Fusion’s learning to do things differently THE battering ram called COVID-19 has placed enormous stress on staff at the Mount Marthabased Fusion Mornington Peninsula. Some staff are living “on-site” while others are working from home, juggling casework meetings on the phone or video platforms. Fusion centre manager Caitlin Swanton said over the past eight weeks staff had “needed to adapt to cater to young people in a way we never have before, nor did we image we would need to”. “It has been eight weeks since Victoria went into lock-down ... since all non-essential trips out of the house were banned … since our schools closed,” Ms Swanton said when launching an emergency appeal for the Christian youth and community development organisation. “It is a long time to be isolated from friends, family and normal routines.” Ms Swanton said for many it had been a “learning curve to adapt, juggling work at home, keeping children entertained and planning how we do normal everyday activities differently”. For others it has meant the loss of income and “skyrocketing anxiety”. “Imagine you were living without family, friends or normal routines,” she said. “Imagine you were couch surfing, living on the streets or living in an unsafe environment. “Imagine school was a refuge from violence, and being stuck at home for eight weeks has been an increasingly unsafe place to be. “Imagine trying to access online platforms for learning and connection without suitable hardware or access to the internet. “This is the reality for the young people Fusion Mornington Peninsula support.” Ms Swanton said Fusion housing staff had
chosen to live on-site to support the young people in their care. “They have adapted to hygiene routines way above our normal processes and they have adapted to having young people onsite all the time,” she said. “They have needed to care for young people who live with uncertainty. “Our housing staff have also been managing their own concerns around what is happening in our world today.” Fusion youth workers have had to take programs online, meeting with young people via platforms that give them access to the homes of young people for the first time. “This has been challenging and confronting,” Ms Swanton said. “Setting up a variety of online platforms has meant unexpected expenses and the need to support young people to have adequate hardware and internet access at home.” The broader Fusion team has been working from home, juggling casework meetings on the phone or via video platforms. “This is not the same as a face-to-face meeting where you can gauge a lot more about how a young person might be going through body language and other cues,” Ms Swanton said. “The team have needed to have suitable office set ups to work from home which has been an additional expense to the centre, but which have been essential to continue our support of young people on the peninsula.” Donations to Fusion help keep young people safe and connected through this crisis. Details: Fusion Mornington Peninsula 5974 1442. Stephen Taylor
AGL: ‘Wait for end to COVID-19 restrictions’ Continued from Page 1 The AGL proposal includes mooring a 300-metre long floating gas plant at the existing Crib Point jetty, to convert liquid natural gas (LNG) into gas, and building new jetty. Save Westernport’s steering committee has told Mr Wynne that the public exhibition of AGL’s EES should be postponed “until the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted”. “AGL’s apparent push for the EES to proceed without consideration for the implications of the current state of emergency on people’s lives is consistent with the contempt they’ve shown this community and its wishes ever since their incursion into Westernport began in 2017,” the committee stated in a letter to Mr Wynne. The committee said it was “essential that the Mr Wynne remains beyond the influence of AGL”. “By making use of his discretionary powers, he can ensure that the EES does not proceed in a way that is rushed or that appears to give the proponent an advantage. “Compromising the effectiveness of the EES to accommodate the proponent would be highly inappropriate, particularly if it incorporates new untried methods that could be seen to discourage community involvement or that limit the effectiveness of their contribution. “No precedent exists for an EES to be held only online.” Chris Atmore, of Save Westernport, said those opposing AGL’s plans would be “doubly disadvantaged” if a “virtual EES process” was used “given the state government’s decision to hold back on implementing most of the new EPA Act for at least a year [which has] has stronger requirements for successful applications for development licences which the [Crib Point] project requires”.
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Southern Peninsula News 20 May 2020
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