NEWS DESK
Post-lockdown help offer for families Liz Bell liz@mpnews.com.au THE end of lockdown has for many families not meant the end of the distress endured throughout restrictions and providing care in isolation. But a Mornington-based, not-for-profit disability support provider is reminding families that there is help for the challenges ahead. CEO of Biala Peninsula, David Greenwood, said the provider had more than 320 children under its care across the peninsula and wanted to stress the importance of therapy to help build on the positive strengths of the family unit, and “create a sense of rhythm and routine”. Biala family therapist Elsha Young said many families needing therapeutic support for their
child were already feeling isolated and vulnerable, with the mental health of families directly impacting children. Ms Young said the recent cycle of repeat lockdowns meant that parents had to constantly dig deeper, well beyond their comfort zones and invariably, on their own. “Anxieties grew and the flow-on affect upon children often left them and their families exposed, with household tensions amplified,” she said. “During the lockdowns, therapists continued to provide support, but it quickly became obvious that therapists too were having to work within similar parameters of the challenges faced by families. “As one therapist observed, ‘families were
already feeling isolated because of their circumstances and this was exaggerated because of the lockdowns, so us going into the home when permitted was empowering for all of the family, not just the child’.” Biala social worker Tiana Boyd said faceto-face care delivery was a critical feature of the therapeutic support provided to children, since much of the approach was based around strength-based collaboration. “Yet with schools closed, jobs furloughed or lost, family confidence eroded, finances stressed and needs exacerbated by events, the challenges associated with maintaining routine and structure became that much greater,” she said. “Therapists are now having to respond to postlockdown recovery dynamics, which will not be
immediately solved, by far. “For many children, masks have become a symbol of stress. Families think of their own circumstances, not about ‘being all in this together’.” Mrs Young said it was not common for parents with limited access to the services they so desperately needed fearing that they had failed. “And the sense of exposure and vulnerability has been escalated even further, so any response is certainly not an overnight fix,” she said. “Many of us in the community will quickly recover from the disruption through work and lifestyle, but equally, some families who have experienced extreme stress, need to adopt a slow, measured and gradual approach to any readjustment, for the benefit of children and families alike.”
Paving the way for dining out
Councils agree to split the bill for meals service
Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au WORK is already underway to make part of the footpath a 172-seat outside dining area for Sorrento’s Continental Hotel despite there being no agreement on leasing costs. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors last week authorised CEO John Baker to reopen negotiations with the hotel despite their decision in December to $38,000 for the first year, $45,000 in the second and $50,000 in the third year. The hotel, through its lawyers, has rejected the lease conditions and “sought exclusive possession of the licence area”. Cr David Gill was the only councillor against the Mr Baker going back to the hotel to try and reach agreement. Cr Gill said the council had “already made a decision [on 14 December] and if the [hotel] doesn’t like it, they can walk away”. “[Setting the lease amounts] was a council decision, not a negotiation,” he said. Cr Gill said council officers had originally suggested council charge half of what it eventually decided. “Council decided that wasn’t a good enough. The outcome should be a fair recompense to our community for giving up public land.” “The hitch in all of this is the officers came back originally with a much smaller lease amount and then we’re going back to negotiate again - the outcome’s fairly obvious to me. “We shouldn’t be negotiating. We
CAR parks have gone and the footpath is baricaded, but the Continental Hotel is yet to agree on a price it is willing to pay Mornington Peninsula Shire for use of the public land. Picture: Yanni should be saying ‘do you want it? This is the price’. “You don’t ever get to halve the lease amount on a house. There seems to be a belief we’re the bunnies. “We’ve already made up our minds but [now] might change on the basis [the hotel] might walk away. I just don’t accept it.” Cr Susan Bissinger thought it “a good idea to have negotiations go on”. “Sometimes things get lost in emails and all that kind of stuff,” she said. “There needs to be some kind of faceto-face negotiations and see what the best outcome for the community is.” Nepean Ratepayers’ Association president Colin Watson, in a letter to
Mr Baker, said the shire was “in the unenviable position” of having the hotel refuse to agree to the lease. Mr Watson accused council officers of providing councillors with “incorrect and contradictory” information about the legalities of the hotel occupying the footpath. “The NRA urges all councillors to consider very carefully the implications of the refusal of the developer to agree to a proposed licence fee and the seeking of exclusive possession of the licence area,” Mr Watson wrote. He said the proposed $38,000 to $50,000 annual fees were “well below market value”. “The [shire] is well within its rights
to deny the exclusive possession of a community asset and can demand that the developer make good by returning the area to seven car parking spaces and footpath,” Mr Watson stated. “Should the developer again refuse to pay a discounted fee and enter into the licence to occupy then we urge all councillors to issue an order to remove the outdoor dining, return the seven parking spaces and make good the footpath.” Councillors who voted for Mr Baker to resume negotiations with the Continental Hotel were Antonella Celi, Kerri McCafferty, Sarah Race, Susan Bissinger, Lisa Dixon and the mayor, Anthony Marsh. Against: Cr Gill.
RISING costs have led to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council entering into a $1 million meals on wheels service partnership with Frankston Council. The shire has run a meals on wheels program for more than 30 years, producing around 75,000 meals annually, while supporting welfare and independent living. Community services manager Jo Bradshaw said costs had been rising due to a steady increase in new clients and so the shire joined forces with Frankston in a joint tender for the service. “This is expected to make the service more cost-effective and ensure a more competitive outcome for both councils,” she said. “Through this joint tender we have been able to provide value for money to our ratepayers, while also prioritising support for local businesses.” The tender was released on 12 June 2021 and the new contract will begin 1 July. “Supporting our community by delivering quality, cost-effective services is a key focus of our council and wellbeing plan,” Ms Bradshaw said.
Kitchen talk VINNIES Kitchen will hold its annual general meeting at 1.30pm on 24 March at the Youth and Band Hall, Village Green, 994 Point Nepean Road, Rosebud.
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Southern Peninsula News
16 March 2022
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