SWAN Hill has joined a program helping new families battle the cost of living.
The St Kilda Mums program aims to reuse pre-loved nursery equipment to give to families who are in need of support.
Items are provided to hospitals across Victoria, with Swan Hill District Health becoming one of the latest to sign up.
SHDH social worker Cynthia Holland said the program aimed to ensure the support of every child.
“We’re a sort of agent, like any other maternity hospital around Victoria, to follow through with St Kilda Mums’ vision, that is ‘share more, waste less’ and to see that every child thrives,” she said.
“Programs like this are largely for families who have no prenatal support before the birth of their babies.
“With the help of volunteers here at the hospital, we are able to start the relationship around 17 to 20 weeks and start building for what each of the families will need.
“Having physical material aid is evidence that this is a real service that can build trust with families.”
Ms Holland said the items they receive can make a big difference.
“Items that people are no longer using, like prams, portable cots, car seats, linen and clothing, these are largely new items,” she said.
“I want those to be available to mums in the rural areas like Swan Hill.
“Some of these families have no home, they’re sharing a house with seven others.
“We provide these families with the goods, and they go home very happy and come back. We can actually provide clothes or shoes up to 10 years of age.”
SHDH volunteers co-ordinator Marie Martin said the St Kilda Mums program at the hospital relied on the goodwill of volunteers.
“Cynthia came to us with a proposal about the volunteers group assisting her with the sorting of the goods that came to us from Melbourne,” she said.
“We had a concerted effort to go through all the items that we received, and now they have all been sorted and catalogued.
“Jan (Mayhew) is the one who looks after the cataloguing, but we do bring in a few more volunteers at times. I’ve got about 130 volunteers on our books.”
Ms Martin said SHDH were always looking for more volunteers.
“It’s a great spot to volunteer,” she said.
“There are a lot of friendships made.
“I’ve had people tell me that it gives them something to look forward to.
“The volunteer program is designed to give as much benefit to the volunteers themselves as it does to the hospital.”
