On Wednesday 6 March 2019, the “Mitchell Street Community Centre Needs Assessment” report by WA Centre for Rural Health Project Officer Lenny Papertalk was launched.
The report came about from an identified need for community consultation to ascertain the priorities and interest of the community for the Mitchell Street Community Centre in Spalding.
The Mitchell Street Community Centre Needs Assessment was a collaborative community consultation partnership between the WA Centre for Rural Health and Desert Blue Connect, utilising the learning goals of Lenny Papertalk, a local Aboriginal Social Work Student on 13-week first year practical placement at Desert Blue Connect.
Through the use of surveys and community group meetings, the study sought to provide an opportunity for Spalding residents, Bluff Point Primary School community, current user groups and other interested stakeholders to have a voice about what services and supports they would like to see operate from the Mitchell Street Community Centre.
A total of 150 surveys were completed over a period of 8 weeks. 80 surveys were completed from Bluff Point Primary School and 70 from the Spalding community.
The intention of the assessment was to build an evidence base for more targeted planning and service provision to the centre, which is leased by the WA Centre for Rural Health.
Local service providers, politicians and community members gathered at the launch of the report to hear the recommendations that came out of the survey results.
A generalised medical service was ranked as the greatest need by 67 per cent of respondents, while mental health and wellbeing services were listed as the second highest need by 65 per cent of people.
The centre has already demonstrated a good uptake of after school/holiday programs being provided by Geraldton Sporting Aboriginal Corporation and the WA Centre for Rural Health that are planned to continue in the future.
Professor Sandra Thompson, Director of the WA Centre for Rural Health said that further discussion and planning now needs to occur between interested stakeholders and service providers about interest and capacity to best meet identified needs and for more effective promotion of the centre and its activities moving into 2019.
For copies of this report, contact the WA Centre for Rural Health on 9956 0200 or email admin-wacrh@uwa.edu.au.
Pictures: Mia Jeffrey, Marketing and Communications Officer, WACRH
For all media enquiries, please contact the Marketing and Communications Officer at WACRH via email to Mia.Jeffrey@uwa.edu.au or by phoning (08) 9956 0225.