Safety house plea

By Melissa Grant
PAKENHAM grandmother Dot Murphy is hoping to revive a Safety House program after the one which had been running for 25 years dissolved last week.
Ms Murphy said it was unfortunate the group was no longer, but was hopeful that enough people would put their hand up to be on a new committee.
The long-running program ended when just one person showed up for the group’s Annual General Meeting.
Seven people are needed on the committee to manage 75 safety houses in Pakenham.
The program has been struggling to attract volunteers. Nobody has joined the committee despite letter drops to thousands of households.
Four people responded to a public plea last week, but Ms Murphy said that wouldn’t be enough. She is hopeful that a few more residents will come on board to rebuild the program.
The sole committee member is a grandmother from Bunyip whose grandchildren attend school in Warragul.
Pakenham Safety House former president Barbara O’Connor and secretary Val Woods left the group last week after keeping the program afloat for the past six years. They hung on for the past 12 months hoping someone would take the reins, to no avail.
“It’s been a struggle to get people on the committee. Last year we said we’d had enough and we’d hang in there for one year,” Ms Woods said. “We do letter box drops about 1000 at a time and we don’t get any response, not one phone call. It’s sad when a safety house closes – there’s no where for the elderly or young children to go. With a safety house you know you can knock on that door.”
Ms Murphy, who helped run a successful campaign to save the Pakenham Pool, was keen for Safety House to continue in Pakenham.
“In this day and age we need them more than ever,” she said.
“We all have busy lives but it doesn’t take a lot of time to maintain the program.
Anyone interested in volunteering their time for a Pakenham Safety House Program is urged to call Dot Murphy on 5941 2041.