Hi friends, we’re looking for some people to contribute to our ‘Honestly’ project. If you‘re partial to a bit of over-sharing (eg. you like a chat at the school gate or down at the shops … or online like me!) … we’d LOVE you to contribute a handwritten letter. Don’t be shy! Start the letter ‘Dear neighbour’. 2-4 pages is enough. No need to sign it, but we’d like a hint of who you are on the envelope. So ‘from a plumber’ or ‘from a gardener’ would be great! You can just slip it under our front door if we’re not home (so it doesn’t get wet if it rains - our letterbox is a bit leaky). We’ll then copy it 30 times and put it out for other neighbourhood friends to collect and read.

Maybe you’d like to share your joy in a project you’ve undertaken, have a story to tell about a grandchild arriving, news of family overseas or just have some thoughts and feelings about this moment in time.

Nothing has to be that exciting … this project is just a little reminder that we’re all in this together … but also uniquely ourselves with our own challenges and experiences. A mechanism to help us all feel just a little bit more connected as a community.

So … we’ll look forward to receiving a flood of hand written letters under our door in the coming days!

If there’s one thing I think we’ve all learnt in 2020, it is the peril of having a plan. So, to save unnecessary heartache and grief my plan for the last 6 months has been pretty much not to have one … to take things one day at a time, perhaps two if I’m feeling ambitious (yes let’s go for a walk tomorrow my friend) or putting something off (shopping … I’ll go tomorrow).

However … this week spring has sprung, the sun has been shining and I am feeling a little more like a plan might be something to aspire to once again. And I guess the main plan we need is one for re-opening ACC.

We’ve got some ideas. For example we’re thinking of holding weekly morning teas out on the corner. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a cuppa and some cake on a Friday morning … and chat in person again?

And… we are after your ideas too!

Kalimna has made a quick online survey - just 4 questions about how you generally use the centre, how you have been engaged with us over the last 6 months and your thoughts on programs and priorities for the bright, shiny new future that surely awaits us all in 2021.

Click here to give us your two-bobs!

Thanks. We’re actually super interested in your input and would be very thankful if you could take a couple of minutes to give us your thoughts!

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.