The staff at Brayakooloong Community Wellbeing Centre in Morwell work tirelessly supporting individuals and communities in the region through counselling, education, referrals and linkages. The Centre is a crucial service for hundreds of families in the region who access these in-demand services. In addition to this critical work, the team at Brayakooloong are also dedicated volunteers, contributing their time for the greater good of their community. Staff members give their time through foster caring, mentoring programs, supporting local not-for-profit organisations, sitting on advisory boards, and in emergency management such as the CFA and SES.
However, the team also talk about the need for more volunteers in the community and the barriers that people encounter to volunteering. This can include the issues posed by screening check requirements, cost of living, lack of transportation over large geographical areas and a lack of understanding and promotion of volunteering.
“You don’t see ads saying, “come and volunteer and be a mentor”, so people don’t know that these things exist. And even if you know about it, how do you go about it? There’s a misunderstanding of what you can do, what is involved and what you can give.”
