The community of St George in the Balonne Shire is celebrating a new specialised wellbeing facility for First Nations people.
Managed by Goondir Health Services, the St George Community Wellbeing Centre hosts more than 40 programs and activities to support the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the area.
Programs include youth engagement, cultural development, education on nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle, as well as female empowerment.
The facility has a yarning circle, separate men’s and women’s hairdressers, a coffee shop, gym, recreational facilities, café, food distribution and storage areas, cultural art spaces, meeting spaces and a community garden — to name a few.
The centre, a re-built former RSL club, is funded by several partnerships, including two grants from the Murray-Darling Basin Enterprise Program and a $2 million investment from the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation.
Goondir Health Services Chief Executive Officer Floyd Leedie said the idea for a wellbeing centre had been in the back of his mind for a long time.
“The opportunity (to bring the project to life) really came when we heard that the old St George RSL was up for sale at a very reasonable price and considered it the ideal building in which to start our wellbeing centre initiative,” Mr Leedie said.
“With St George also being a Community of Interest to the government because of its location and the issues the town faces, we thought that we would have a better chance of getting the necessary funds needed to bring this project to fruition.”
An official opening ceremony was held on 10 April, which included a Welcome to Country and didgeridoo performance.
The building was officially opened by Maranoa MP and leader of the National Party, Hon. David Littleproud MP.
Mr Littleproud also officially launched the Wunna Yarn Wunna Cut Barbershop and announced the release of the Big Buddy Cookbook, Cooking Monsters.
Cooking Monsters was created through research conducted with the Big Buddy Program which seeks to empower “…Indigenous youth to achieve their full potential and thrive through Social Inclusion, Mentorship, Providing Life skills and Education (SIMPLE).”
Renae Earle, a University of Queensland PhD candidate placed with Health & Wellbeing Queensland, conducted her research around youth and nutrition and the cookbook was the result of her work.
Children involved in the Big Buddy Program were on hand to help with the catering for the event, in conjunction with the volunteer chefs at FareShare and supported by Foodbank.
Mr Leedie said having a wide range of services under one roof would hopefully prove beneficial for the community of St George.
“The Centre is a one-stop-shop which gives the people of St George a better chance of accessing the services, programs and activities that can help make their lives better: by addressing many issues around health and social determinants of health in the one spot,” he said.
It can become the gathering place for residents for social inclusion, as there is no other facility like it in St George.
“We even plan to bring new services, programs and activities to St George that don’t yet exist in the community.”
Mr Leedie said that although it was early days, many residents in St George had shown excitement for the new facility.
“I’ve been told, ‘we always wanted a space where us and our daughters and granddaughters can conduct women’s business and pamper ourselves in privacy’ and ‘we finally have a place to hold our celebrations.’”
