By Laura Michell
Werribee Baptist Church hopes a report it commissioned into community needs will help outreach organisations and the council better target support programs.
The Wyndham Needs report was presented to the council last week.
It examines issues affecting the city’s residents and calls on welfare and support groups to work together to find a solution to their problems.
The report identifies homelessness, mortgage stress, poor health and the shortage of local jobs as the main issues impacting on the community.
Church member Graham Rogers, who spent six months last year compiling the report, said he was shocked to discover how many people in Werribee were
homeless.
“I discovered there were a lot of people in the community that no one would even know were homeless because they are couch-surfing,” he said. “We want to know what we can do to help them.”
Mr Rogers said he also identified a breakdown of family relationships as a major cause of social pressures. “One of the biggest needs I have addressed is the tyranny of distance, which is the impact of travel on society,” he said.
“We are seeing the breakdown of family relationships because people are spending so much time travelling and don’t have time to spend with the family.”
Mr Rogers said the church would now work with the council and other local groups to respond to the issues.
“We wanted to understand the most pressing needs in our community to best target our support,” he said.
Community wellbeing portfolio holder Cr Bob Fairclough said the report would help the council focus on the important social issues.
He said the council was keen to work with the church and other groups to create a unified response to the problems.
