When CareSouth opened its purpose-built Berkeley building three years ago CEO Deb Tozer wanted the space to belong not just to our staff and clients but also to the community.

Deb and her team created CareSouth’s Community Hub in a bid to build cohesive communities by bringing together people from all walks of life. Each week CareSouth’s Community Hub runs activities which focus on improving the health and well-being of staff, children, young people and the greater community. These include free health screening checks for the community, educational and physical activities and healthy communal meals.
A healthy community is a happy community and CareSouth’s Hub Development Officer Natalie Nicastri has been working closely with local service providers to develop free community health checks, including obesity workshops, dental clinics, and eye screening tests, in the Community Hub.

CareSouth’s first Health Hub in February was a great success with over 40 children seeing the dentist and optometrist, some for the first time. Our next Health Hub will be on April 20 and we are expecting children from the wider community to take advantage of this free service.

Natalie has also set up a weekly community walking group to reinforce the importance of a healthy lifestyle and self-care. In Term 3 CareSouth will partner with Go4Fun – a free 10 week healthy lifestyle program for kids aged 7-13 who are above a healthy weight. The program focuses on improving eating habits, fitness and confidence.

Communal eating and growing fresh produce also plays a key part in CareSouth’s Hub development. Each month CareSouth holds a Meet and Eat where staff volunteer their time to cook up a feast for the local community. Natalie said Meet and Eat numbers are increasing each month, with families from across the Illawarra enjoying the opportunity to eat out and catch up with friends.
CareSouth, in partnership with Wollongong Botanic Garden and Berkeley Neighbourhood Centre, has also been involved in a community bush tucker garden beside our Berkeley office. A horticulturist from the Wollongong Botanic Gardens has donated 30 native, edible plants and will teach the community, including young people from Berkeley Neighbourhood Centre’s Youth Project, how to grow, maintain and care for them. Produce from the garden will be used to cook a community meal for NAIDOC week celebrations.

“Gardening gives everyone the opportunity to contribute,” said Natalie. “And with a little effort we get immediate results that we all can see. The kids are taking ownership of the project and are genuinely excited to start planting next week. One of the teenagers involved in the project says he checks on the garden beds each afternoon and says it already looking amazing.”
Education is also a key component of the Hub’s weekly activities and provides a safe space for students in our Out-Of-Home-Care, Residential Care, CareSouth Aunties & Uncles and Brighter Futures programs to receive weekly tutoring sessions from volunteer mentors in our Homework Hub.

The Hub also runs supported playgroups and Music Time Twist sessions for children who are not yet in school. The sessions encourage children to play, dance, move and sing while also focusing on language and literacy skills.
“My vision is for the Hub to become a gathering place within the Berkeley community, providing space for locals and other service providers to participate in activities and to access services,” said Natalie. “I’m always looking for new opportunities to offer appropriate activities. It’s been great getting to know the local community and being able to respond to their needs.”