New era for long-running home help
It was a packed house on Friday when community members and special guests attended the official opening of the long-anticipated Manjimup Wellness and Respite Centre.
It was standing room only as about 300 people congregated in the centre’s conference room.
Manjimup Home and Community Care manager Liz Lockyear said HACC got its start in the region in 1987 in the shires of Boyup Brook, Bridgetown-Greenbushes and Manjimup.
“Manjimup community home care has grown over those past 30 years, from originally providing domestic support from a volunteer car boot, to small rental on Rose Street, next to a rented house on Bath Street, then a shared rental with the Department of Education back on Rose Street, to this modern, purpose-built, purpose-designed facility that you see here today,” she said.
“It’s all ours, which has been bought and paid for.
Ms Lockyear said the respite rooms at the centre would open in July and also become a cottage respite provider.
“I would like to acknowledge the beginnings, from Windmill, which still continues its valuable work today by providing independent living homes to people living with a disability,” she said.
“I’d like to acknowledge the previous managers, the dedicated staff and volunteers over the years, the valuable team we have today and of course, our clients.”
O’Connor MHR Rick Wilson officially opened the centre following speeches from other dignitaries such as Manjimup shire president Paul Omodei, Warren-Blackwood MLA Terry Redman and South West MLC Adele Farina.
“It was something that was always going to be a good project,” Mr Wilson said.
“It really supports the Federal Government’s agenda that supports people living at home as long as possible before moving into the next stage of their lives.”
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