Page 167 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 9 February 2022
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(a) that demonstrate innovative approaches to growing the space and facilities available for community services in the ACT; and
(b) amongst these projects, address the difficulty community service organisations have in finding accessible and modern accommodation in town and group centres, including growing regions like Gungahlin.
Today I wish to draw attention to the important role community places and spaces have within the ACT. Community places and spaces in their simplest form are buildings where people go and where things happen. But to run with the simplest understanding of what these facilities provide us is an underestimation of the value we get from them. These places and spaces are where we, as a community, come together; where we support each other; where we work together to bring about change; and where we enliven so much of our community. So when we talk about these places and spaces, what we are really talking about is how we build and support our community.
The ACT government, through the Property Group portfolio, holds a significant number of community facilities and, true to what I have just said, in the simplest form they are just buildings; but when you look at what is happening at these places, they are so much more than that. Take, for example, the Holt community facility, which is home to many things, including Roundabout Canberra. Roundabout collects preloved infant items to package into baby bundles of essential items for the families of newborns. The bundles include everything from clothing to car seats, bassinets, nappies and books. Working with local charities and services, Roundabout makes sure that families with a newborn have everything they need to support the needs and safety of the infant. It is a thriving initiative which keeps growing as more and more people seek not only to donate items but to get involved in sorting, packing and distributing the packs. If you talk to the volunteers at Roundabout, it becomes apparent pretty quickly the sense of fulfilment they receive from contributing to the initiative and the community that they have built around it.
In the Flynn community facility, you will find the NeuroMoves gym, a specialised gym that offers a holistic, innovative and evidence-based exercise and therapy service for people living with a neurological condition or physical condition. The gym provides a space where people living with a neurological disability can come and receive specialised exercise and therapy supports. Much like Roundabout, the NeuroMoves gym has also given rise to a community around it, which is evidenced by the lively conversations that happen in the kitchen after workouts.
Both of these organisations have given rise to these communities while being housed in ACT Property Group portfolio facilities. They are not the only ones. Over in Pearce at the Pearce Community Centre, there is a hive of activity. Sharing Places provides a place for people with disability to come during the day, providing participation in the community; social and civic activities; and the development of daily living and life skills. Sharing Places has even opened its own cafe, which services the community centre and provides an opportunity for participants to learn hospitality skills. In the middle of the Pearce Community Centre there is a community garden, providing a space where all users at the centre, along with people in the surrounding area, can come to grow vegetables and other plants, enjoy picnics and, again, build community.
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