Safe houses under threat

Pakenham Safety House committee secretary Val Woods (left) and president Barbara O’Connor are pleading to local residents to help keep the community safe.

By Sarah Schwager
PAKENHAM Safety House desperately needs the local community to get involved if it is to keep operational.
The program has helped keep children aware of the danger of talking to strangers and bullying for more than 20 years, and has provided a safe haven for community members.
Pakenham Safety House committee president Barbara O’Connor said Pakenham’s population had continued to grow, yet the number of people involved in the program had dwindled.
“We have 65 safety houses at the moment,” Mrs O’Connor said.
“At one stage, we had 200. You’d think with the size of Pakenham it would have expanded.”
Volunteers from the program visit Pakenham Hills Primary School, Pakenham Consolidated School, St Patricks Primary School and Pakenham Secondary College to speak to children about safety and let them know where their nearest safety house is.
At the moment, there are only six people on the committee.
Committee secretary Val Woods said Safety House had lost many of their volunteer householders over the past few years as people had gone back to work.
Recently, both the local Neighbourhood Watch and the Garfield Safety House have closed down.
“We don’t want to see the program fold,” Mrs Woods said.
“We’re not asking much. There’s not much involved, and the more houses we’ve got, it acts as a deterrent.”
Mrs O’Connor said people who worked could still become monitors.
This involves monitoring between three and six safety houses once each school term to check that the residents are still living there and there are no changing circumstances such as a new dog, an extra person living in the house or a child who has turned 17.
To become a house-holder, all those over the age of 17 need to have a police check.
Mrs O’Connor said they always welcomed businesses and shops to become safety houses.
“It’s good to have the shops involved as kids are often down the street,” she said.
She said they really wanted to encourage younger people, such as prep mums, to become involved in Pakenham Safety House.
“We realise we’re all busy, but surely for their kids’ safety, they would be willing to put in some extra time,” Mrs O’Connor said.
“People can do monitoring whenever it suits them.
“Val and I work too but we still find time.”
Anyone who is interested in becoming a committee member or monitor is invited to attend a Safety House meeting at 7pm on Monday 27 March at 20 Bridle Place, Pakenham.
For more information, call Val Woods on 5941 3180 or Barbara O’Connor on 5941 2312.