie. have 3 layers).

Thanks once again Alphington CWA. What a great group of humans you are! And … aren’t we so lucky to live in such a sharing and caring neighbourhoodly community!

Note: if you still need to BUY a mask, we have them for sale on our website. Only $10. For some reason the shopping cart isn’t working on phones at the minute - I will investigate! but in the mean time - just log in on a computer if you want to make a purchase here. We’ll deliver them to your door!

Over the last couple of years I have run some photography related workshops at ACC and I am looking forward to sharing more photography tips in person when we return to face-to-face learning. We had a travel photography workshop planned this year, which seems a bit of a distant idea at the moment … both in terms of meeting up and getting on a plane! But we live in hope. And I am sure we will be able to travel within Australia, if not beyond, soon enough.

In the meantime … maybe you have already been on a holiday with the family, or taken the trip you always dreamed of and want to know what to do with your photos now.

Making the most of your photos is a creative task you can get excited about doing while in lockdown.

To start you off, I recommend that you think about:

1. Sorting your photos. It is a bit boring, but also really the thing you need to do! You could sort them into volumes and categories (eg. holiday locations or your children’s names) or keep it more random and sort by year, like the photo albums of my childhood. The pages from my parents albums were a treasure trove when I was young. Random photos of family, my first bike, a birthday celebration, the family pet. For some reason my parents always took photos of the garden and their cars too! I think it is the details I love looking back on. I remember our kitchen, our front door and our ginger cat. But seeing the photos of them brings things back to me I had forgotten. It is one of the great things about photography.

1. Printing your photos. This is key. Once the photos are stored in our computers I feel they are rarely seen. To help me to get around to printing photos I have a photo wall in my kitchen that I keep adding to. I also regularly make a photo book of all my favourite photos (I’ll write a post about this soon).

But, if this all sounds a bit process-y you could also think about the photos you could take in this time of isolation.

I am starting a portrait series at my house. I don’t know if my models (ie. my family) are going to be that keen. I will try, but if they squirm and lose patience I plan to look through my archives and do something with old photos as well.

Another idea is to document your own isolation experience. A journal of sorts, to remember how you passed the time, and what this experience looked like through your eyes.

If you start a new project, documenting your family, your home or your experience (and the same advice goes for holidays when they resume) my number one tip is to:

1. Look to take photos of the details.

In a room in your home it may be the way the light looks in the afternoon, or your favourite mug on the kitchen bench. If you are photographing people it might be the way your little one has tied their hair that day. From behind you can see it is all messy and sweet. Or just the way they snuggle into cuddling another member of the family.

If you travel it might be taking a photo of your ticket (train or plane), the accommodation you stay in, the taxi you take somewhere! Try to avoid cliches. Don’t photograph your own feet, instead look for the beauty in what is everyday about the place where you are, the unique about where you are.

When you start looking, no doubt you will see many things that are different and interesting, so also remember to get a little closer to photograph the details of them.

Good luck!