IT might soon be built in Mildura, but Mallee Family Care (MFC) is adamant its new home will set the foundations for a bigger and better service across the Mallee.
MFC was awarded $4.9 million from the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Fund to develop a community facility enabling the co-location of its Mildura site.
The fund supported projects that would provide economic and social benefits to regional and remote areas.
MFC chief executive officer Teresa Jayet said the development of the community support facility would generate significant advantages for the Mallee region.
These advantages include broadening the scope of services the organisation could offer; increasing the number of clients, participants and consumers it could support; and improving regional employment opportunities.
“The project, once complete, will allow Mallee Family Care to increase the range of services it can deliver,” Ms Jayet said.
“Importantly, it will enable us to see more people each year.
“While the new community facility is being developed in Mildura, it will greatly improve our organisation’s capacity to support the entire Mallee region, through both on-site and outreach programs.
“This means that people in outlying areas such as Robinvale and Manangatang will be able to access support that currently requires them to travel to major centres such as Bendigo or Melbourne.”
Ms Jayet said MFC had seen rapid growth over the past 10 years, doubling in size in terms of the range of services, clients and employees.
“Consequently, we’ve outgrown our current space and there’s still considerable community,” she said.
“We’re seeing more people and offering more services than ever before, and we need a facility that will allow us to do this effectively and to accommodate our future growth for children, adolescents, individuals and families, across NDIS, allied health, mental health, counselling services and foster care programs.”
The project would see the construction of a purpose-built facility, absorbing its six Mildura offices into one centralised location and allowing their clients to access a range of services in one place.
“By bringing all the organisation’s services into one building, clients can access a range of supports without the need for retelling their story multiple times, which can be traumatic, and without the need for travel between office locations.
“This project is all about ensuring we provide the best possible care for our community and that means reducing the barriers to seeking help and having the ability to adapt and broaden our services to meet the changing needs of people living in the Mallee.”
Ms Jayet said MFC’s catchment covered more than 92,000 square kilometres, reaching more than 5000 people every year.
“The purpose of this project is to ensure that everyone in our region can access support locally, when they need it, under one roof,” she said.
