WELFARE is more than a job title for Heather Browning. Sure, it\u2019s what she does, but it\u2019s nurtured her own wellbeing.<\/p>\n
Having worked for 18 years at Centrelink, she is an active volunteer welfare officer at Ballarat\u2019s RSL.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s only two or three welfare officers for our region,\u201d she said. \u201cThis year\u2026what they\u2019ve agreed to do is allow me to go as far as Maryborough, Beaufort and down to Ballan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve put myself out there and said I\u2019m available for welfare consultations, and if necessary, I\u2019ll go out to those branches.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone being in the defence forces, SES or CFA are entitled to be in the RSL and a lot of people don\u2019t realise that. We are now a returned solders and services club,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It was her RSL colleague, support services officer, Lynne Redman that put forward the nomination to name Heather Browning as one of Zonta Ballarat\u2019s Great Women of 2019, and not just for her work with returned service people.<\/p>\n
Welfare was also key to her role as youth and community services officer with Christian group, Fusion where she also helped run Ballarat caf\u00e9, Matlida\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concept of that was to get street kids in and kids that had nowhere to go\u2026 We trained them in hospitality and quite a lot of kids got jobs out of that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was to give them confidence and there was always a hug if people wanted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Really, these roles through Ms Browning\u2019s life are only a drop in the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep busy, that\u2019s the good thing about retirement,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been involved in community groups forever. My mum was one of those people that said, \u2018if you see something that needs doing, do it,\u2019 and it\u2019s rubbed off. She died when I was 21.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was adopted. I have one sibling, an adopted sibling that I rarely see\u2026 because of that, I sort of saw myself more as an only child, so having been brought up like that, I like to surround myself with people.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s certainly found groups along the way where she belongs.<\/p>\n
Ms Browning was one of the drivers behind the original BBB radio, now Voice FM and has been a youth leader.<\/p>\n
She used to call Bingo in Creswick, visits retirement homes, is involved with Ballarat\u2019s Latin American community and attends North Baptist, her church. With her daughter, Alicia, she enjoys practicing the Spanish language.<\/p>\n
But it doesn\u2019t stop there. Music has always been within Ms Browning and provided her with community and more.<\/p>\n
She attended the Conservatorium of Music in Melbourne to study, started Springvale Folk Club, played in folk bands with her former husband, has always sung, played the accordion and guitar, and taught lessons.<\/p>\n
Ms Browning has been a music specialist at Pennyweight Park in Ballarat East and even played at the Children\u2019s Hospital to provide music therapy to patients while her daughter spent some time there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always loved music. Music is my life,\u201d Ms Browning said.<\/p>\n
It helped pick her up when she fell in a heap, having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She found physical and emotional support in her former vocal group, Pandora and has found the current choir she belongs to, Sing Australia a wonderful, uplifting environment that keeps its members health and social.<\/p>\n
Now, looking ahead in 2019, Ms Browning\u2019s next project is to grow North Baptist\u2019s craft group, hosted every second Monday. She wants the community to know that they can reach out to the church.<\/p>\n
Anyone is welcome at the craft group where there are skills to be learned. People can get creative with the church\u2019s materials, bring their own, or even just sit with a cuppa for a chat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really love it there. We\u2019re hoping to expand,\u201d Ms Browning said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of isolated people.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of units and we\u2019d like to get those people out a bit, so we\u2019re working on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf churches are going to survive with the whole Christian vision, they really have to really focus on the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WELFARE is more than a job title for Heather Browning. Sure, it\u2019s what she does, but it\u2019s nurtured her own wellbeing. Having worked for 18 years at Centrelink, she is an active volunteer welfare officer at Ballarat\u2019s RSL. \u201cThere\u2019s only two or three welfare officers for our region,\u201d she said. \u201cThis year\u2026what they\u2019ve agreed to […]<\/p>\n