'Keep Our Doors Open': Neighbourhood Houses Victoria calls for urgent funding support

Carlton Neighbourhood learning Centre. (Credit: Blake Lee)

Neighbourhood Houses Victoria is calling on the State Government to provide an extra $11.7 million in annual funding, warning some centres may close without urgent support.

Rising costs and increased community demand have forced the sector to advocate for the past six months through their “Keep Our Doors Open” campaign.

Around 185,000 Victorians use neighbourhood houses each week, despite half of the state’s 400 centres operating at a deficit last year.

Keir Paterson, CEO of Neighbourhood Houses Victoria, says that the Neighbourhood House Coordination Program, through which neighbourhood houses are funded, provides less funding than it did a decade ago.

“We actually found it takes 101 per cent of the funding, so more than is actually offered under the funding, to employ the manager,” Paterson said.

Opening hours are at their lowest level in a decade, with many neighbourhood houses having to reduce services to remain sustainable. 

“If the funding increase doesn’t go ahead, we will see some neighbourhood houses close their doors completely,” he said.

Tony Milne, CEO of the Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre, says it has already had to shut down programs.

The centre previously offered community support three days a week at the Carlton public housing towers, including food relief, education programs and old laptops for those without access to devices.

“We had to close that service because we just simply didn’t have the funding to make that support sustainable,” Milne said.

Milne says the centre provides important opportunities for people who may otherwise feel isolated.

“For many people, this is their first main support service when they come to Australia,” he said.

He says neighbourhood houses often act as an entry point for migrants and refugees, offering English language classes, skills training and broader support such as housing and health assistance.

One participant who arrived at the centre non-verbal and relying on her sister for support now catches the tram each morning with friends she met through the centre’s ‘All Abilities’ program.

“It’s really been transformational for her and her family.”

Neighbourhood Houses across Victoria have collected hundreds of postcards from their communities to hand to their local members of Parliament in an effort to have their message heard.

Hundreds of Neighbourhood Houses Victoria employees and community members also gathered on the steps of Parliament in February to call for more funding.

Milne says that with additional funding, neighbourhood houses could expand their impact across communities.

“We can take a little bit of money and make it go a really long way.”

For participants like Georgia, who visits the Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre once a week for education and recreational activities, the centre offers a chance to feel connected to the community.

“I’m able to catch up with friends and be social because I don’t have any brothers or sisters; I’m an only child,” Georgia said.

Milne says neighbourhood houses play an important role in strengthening communities.

“These programs are really the glue that holds our communities together,” he said.

The Victorian Government says it considered the funding request prior to the release of the State Budget.