Relief agency is backed on plan

By Casey Neill
DANDENONG Ranges Emergency Relief Service (DRERS) is urging the public to get behind its plan to build a new facility.
The organisation held a public meeting at Belgrave’s Tin Shed on 26 May to gauge community support for the project and address any concerns.
DRERS’s Anita Burman said the meeting went fantastically.
“The public response was fantastic. We have a groundswell of public support,” she said.
“It made me really proud to be part of such a community.”
The facility would offer a range of services in addition to emergency relief, including housing assistance, legal aid, financial planning and counselling.
The hub would also provide facilities for the homeless, such as a shower and washing machines and incorporate environmentally sustainable design.
Currently the nearest public shower is in Wantirna and is only available for a few hours each Friday.
DRERS welfare service manager Debbie Jones said the organisation’s current building, located on Burwood Highway in Belgrave, was extremely small.
“We are often unable to accept donations of goods so people miss out,” she said.
“We currently only have one interview room and a small waiting room. When several families are waiting at once they not only face long wait times but also a lack of privacy and ability to maintain dignity.”
The non-profit Christian charitable organisation assists up to 60 children and 100 adults each month in the south west of the Shire of Yarra Ranges.
Ms Burman said there was a growing need in the area and more services were required to meet demand.
She said volunteers recently met with government representatives who indicated they would support the project if the community got behind it.
Lyster Ward councillor Samantha Dunn attended last month’s meeting.
“I’m very supportive of what they’re trying to achieve,” she said.
Cr Dunn said the organisation now needed to conduct a feasibility study to identify the most appropriate site for the proposed hub.
“They need to nut it out and get something down on paper,” she said.
She said any shire contribution to the project was likely to be in the form of land.