PENRITH RISING

OUR RESILIENCE AND STRENGTH

PENRITH RISING

IN THE FACE OF COVID-19

The streets of St Marys were empty during lockdown

THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT 2020 HAS TESTED US, AND PUSHED OUR COMMUNITY SO FAR OUT OF ITS COMFORT ZONE THAT NORMAL, EVERYDAY LIFE IS SOMETHING OF A DISTANT MEMORY. We have lost lives, and we mourn for those in our community who have said a final goodbye to a loved one. We have also lost livelihoods, with the economy coming to a grinding halt in many areas, and countless thousands of Penrith residents thrown into financial uncertainty. The tragedy which unfolded at Newmarch House broke all of our hearts, and showed us the seriousness of this deadly virus.

For others in our community, even under these strange new circumstances, work has carried on – some while homeschooling children or wrangling pets. And of course, our heroic health and childcare professionals, teachers and school staff, public transport workers and many more have put themselves on the line to ensure essential services continued through the pandemic.

Like all levels of government, Council has worked hard to support residents in the wake of the devastating impacts of COVID-19. So too have community organisations, charities, families and individuals in Penrith City, pitching in together to look out for each other.

NEIGHBOURLY ISOLATION CARDS ARE A WAY TO CONNECT WITH VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY

Cr Ross Fowler OAM, Mayor of Penrith, delivers a neighbourly isolation card

Good Neighbour was launched back in 2018 to help build a stronger sense of community in Penrith City. All the initiatives run as part of this program aim to tackle loneliness, promote safe neighbourhoods and to connect people. Since its launch, Good Neighbour has hosted free events and provided resources to enable neighbours to reach out to each other – a great example of this is contact cards. The idea of contact cards is for residents to fill out their details on a card and pop it into their neighbour’s letterbox, as a way to introduce themselves and offer a helping hand. When the impacts of COVID-19 reached Penrith City, contact cards took on a new importance as a strategy for protecting the most vulnerable members of our community. After a quick name change and some slight alterations to their design, the neighbourly isolation card was born.

The neighbourly isolation cards, which can be downloaded from Penrith Council’s website, proved popular during lockdown. As one resident told us, “I have 20 of these to letterbox-drop on my walk this afternoon. My partner and I usually keep to ourselves and have never met our neighbours, despite moving to South Penrith three years ago. But I’d really like to be able to help people locally who might be less fortunate or more vulnerable.”

Nepean PAC lifted community spirits by showing their goodwill during the crisis

MESSAGES OF ENCOURAGEMENT

It was important to feel as though we were all in it together, despite being separated in our individual homes. A simple way to promote that feeling was to create signs which community members, local businesses and essential services could print out from Council’s website, personalise and post on social media. These messages of encouragement helped to lift our spirits and remind us that our neighbours, friends and fellow residents were facing similar challenges.

Download neighbourly isolation cards and messages of encouragement at penrith.city/GoodNeighbour

ESSENTIAL CARE PACKAGES

Council’s Good Neighbour program also provided funding for care packages of essential groceries and household supplies for residents in need, which were delivered by Nepean Food Services during lockdown. The recipients were grateful to know the community cares about them – and they also particularly appreciated the toilet paper, at a time when it was seriously hard to come by.

Being a good neighbour is the bedrock of Australia’s response to a crisis such as COVID-19.

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Mateship and fairness are values that we grow up with, values which spring into action during a catastrophe. As we take small steps towards resuming normal life, hopefully neighbours looking out for each other will be one of the aspects of lockdown life that we carry forward.

Studies have shown that connected communities are more resilient and rebuild faster after a crisis, so Good Neighbour will no doubt help Penrith

bounce back.

Nepean Food Services deliver care packages during lockdown

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Karleigh Rose

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GOOD NEIGHBOUR Get involved at penrith.city/ GoodNeighbour

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THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE

Find out more at

penrith.city/ Events

Covered in Cliches

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE LOCKDOWN SERIES

Since 2019, Council has been organising Thursday Night Live, a showcase of homegrown talent. Singers, performers and bands take to the stage in Triangle and Coachmans Parks, and the community come out to support them and enjoy the free tunes. Local businesses also benefit from busier trading at night, which fulfils the objective of Council’s Night Time Economy Strategy.

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When the pandemic hit, Thursday Night Live adapted to suit the strange new conditions. Instead of playing on stage, musicians went into a studio and played in a fully-equipped sound booth. A live feed captured the magic and streamed it out via Council’s Facebook page. At time of writing, the series has attracted over 45,000 views.

In this way, Council was able to continue supporting local creatives and helped keep Penrith’s music scene alive during lockdown.

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THE LIBRARY CREATED OODLES OF ONLINE FUN Our Library team got creative to keep our community entertained, creating a virtual story time, historical jigsaw puzzles, reading tips videos and even a livestreamed author talk.

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THE JOAN, Q THEATRE, PENRITH CONSERVATORIUM AND PENRITH REGIONAL GALLERY JOINED FORCES

Keep Heart Penrith was a collaboration between our City’s performing and visual arts institutions. Creative Care Packages were sent out by email to help residents stay culturally and artistically stimulated during lockdown.

TASKFORCES TO ACCELERATE RECOVERY

Two new taskforces have been established to guide Penrith City on its road to recovery, in the wake of COVID-19.

Penrith Mayor Ross Fowler OAM will lead an Economic Recovery Taskforce, which will focus on jobs and ensuring businesses and employers in Penrith are supported and enabled to thrive.

Penrith’s Deputy Mayor, Cr Karen McKeown OAM, will chair a Community Recovery Taskforce, with a focus on fostering connection and positioning community services to meet the changing needs of Penrith’s population.

The two taskforces will work separately and together to support Penrith’s social and economic recovery.

In addition to these measures, Penrith Council has also provided more than half a million dollars in immediate relief to local businesses over the past few months, waiving hire fees for sporting groups and fees and charges for outdoor and footpath dining permits across our CBD. Assistance has also been provided for property owners, both commercial and residential who are experiencing financial hardship across our City. Partnerships with other organisations and groups have meant we can deliver direct services and support to some of the City’s most vulnerable residents.