Social Services

Planned Activities Group (PAG) operates five days per week and includes some weekend excursions. The activities are designed to provide clients with physical, social, intellectual and emotional stimulation.

Regular activities for the year are as follows:

• Water aerobics (weekly)
• Centre-based meals (twice weekly)
• Friendship sewing group (every first and third Thursday of the month)
• Gentle and arthritis exercises (weekly)
• Bridge club (twice weekly)
• Walking group (weekly)
• Movie afternoons (monthly)
• Book club (monthly)
• Bus trips out of town (fortnightly)

Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) - provides help to young people, single adults and families who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. This program is Australia wide, and is funded by the Commonwealth and State Governments.

Support is provided according to assessed needs, and covers a flexible and wide range of areas, such as housing, health, financial, emotional support, legal, education and training.

SAAP has specific responsibilities for one three-bedroom house and two, two-bedroom units in Mallacoota. The three-bedroom house is used for the Kids Under Cover Program, which is available for young homeless persons aged between 15 years and 20 years on an assessed needs basis. MDHSS is the auspice community organisation that acts on behalf of Kids Under Cover Inc.

The second property is a Transitional Housing duplex funded by Community Housing Limited (Bairnsdale), managed by MDHSS, and is available for homeless persons for short to medium term rental, while they receive support to find ongoing private rental or more secure housing.

Youth Services - provides a comprehensive range of events and activities aimed at the young people in the Mallacoota, Gipsy Point, Genoa and surrounding areas. Youth Services is responsible for the development of programs and events to engage youth to participate in community activities.

MDHSS Youth Services provides a weekly Youth Group targeted at young people in the 10 to 18 year age group who reside in the Mallacoota, Gipsy Point, Genoa and surrounding areas. Youth Group is conducted every Thursday from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm in the Men's Shed at MDHSS. A small entry fee of $2.00 applies to cover expenses such as food, soft drinks and movies.

If you are interested in attending Youth Group you must get your parents to complete a Youth Group Participation Agreement. Please fill in this form, get your parents to sign it and hand it in at Youth Group.

Youth Group is a great place to participate in fully supervised activities such as table tennis, pool, woodwork, pizza and popcorn making, movie marathon and sleep over nights, cricket and soccer.

During the school holiday periods, MDHSS Youth Services provides a fully supervised program of events for young people between the ages of 10 and 18 years.

Coota Connections Life Skills Program (YPAP) - The Department for Victorian Communities has funded Mallacoota District Health and Support Service to run the Youth Participation Access Program (YPAP) 'Coota Connections' for 3 years from 2005.

The program principles include: generalist and holistic approaches to working with young people and youth empowerment through participation and development. The program aims to assist young people aged 12 to 25 years overcome barriers, access opportunities and to become more connected with their local communities. Flexibility is an essential component to ensure the program meets local needs. To achieve this, the program will use a collaborative and inclusive approach using local knowledge to build on the strengths of the community. This program has identified that young people need support in relation to: increasing access and participation in social, learning and cultural opportunities in the community; and managing issues in the transition to adulthood, such as social isolation and family conflict.

Disability Services (Futures for Young Adults and Flexible Support Packages) - MDHSS manages the 'Making a Difference' and 'Futures for Young Adults' programs. These packages are proactive and enable MDHSS to provide excursions, which promote social interaction, the development of life skills and provide an opportunity for experiences outside of Mallacoota.

Volunteer Program - Volunteers assist with a range of programs conducted by MDHSS. The work of Volunteers is critical to the success of the organisation. Volunteers are active in driving the bus locally and out of town, assisting with kitchen duties, coordinating book club, coordinating kitchen rosters, supervising the walking program, growing herbs and vegetables in the garden, assisting with games and movie afternoons, assisting in the Telecentre, Occasional Childcare Centre, and support groups organised by the Neighbourhood House program and transporting clients to medical appointments in Mallacoota. For more information on volunteering, and how to apply check out the Volunteering page of this web site.

Volunteer Transport Service - MDHSS is funded by the Home and Community Care Program (HACC) for volunteer coordination to provide a volunteer based community transport service. The volunteer transport service assists eligible clients to attend their nearest specialist medical appointments. Eligible clients are frail aged and other people with a disability and their carers who do not have family or friends to transport them to their specialist medical appointments.

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