WIMMERA children could again be left with nowhere to go, less than a year after a fire ravaged a Horsham childcare centre.
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The Federation University building, destroyed by fire in November, housed Wimmera Uniting Care’s after-school care program.
Since the blaze, the program has been based at Horsham Primary School.
However, the venue now needs to find a new home.
Wimmera Uniting Care senior early years co-ordinator Katrina Scimone said the school needed to use its gymnasium again and her team had been searching tirelessly for a new location.
The venue change will also affect the organisation’s vacation care program.
“If we can’t find another venue we will have to stop our after-school care program and our vacation care program,” Ms Schimone said. “It would be terrible if it couldn’t run, because there is a real need for this service in the community.
“We need to find somewhere to put these children.
“We have exhausted all our efforts, but it’s difficult because the schools need to use their gymnasiums for sporting commitments.”
The after-school care involves about 15 children a day, while the vacation program attracts about 25 children a day.
Ms Scimone said despite turning to other schools and recreation venues, they had so far been unable to find a permanent location.
“We are deeply saddened by this situation as we’ve been providing this program to the community for the past 15 years and in that time it has benefited many families,” she said.
“After-school care is an important service for working parents and we’re exploring all options at this point.
“Horsham Primary School has been great – they accommodated us at short notice when we needed a space after the fire.”
Ms Schimone said anyone who had ideas on a suitable venue could let Wimmera Uniting Care know.
“We find school gymnasiums work best for the programs because we need a venue with a kitchen, toilets and room to store things,” she said. “The venue also has to meet department standards as well.”
The organisation has until the end of September to find a new venue, however, the programs will continue to run as normal until the end of fourth term.
Ms Schimone said she would meet with Horsham Rural City Council on Friday to explore any other options.
“It’s unfortunate this has happened but fingers crossed we can find a stable spot soon,” she said.
Ms Scimone said people could email earlyyearsmanagement@wuc.org.au or call 5362 4000 make suggestions of venues.