Frankston residents receive 19,000 meals, care packages, financial support as council tackles COVID-19 crisis
Whether its Meals on Wheels, one-one-one support calls, assistance to pay bills or business grants, Frankston City Council has pledged to help its community tackle COVID-19. And those doing it tough have been urged to reach out.
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Thousands of Frankston residents struggling amid the coronavirus outbreak have been given a helping hand as Melbourne tackles a second lockdown.
And Frankston City Council has urged locals to use vital community services including food packages, one-on-one guidance, financial assistance and business grants to help them get back on their feet.
More than 9,000 hot meals were delivered through the Meals on Wheels program between March and June — an 117 per cent increase on the same time last year.
And since opening in April, the council’s community recovery call centre has provided 2000 people with information and support.
Parents and their little ones have also tuned into close to 80,000 minutes of live story time on Facebook since library branches closed.
Mayor Sandra Mayer said council increased services to help keep everyone safe and help get residents get back on their feet.
“Every one of these initiatives has been introduced with the health and wellbeing of our community in mind,” she said.
RECOVERY CALL CENTRE
Council’s recovery call centre is designed is to reach out and listen to residents who could become vulnerable to the social impacts of the coronavirus.
The friendly call takers listened to and supported residents including an 80-year-old woman who felt lonely as she was unable to visit her husband in care, and a mother-of-three who needed help sourcing food and nappies as well as assistance for paying rent.
“Staff offered to phone the elderly weekly and put her in touch with council’s group call and chat program … they also encouraged her to reach out to her doctor and Beyond Blue who could support her mental health,” a council spokeswoman said.
“Council delivered a food package and put the mother in touch with a local legal service for assistance discussing rental arrangements with her landlord … centre staff also directed her to Community Support Frankston for further assistance.”
RELIEF AND RECOVERY PACKAGE
Funding from Council’s Relief and Recovery Package has empowered Community Support Frankston to help others in similar situations with warm meals and essentials during the outbreak.
“We have managed to stay connected with chronically disadvantaged people and new faces who had needed to reach out for the first time,” Community Support Frankston manager Steve Phillips said.
The package also supports local businesses through grants and the work of a dedicated business concierge.
In Frankston’s CBD, Simply Brazilian beauty salon owner Hailey Russell said she was grateful to be approached with information about the fast grants program which could assist with piling bills during lockdown.
“My business has had to close because of the restrictions and council was to help by pointing me in the direction of rent relief and other helpful services,” she said.
“They were able to talk me through my application and make sure I ticked all of the boxes so I had the best chance to receive a grant which would help me pay the bills during lockdown.
“It was amazing to get a call at a time when I wasn’t doing so well.”
MEALS ON WHEELS
The Meals on Wheels program not only delivered more than 19,000 meals to locals in two months, but also employed workers who lost their job due to the pandemic.
“In these times of uncertainty, the elderly and vulnerable people we are helping are ever so grateful to be greeted by a smiling face and even just a quick little chat certainly brightens their day … it brightens my day also,” Kylie, who was redeployed to Meals on Wheels as a Council Direct Care worker, said.
“I have really enjoyed helping out with delivering the Meals on Wheels, it is such a rewarding job and everyone is so appreciative of what we are doing.”
HI NEIGHBOUR
Residents have also been encouraged to take part in the ‘Hi Neighbour’ campaign where locals can offer to help their neighbours by delivering their groceries, walking the dog, running errands or having a chat on the phone.
Personalised cards which advertise services can be downloaded on the council website and left at a neighbour’s door to notify them that help is available.
Seaford resident Jacqui O’Leary said the cards provided a safe way to support members of her community while adhering to social distancing regulations.
“It gives me peace of mind knowing I have reached out and my neighbours know they can ask me for help if they need it,” she said.
“I let my neighbours know I left a bocce set in our communal area and extended the offer for them to use it anytime … I look forward to playing with them when restrictions are lifted.”
LIBRARY
Frankston South mother-of-three Lynda Miller has been a member of Frankston’s library for as long as she can remember and visited the Frankston branch when restrictions were lifted briefly last month.
“I felt safer being in the library than I had in pretty much any other public space since this all began and I’m sure everyone will feel the same way when the library is open again,” she said.
“The effort the staff have gone to ensure the community is safe and can still access this important and brilliant service is exceptional.
“In the meantime the service has so many online resources available to keep the community connected.”
ARTS AND CULTURE
Council has introduced a number of grants to support artists while in-person events are not available.
The group has thrown its support behind the Raise the Curtain fundraising event, set to be hosted by the ABC’s Giggle and Hoot star Jimmy Rees.
The show will be live streamed from Frankston Arts Centre on July 30.
In lieu of ticket sales, Jimmy and his brother Nick — the producer of Raise the Curtain — ask those who tune in to donate whatever they can afford, with 100 per cent of proceeds going to the show’s performers.
“Our industry is doing it tough at the moment and we wanted to give back to the amateur theatre community who provided us such an awesome pathway to start our careers,” Mr Rees said.
“We’re all so keen to get back on the stage and the Frankston Arts Centre has enabled us to do that by hosting this brilliant production for such a good cause.”
To find out how council can help you, visit frankston.vic.gov.au/FTLOF or call 1300 322 322 and ask to be put through to the Community Recovery Call Centre or Council’s Business Concierge.