Safety House plea

By Melissa Grant
A PAKENHAM grandmother has called for residents to rebuild a Safety House program after the one which had been running for 25 years last week disbanded.
Dot Murphy says it is a great shame that the Pakenham group is no longer, but is hopeful enough people will get on board to form a new committee.
The program officially ended when only one person showed up for the group’s annual general meeting.
There are 75 Safety Houses in Pakenham, but nobody has put their hand up to be on the committee, despite letter drops to thousands of households.
Pakenham Safety House former president Barbara O’Connor and secretary Val Woods had kept the program running for the last six years.
They hung on for the last 12 months hoping someone would take the reins, but 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 letterbox 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 nowhere for the elderly or young children to go.
“With a Safety House you know you can knock on that door.”
Seven people were needed to keep the Safety House committee running, but there was only one.
“We have one committee member, a grandmother from Bunyip whose grandchildren go to Warragul (schools),” Ms Woods said. “I really enjoyed it but there comes a time when you have to give it away.”
Ms Murphy 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. About 18 months ago I letterbox dropped every house in Lakeside Pakenham to try and get members or people willing to be Safety Houses. There has been no support at all – it’s been unbelievable.”
There are about 8,000 Safety Houses across Victoria which are identified by their iconic yellow triangles.
They provide places for children and seniors to turn to when they feel unsafe or need urgent assistance.
Anyone interested in volunteering their time for a Pakenham Safety House Program is urged to call Dot Murphy on 5941 2041.