On the 15th of August 2018, Clarinda Park Photography was really fortunate to see and experience the services Neighbourhood Central offers to its clients. I was hired to take photos and capture moments of the support workers and their clients. In this article I can't mention their names and put their photos up, but i just wanted to share the experience I had.
Neighbourhood Central operates in Parkes and in nearby towns such as Forbes, Trundle, Condobolin, Peak Hill, and Tullamore offering different services to the community.
I met some of the Neighbourhood Central workers and clients, and they are all lovely.
FIRST STOP: FORBES
I met 3 lovely ladies (clients) & their support workers/volunteers, and a group of ladies in the craft group.
Support Workers / Volunteers I met on the day organized the shopping & grocery needs for the clients, and assist them on anything they may need.
There was also a small community group of ladies in Forbes doing their craft work. It was nice seeing them laughing and having a good time.
SECOND STOP: PARKES (Neighbourhood Central HQ)
On this day, there was a luncheon gathering at the Headquarters of Neighbourhood Central in Parkes.
From what I could gather, once a month, Volunteers and Workers prepare and cook the lunch for the clients for a very reasonable price and for a very good food. I almost ask for a second plate :)
This kind of event gives the clients a reason to go out of their house and have a chat with other people.
I met some lovely ladies who work in the kitchen. Some of them already know me because of my association with the Dumesny, a local family here in Parkes. ;)
THIRD STOP: PARKES (Rosedurnate Aged Care Plus Centre)
Some of the Neighbourhood Central clients are in the Aged Care facility, and one of them is the Rosedurnate Aged Care in Parkes.
My task here was to take photos of their clients with the visiting family member (if possible).
Rosedurnate Aged Care offers a 24/7 care support facility, but it also has units for independent living.
FOURTH STOP: PEAK HILL (Community Hub)
By this time, it is almost time for my afternoon "siesta" but I really fought hard not to dose off during the drive from Parkes to Peak Hill. ;)
In here I met 3 support workers. I already met them before during the Trundle Abba Festival and during the NAIDOC event.
Most days of the week, they organize events here and there for their community. And during this day, we had a group of girls on their early teens.
One by one, the girls had a chance to be interviewed in their local fm station, 89.5 FM.
FIFTH STOP: PARKES
And to end the day, we visited a client whom Neighbourhood Central organized a home modification.
SIXTH STOP: PARKES
Neighbourhood Central asked if i could spare another time the following day to take photos of another client.
This one was different experience since I only have this 1 client and the support worker. I get to sit down with them and have a chat and know both of them.
The previous day, we were running on a tight schedule and we can only spend about 15-20 minutes for each "stop". But with this "Sixth Stop", I was able to spend time to know more about the client and the support worker/volunteer. :)
NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRAL offers a wide range of services to the community:
- Assistance for People with Disability
- Assistance for People with Old Age
- Organizing community groups. Here are the different groups they have: Please Click Here.
I once applied for a marketing officer position for an organization similar to Neighbourhood Central. Though I did not get the job, I was enlightened on the result of research on this industry.
Even though I only had a day and a half to take photos of what Neighbourhood Central does, the experience was an "eye opener" for me on how other people really need help, and that Neighbourhood Central is here to help the community and they really make life a bit better for those who may need assistance in daily living.
I would like to thank again Neighbourhood Central for having me as your photographer for this day.