Mornington Community Support Centre

The kids are alright! Our big thanks to Jhett, James, Harley, Ben and Charlie from Elizabeth Murdoch College - who not only came to visit, but baked some choc-chip cookies for our clients - and they taste-tested delicious! After hearing about our work the students popped in, asked lots of questions, helped serve food and drinks in the café and chatted with the volunteers and clients. And it was smiles all round after a hard days work, with a lasting messag: “Thank you to the wonderful staff who welcomed us to this wonderful place. Helping out today has been a gift.” Thank you for baking for us and caring for our community, it means a lot! #communitysupportingcommunity #morningtoncommunitysupportcentre #volunteer

We love it when our friends come to visit! And we loved hosting our local @colessupermarkets managers to hear about what we do and how we store the produce they donate to us. Here we all are outside our @communitybank_mt_martha Coolroom - with our local @secondbiteorg managers and our Fresh Food Manager Shelley and our volunteers Margaret, Tim and John. Thanks Coles and Second Bite for coming to our place and seeing up close how your help helps us help the community we love! 📷✍️ @traceehutch #communitysupportingcommunity #coles #secondbite #communitybank

Congratulations to our CEO Ben Smith, the newly announced YMCA/City of Melbourne Victorian Father of the Year 2024! The award recognises an outstanding community leader making a profound and positive impact on the lives of young people. A proud and devoted Dad to Pippa, we see Ben’s leadership in our community up close at MCSC, and as a Board member at youth homelessness organisation Fusion and also on the Board of Community Information and Support Victoria. “I’ve learned that being there for my family, being actively involved in their lives, is incredibly important. In family we rely on each other, and I believe that community is no different. That’s the same approach I bring to my work at the Mornington Community Support Centre. To be involved and create spaces where people feel supported and valued. When we invest in each other, when we take the time to connect and build relationships, we all benefit,” Ben says. Congratulations Ben - we’re super proud of you! #fatheroftheyear2024 #morningtoncommunitysupportcentre #ymca

In tough times we find hope! And we couldn’t do it without our incredible supporting partners who helped fund The Ranch documentary, Huge shout out to our friends @mornington_rotary_club - a major funder of The Ranch documentary - pictured here at a special preview screening at the Community Centre. The Ranch is a powerful and impactful film about the our crisis accommodation facility, and the homelessness crisis on the Mornington Peninsula. Thank you to director Damian McLindon, Producer Kezia Brett and your team at @morningtonpeninsulafilms for a superbly crafted and powerful capture of this important issue in our community. If you missed the film at the two sold out sessions at Rosebud this week you can view it online for the month of August. 1. Go to https://lnkd.in/eg2tZph9 (or link in our bio) 2. Make a donation. You choose the amount! (min $2) 3. You will receive a link to watch The Ranch online (during August 2024). And stay tuned for more screening opportunities #HW2024 #homelessnessawareness #communitysupportingcommunity #morningtoncommunitysupportcentre #volunteer

What a night! Huge thanks to the over 300 people who filled two cinemas at The Rosebud Cinema to watch the premiere of The Ranch documentary. We couldn’t be prouder of our involvement with this film - and its call to action for urgent funding for public and affordable housing on the Mornington Peninsula. Stay tuned for more screening opportunities and how you can support our work at the frontline of the housing and homelessness crisis on the Peninsula. Head to The Ranch Documentary https://lnkd.in/g_8VnUrA for more details. Here’s a capture of the Q&A panel discussion with our CEO Ben Smith, Kara from @southernpeninsulacommunitysupport, Jac from @fusionmorningtonpeninsula and hosted by our very own @traceehutch #HW2024 #homelessnessawareness #communitysupportingcommunity #morningtoncommunitysupportcentre #volunteer

It's National Homelessness Week and we're proud to be partnering with support centres across the Peninsula - Mornington Community Support Centre Southern Peninsula Community Support and Western Port Community Support, youth agency Fusion Mornington Peninsula and the The Salvation Army - Victoria - on a podcast produced by Livemp and Mornington Peninsula Shire on the homelessness crisis on the Mornington Peninsula. Hosted by our very own local journalist and broadcaster Tracee Hutchison - this series is a powerful insight into the lived experience of people experiencing homelessness on the Peninsula - and the people who are holding the safety net for our most vulnerable together. https://lnkd.in/e7KiM4f4

Community Support Centres in Rosebud, Hastings and Mornington are joining forces with youth homelessness organisation Fusion, The Salvation Army, and the Mornington Peninsula Shire to raise awareness for Homelessness Week with a big event in Mornington Park on FRIDAY 9th AUGUST. Over a third of Mornington Peninsula residents are experiencing rental and housing stress, and the numbers of people without safe and secure housing on the Peninsula is increasing as cost of living pressures and the lack of affordable housing impact an increasing number of people in our local community. Responding to the national theme – Homelessness Action Now – the event will focus on the escalating housing and homelessness crisis on the Mornington Peninsula through a series of guest speakers and a Walk Without Home interactive experience. MCSC CEO Ben Smith said: “We have a housing crisis on the Mornington Peninsula. The community support centres in Rosebud, Hastings and Mornington, and other agencies like Fusion and The Salvation Army together with incredible generosity and support from our local communities, are all doing the best we can to keep the safety net in place for people doing it tough. But that safety net is held together by volunteers and donated food, and just one crisis accommodation facility serving the entire Peninsula. We need action from all levels of Government to ensure we can meet the growing need, and we need action now.” The event will be MC’d by local broadcaster and journalist Tracee Hutchison and include music from local bands East Ferns, Ed Moon, and Sam Boyden. There will be food trucks and a Reflection Ceremony to close the night. The free event is supported by Mornington Peninsula Shire, which has declared a housing emergency on the Mornington Peninsula in response to the lack affordable housing for local residents. Event details: Mornington Park, Friday August 9th, 6pm #hw2024 #homelessnessawareness #communitysupportingcommunity #morningtoncommunitysupportcentre #volunteer

📣📣Additional screening announcement! 📣📣 Due to overwhelming demand to see the premiere of The Ranch documentary - we’re running TWO SCREENINGS simultaneously at Rosebud Cinema on Monday August 5th.. Additional tickets are now available through Humanitix https://lnkd.in/g5kxGVsu Mornington Community Support Centre has operated The Ranch crisis accommodation since 2021, in partnership with Southern Peninsula Community Support and other agencies - with no Government funding. Local community banded together and made it happen. It continues without certainty, and with the constant threat of closure. The Ranch is a 30 minute film which speaks honestly and authentically. See the trailer here: https://lnkd.in/g_8VnUrA The night begins at 7pm with music by local singer/songwriter Maxon, the film screens at 8pm, followed by a 30-40minute panel discussion. 📍Please note due to capacity limits - tickets purchased to the additional screening will not include access to the Q&A. The film screening coincides with National Homelessness Week - https://lnkd.in/g8A5ezt2 - with a theme this year of Homelessness Action Now. The overwhelming interest in this film sends a pretty clear message people on in our community want action on the homeless and affordable housing crisis on the Peninsula. Our thanks to Peninsula Films, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Mornington Rotary and our generous supporting partners. We are proud to be involved in this film.

We’re so much cooler now! We’re so grateful to our major community partner @communitybank_mt_martha - and the bank’s Stronger Community Grants - which awarded us $15,000 earlier this year to purchase a brand new mobile cool room. MCSC CEO Ben Smith says the cool room is already making a big difference to our ability to help people in need through our Fresh Food Program. “Cost of living pressures are really biting and we’re seeing a big increase in people looking for support. The cool room has already improved our ability to provide quality fresh produce to people struggling to make ends meet. Our donations come in at random times in varying quantities, so to have a space which effectively levies the produce so that we can offer it equally across the days and weeks is brilliant. The support of Community Bank Mt Martha means we can take care of people who need it most in our community. We’re so grateful to our local community for supporting the local bank, which in turn supports us!” The Community Bank Mt Martha is a major supporter of our work at the Centre, and we couldn’t be prouder to be amongst the 16 community not-for-profit groups who shared the $140,000 grants allocated earlier this year. 80% of the bank’s profits are given back to the local community and, as our local community bank, we share a strong values-alignment giving back to our community. Thank you Community Bank Mt Martha, your support makes a huge difference in the lives of so many people in our community - and especially through our work at MCSC - we are proud to sail with you! Here’s a very cool pic of CEO Ben Smith, with Stacey, John & Gary from Community Bank Mt Martha. #communitysupportingcommunity #morningtoncommunitysupportcentre #volunteer #communitybank #communitybankmountmartha #freshfood

We’re so proud to work with @secondbiteorg as one of our major fresh food partners, and it was a thrill for us to host SecondBite Ambassador Matt Preston @mattscravat in our Meeting Room cafe recently to help launch their winter appeal. Check out the article below. Thank you Matt for coming to visit, and to Simone Carson and the team at SecondBite - we love you too! This is community supporting community at its very best. #communitysupportingcommunity #morningtoncommunitysupportcentre #volunteer https://lnkd.in/eV8H4f2N