Achievements & Aspirations
The Neighbourhood Centre was established in 1979 and funded as an information and referral service to the wider community. As demographics change it has developed its capacity to provide flexible and targeted services and relief to disadvantaged and isolated community members while also developing the capacity of other services and groups to do the same. We are a leader in community development and direct service provision in this area and therefore have access to many partners and relevant/up-to-date information on local needs. The Neighbourhood Centre evolved into Manning Valley Neighbourhood Services which allowed for it to expand its range of services and capacity.
While we have some “core” services and programs, the services offered by Manning Valley Neighbourhood Services are constantly evolving and changing to meet the needs of the community and assist where service gaps are identified. Our intention, as a community development organisation is to stay close to the grass roots and work from a social justice perspective to address such things as structural disadvantage, empowerment, needs, and rights. Process can be as important as outcome.
A very important aspect of what we do is “partnership projects” – that is, working with other organisations or groups that have similar aims to meet the needs of a common client group or group of service users. We are not interested in competing, but in the best deal for the service users or members of our community.
We are most happy to assist and support other organisations or groups in the community in bringing their ideas to fruition where they sit within our overall aims and objectives. Many community services have been assisted by MVNS over the years and have moved on to be independent community services with the University of the Third Age and the National Association of Loss and Grief being prime examples.
Our Purpose is to make a difference in the lives of individuals and our community by:
- Resourcing and empowering
- Building community and social capital
- Acting as a catalyst in the development of sustainable infrastructure
- Directly assisting the disadvantaged
Our Clients are:
- Whole community and affiliated groups
- Socio/economically marginalized/isolated
· Women and children
· Young people
- Migrants and refugees
- Volunteers
- Other Community and Welfare service providers
Our Values
Our values underpin how we conduct ourselves.We promote a diverse and healthy community that turn supports all community members by:
- Having a holistic perspective of both our community and program delivery
- Respecting our clients in all ways (particularly client confidentiality and privacy)
- Delivering fair, accountable, transparent and responsible programs and services wiht integrity