She is the newest addition to the Rochester Community House staff, starting this week in a community wellbeing role.
Bernadette’s position has been made possible through the generous sponsorship support of Kyabram Club and she brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills.
She is available every Monday and Friday at the Rochester Racecourse and Recreation Reserve (4Rs).
“We wanted to be able to provide grass roots support to the community, to assist flood-affected residents to process the impact of the natural disaster, commence healing and work towards rebuilding their lives,” Rochester Community House flood-recovery co-ordinator Tanya McDermott said.
“Bernadette is a kind, approachable and compassionate person but also has the formal education and training to offer tangible guidance, support, strategies and referral if needed.
“She is the perfect fit for this new role and is an enormous asset to our resource network; bit by bit we are putting the pieces of the puzzle together so that the community has everything it needs to get back on its feet.”
Chairman David Blake said The Kyabram Club was proud to support Bernadette’s appointment, recognising that health and wellbeing maintenance was integral to Rochester’s rebirth.
“The entire Kyabram community was deeply affected by the flood disaster in Rochester and we felt compelled to help our neighbours,” Mr Blake said.
“Our board approached Rochester Community House with an offer of support and agreed that the proposed community wellbeing role was a very worthwhile initiative.
“We were therefore delighted to provide financial assistance to make the project a reality.
“It’s exciting to have an appointment already in place and we look forward to seeing some great results.”