Norlane centre pushes for crucial funding

NORLANE Community Centre is urging the City of Greater Geelong to commit additional funding for a multi-staged redevelopment at its site in Rose Avenue, as it works to better meet the needs of the locals it supports.

The redevelopment, planned in consultation with the community, would bolster not only the centre’s capacity, but increase the facilities available locally to other organisations.

The centre has been allocated $1.3 million in the city’s proposed 2025-26 budget to undertake stage one of the planned upgrades, which would see the construction of a demonstrative permaculture garden and a purpose-built foodshare space, as demand for food relief support in the area continues to grow.

But the centrepiece of the redevelopment – an expansion of the site’s internal lounge and foyer aimed at improving mental health by providing more opportunities for locals and those living vulnerably to gather, connect and get access to supports – has not yet secured funding.

It is a concern for chief executive Esther Konings-Oakes, who everyday lives with the pressure of supporting the wide-ranging needs of a community burdened by generational disadvantage where the incidence of mental health conditions is almost double the statewide rate and residents have a life expectancy at least five years lower than anywhere else in the region.

“In the state, we’re in the first percentile of disadvantage and in Australia, we’re in the second percentile,” she said.

“We’ve got such limited resources; trying to do so much, we have to fight and campaign to get the money. It’s exhausting.

“The pressure of what we do and the gravity of what we do and the people that we work with is intense. I’ve got to fight this, so it’s a lot of unpaid overtime working on things like this in the background, or a grant proposal, to try and get the resources and the funding that we need to help the people out there.”

Office manager Rebecca Medley, who a few short years ago was too shy to walk through the centre’s door, knows all too well the powerful impact Norlane Community Centre has on the community it supports.

“I know what it’s done for me over the years. People come in and find their thing, why they want to be part of the community, [and we] help them grow that, blossom, put them on the right path.

“To continue to do that for people, we need that backing and to not have to fight for that.”

Tennille Bradley, the city’s executive director of placemaking said the future stages of the community centre’s redevelopment are on the city’s agenda and it will continue to look for ways to fund them, including seeking external funding.

“The Norlane Community Centre plays a vital role in the northern suburbs by providing social, recreational and support opportunities for local residents to connect, learn and contribute,” she said.

“We encourage those at the Norlane Community Centre and community members to provide feedback in future budget consultations.”