Representatives from inner-west neighbourhood houses have taken their campaign to keep their doors open to the door of Footscray MP Katie Hall.
Coordinators from the neighbourhood houses met with Ms Hall at her Footscray office on Monday afternoon as part of the sector’s Keep Our Doors Open campaign calling for an annual $11.7 million funding increase increase from the state government.
As part of the campaign postcards containing messages from local residents about why they love their local neighbourhood houses were given to Ms Hall to pass on to Carers and Volunteers Minister Ros Spence.
Footscray Angliss Neighbourhood House coordinator Jo Williams attended the meeting and said the campaign wasn’t called Keep Our Doors Open for nothing.
“The Neighbourhood House Coordination Program hasn’t increased for years despite rising wage costs, utility costs, program costs etc,” Ms Williams said.
“This is at a time when with the cost of living crisis, we’re being called on as a sector more and more to help people.
“People need us more than ever yet we’re struggling to keep our doors open hence the name.”
Neighbourhood Houses Victoria, which launched the campaign in October, said that half the state’s 400 neighbourhood houses could close unless a 25 per cent increase in core funding was delivered.
Neighbourhood House Victoria chief executive Keir Paterson said the state government could hardly find a better value investment.
“Our data show that for every $1 of ongoing neighbourhood house funding received from the state government, communities benefit to the tune of $21.94,” Mr Paterson said.
Ms Williams concurred, arguing that neighborhood houses provided great value because they offered both reactive and proactive services.
“We support people with food relief and material needs and advocacy and our proactive work is community education,” she said describing services that were a reaction to existing problems before highlighting those designed to prevent them.
“Community programs that connect people and provide social inclusion and bring neighbourhoods together to look after each other and build community.”
But even with the doors at Angliss Neighbourhood House remaining open, Ms Williams said the funding squeeze meant its true value wasn’t being realised.
“We’re open less hours than we would like to and our community needs us too,” she said.
“As a coordinator, I take less hours and give those to other staff so we can open our doors open.
“We’re sort of robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
A spokesperson for Ms Hall said she was happy to meet the coordinators and would pass their postcards on to the minister.
“Katie is a strong supporter of our neighbourhood houses,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the state government wouldn’t commit to a funding increase, but said the Neighbourhood House Coordination Program received more than $43 million annually, per-indexation, as well as other targeted measures.
“Last year’s budget delivered $2.5 million to provide food relief through more than 70 neighbourhood houses, and this year we’ve built on that with $9 million for the Community Food Relief Program – helping Victorian families get the support they need,” the spokesperson said.
