New life for Mildura carer hub

THE Sunraysia Carers Support Group (SCSG) will facilitate a new look one-stop shop for all carer needs.

A Carers Victoria Hub was set up in Mildura during 2017 as a pilot program between Carers Victoria and Bendigo Health to offer support and services to carers in the region.

The hub was funded for only two years, however, after seeing the need for the service in Sunraysia, SCSG has taken on the initiative and relocated the hub.

“Once the two years were up, and the initiative wasn’t going to continue, it was up to us to keep it going,” SCSG secretary Sandra Summerton said.

“We applied for grants and we have been able to obtain some grants from local benevolent bodies in conjunction with State Government funding.”

The new hub is on the corner of Thirteenth Street and Village Way and will provide all the services of the previous hub, which closed on December 17 last year.

Ms Summerton said it would be an information source for carers about available services and allow them to connect with others in a similar situation.

“There are some things we can’t solve — we aren’t counsellors but we may have had a similar situation and can offer that support,” she said.

“If you have never been a carer before, you don’t know what it’s like, so you can sympathise but you can’t empathise.

“If they need a hearing ear or a cup of coffee we have that here.”

The SCSG is hoping the hub will continue to look after carers in Mildura so they could do their best for their loved ones.

“Carers need to be cared for because if they aren’t, how do they look after their family?” Ms Summerton said.

“If we can look after the carer and maintain their health and sanity, it makes the person’s life they are caring for better.”

The hub is due to open on Tuesday and will be available every Tuesday and Wednesday from 10am to 4pm.

The SCSG welcomes any carers in the community to visit the hub during those times.

“The more people who come and use the hubs, the more sustainable it is,” Ms Summerton said.

“We need carers to look after themselves and they can’t do that without the hub.”