By STEFAN BRADLEY

 

MOE has a brand new third space for locals to thrive.

Thrive Disability & Community Services, located at 1B Moore Street, Moe, proudly opened the doors to its disability support and inclusive social space on Saturday, September 19, welcoming the Latrobe Valley community for an afternoon of celebration.

Attendees enjoyed a variety of family-friendly games and competitions, with plenty of prizes up for grabs, along with a sausage sizzle and raffle.

Thrive hosted the local charity, GCS – Raising Awareness One Drive @ a Time Inc (or just GCS). The charity focuses on breaking the stigma around situational distress, suicide, and mental health. Money raised during the open day went directly to supporting GCS’s vital outreach programs.

Hayden Hood, a support worker with clients from Drouin through to Traralgon, is the manager and owner of the new space, and has worked with other disability providers. He said his mission with Thrive was to support those who tend to fall through the cracks.

Pac: Hayden Hood, disability support worker based in Moe, built much of what you see at Thrive.

There are many services targeted towards high needs participants, but not many options for those who are mostly independent, but still benefit from support.

“A lot of them end up disengaged, they end up isolated, and it is just a massive issue for mental health,” Mr Hood said.

“The space is designed to be somewhere where they can come and meet people with shared interests, make some friends, feel like they’re part of a community.”

The space is also available for use by charities and the wider community for social gatherings, or for family time.

“I want to set up some semi-regular community groups, such as for art, gaming, or a social space where maybe I’m open two hours on a Thursday, for example, and people can just come in and hang out and have somewhere to go,” he said.

Working together: Thrive is a space run by locals, for locals. Photographs: Stefan Bradley

GCS will run community programs related to mental health, youth work, food banks and assistance for the unhoused.

The space is designed to be flexible to tailor to participant schedules rather than lock in specific programs or time, which tends to exclude people.

Much of the physical work and renovations at Thrive was done by Mr Hood himself, with support from family, GCS and necessary tradespeople.

Thrive also has window displays available for local clubs and not-for-profits to use.

You can reach out to Thrive by phone on 0411 915 240 or via email at: admin@thrivedcs.com.au