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Community Partnership Initiative | |
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February 2003 Stage 3 redevelopment project completion. Community Centre and Administration | |
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July 2002 Stage 2: Construction of the Community Centre and Strathdon Hostel (19). | |
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Graphic rendition of Stage 2 of Strathdon's Redevelopment ~ the building of the Community Centre and new Strathdon Hostel (19). | |
| October 2001 saw
the beginnings of the rebuilding of Strathdon
Hostel (19), now known as the Richard E.
McGarvie Hostel, and construction commence on the Community Centre.
The redevelopment project was officially
opened in 2003 and the Richard E McGarvie Hostel and Community Centre
are integrally linked to the Community Partnership Initiative.
There is overwhelming evidence that the dislocation, lack of ‘neighbourhood’ and ‘sense of community’ that exists in suburbia impinges upon the health and quality of life of people in general. It can lead to isolation, loneliness, disconnection and depression. This understanding comes from contacts with many people through our work in Nursing Homes, Hostels and Supported Accommodation as well as through outreach in the area of community care, support groups for those touched by Alzheimer’s disease, rehabilitation programs and socialisation groups. The need to be part of an integrated community is as important for those living in private houses in suburban streets as for those living in public aged care facilities in the same suburban streets! Residents of aged care facilities such as Nursing Homes and Hostels often tend to suffer far more from loneliness, boredom and the separation from ‘normal’ community activities than from their medical condition, frailty or level of physical dependence. Because of this belief, we have embarked on the Community Partnership Initiative to build better links across local communities. This initiative encourages family and individual social interaction of all age groups, which strengthens community spirit and bridges the growing gap between age groups. The Community Partnership Initiative is an acknowledgment of the need for new alternatives to be taken in building Community. It provides the opportunity to become a part of an extended family, a concept which, sadly, is not enjoyed by many today. |
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(L to R) CEO at the time, Austin Paterson, Campaign Committee Chairman Trevor Nixon & Redevelopment Appeal Patron Sir Arvi Parbo discussing the Community Partnership Initiative. | |
| The construction
of Strathdon Community’s new Community Centre, the cornerstone of
our $20 million redevelopment, forms the platform for the
Community Partnership Initiative. It enables us to connect older people living in residential care with local groups such as Probus, Rotary, U3A, Council of Adult Education, Service Clubs, Health and Fitness Clubs, Recreation Clubs, and local youth programs. Appropriate organisations are being encouraged to locate their activities at Strathdon’s Community Centre, with many benefits to their members and potential members. Another central benefit lies with the incidental interaction that takes place between residents of Strathdon and the various groups that utilise the Community Centre. The breaking down of the isolation and high level of dislocation that exists in our very mobile urban environment is a trend that needs to be reversed. Through the Community Partnership Initiative an opportunity exists to further develop a worthwhile model of significantly improved community interaction and a spirit of reciprocity within an enabling environment, which will lead to neighbourhood building and community development. Others interested in the building of community could use this model. |
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