SSRV offers assistance to Victorians experiencing Centrelink issues and community workers who assist them, and this was no more evident than in November, when we travelled to regional Victoria to hold a series of workshops and information sessions.
The schedule of road trips kicked off on 9 November when SSRV Community Lawyers, Veronica and Aylin, headed to Central Rural Highlands Health in Daylesford, to deliver a training session on the Disability Support Pension.
We were so pleased to see the passion and enthusiasm of the health workers, committed to helping people collect medical evidence to support applications and appeals.
Afterwards, Veronica and Aylin headed across to Ballarat to pay a visit to our colleagues at Ballarat and Grampians Community Legal Service, and share information about our Disaster Preparedness and Response work.
Then, on 22 November, Veronica hit the road again, this time with Mark, an SSRV project worker. Their destination was the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC) and the function they were attending was Community Justice Day.
Community Justice Day was organised by the Consumer Action Law Centre and BDAC, and was an opportunity for community members to engage with organisations that could offer support and advice. It was wonderful to meet some of the people we and others help, as well as connect with workers.
Then it was off to the Bendigo offices of ARC Justice, where we provided an overview of SSRV’s services to lawyers and workers, including our disaster preparedness and response work.
The geographic region covered by ARC Justice was had hit by flooding in late 2022 and supporting the community has been a major focus of ARC Justice and our disaster work over the past year.
It was a great opportunity for both organisations to better understand how we can work together to achieve justice for clients.
Community legal centres located in rural and regional areas are often at the frontline when bushfires, floods or other disasters occur. SSRV recognises and applauds their work in responding to these events and their aftermath.
We take the ‘Victoria’ in Social Security Rights Victoria very seriously and will continue to engage with regional legal centres and community organisations in 2024.
