Karen Henderson, a hairdresser of 35 years, decided she wanted to make a change in her profession and herself.
Karen decided she would take an empowering women’s course at the Traralgon Neighbourhood Learning House, which helped build her confidence to explore new options for her future.
Karen had an interest in yoga and decided to do a yoga teaching course, however, struggled to do the homework which involved using computer systems she wasn’t familiar with.
She then completed some computer courses with the house, which helped her complete the yoga course, and she now teaches yoga at the house on a regular basis.
“It’s great that people can come here to the house and find the support they need, through a cooking or language class, self-esteem, whatever they would like to do,” Karen said.
“If people get to a point when they want to work on themselves, sick of being stuck, share a coffee with like-minded people, it can make a difference, it can help heal.”
Traralgon Neighbourhood Learning House manager Liz Dorsett said Neighbourhood House Week provided an opportunity for the houses to continue to strive to be innovative and support the community.
Ms Dorsett said staff would like to sit down with the participants of the house and any members of the community that wished to join them to talk about how the community thoughthe house was going, what they believed needed improving and what they thought the house needed to add.
Moe Neighbourhood House assistant coordinator Marti Brown said the Moe house wanted to help the people of the community anyway they could, and had been making plastic yarn, or ‘plarn’, mats to donate to Quantum Support Services’ homeless unit.
“We have a few made up which we want to donate to Quantum’s homeless unit,” she said.
“It is like a little mat made out of plastic bags. It keeps people off the ground and off the damp.”
The Moe Neighbourhood House accepts plastic bag donations to go towards making the plastic yarn mats for the homeless.
Neighbourhood houses have helped countless people in the community and are still continuing to support the public.
For more information about neighbourhood houses in the Latrobe Valley, visit nhvic.org.au.
