General News
23 December, 2025
Initiative flags need for support locally
A wave of gratitude and support has highlighted Maryborough Community House’s (MCH) continuous impact as locals submit their handwritten responses to the Victorian Government on what their services mean to them.
Part of a statewide movement, Neighbourhood Houses Victoria’s (NHV) campaign has community spaces all over Victoria calling on the Victorian Government for fairer funding and to ‘Keep Our Doors Open’, ensuring enough support to meet increased volunteer and service demand.
Commencing in October this year, MCH has jumped on board the campaign, distributing NHV postcards throughout Maryborough, allowing locals to write personal accounts of MCH’s impact.
MCH coordinator Jeannie Clark recently met with Member for Ripon Martha Haylett alongside other community house coordinators from throughout the electorate to formally hand over the postcards, which will be passed on to the Minister for Carers and Volunteers Ros Spence.
“There has been a wonderful response from our community through over 150 cards about what they value here and have come to rely on from MCH,” Ms Clark said.
“Sentiments shared were around how the house acts as a vital community connector, provides help to people and not for profits, provides a friendly and comforting place to meet social groups, opportunities for community involvement for both young people and older locals through volunteering, community events to keep people in touch with one another, and local projects including food relief and meals.”
Earlier this year, NHV declared an additional funding of 25 percent more, or $11.7 million a year, is needed to ensure the sustainability of the sector to continue delivering for Victorians, particularly in rural areas like the seat of Ripon, which has over ten neighbourhood houses across the electorate.
Each week, more than 185,000 Victorians access community support and local services through the 400 neighbourhood houses in the state.
MCH volunteers and staff feel they have been inundated with extra unpaid hours each week to meet demands.
Ms Clark hopes the State Government recognises the many anecdotes locals have submitted, in addition to supporting all community houses across the state.
“We want stronger, more adequately indexed levels of assistance applied broadly to NHV, the other 400 neighbourhood houses across the state, including ours, houses that don’t receive any funding, and new houses who are establishing services support and respond to their communities with growing populations and cost pressure including those who live rurally,” she said.
“We want to see the government investing into funding more paid core hours to respond to stretched staffing and volunteering, attending to growing community request at our house, funding to equip the MCH with staff from service supports to expertise, especially paid IT expertise for help and support, adaptation costs to attend to rapid changes in technology, funding for food relief and localised food rescue services out in the field.”
NHV expects these demands will be addressed in 2026.
Until then, community houses across the state fear they will be forced to close or reduce programs if they don’t receive adequate support.