Thanks also to the RACV for a quick response and the blokes and staff at Horsham Tyre and Battery Service for great service and kindness. We have some very kind people in the Wimmera and Mallee.

Ann Neville, Woomelang 

THANK you to Wendy Donald for her outstanding appreciation of the history and role of the Wesley Performing Arts Centre in Horsham. Wesley is a fine example of what community spirit and hard work can achieve. I recall so many happy memories of amateur theatre there. It is just the right size for so many performances. I also recall its appropriateness for funerals and farewells.

Please, let us know what we can do so that all this is not lost.

Pam Cupper, Dimboola 

CARERS in the Wimmera will benefit from Victoria’s first whole-of-government strategy which aims to better recognise the important role of carers and provide additional support over the next four years.

The Victorian Carer Strategy 2018-22 focuses on providing greater access to support groups, financial services and transport, and better identification and help for young carers. The state government will invest an additional $1.2 million for extra respite, school holiday programs and support for young carers, as well as more support for carers of people with a mental illness.

In 2015, the Australian Unity Wellbeing index found carers have the lowest wellbeing of any large group. They often ignore their own health, and are 40 per cent more likely to have a chronic health condition.

Across Victoria, more than 736,600 carers give their time, effort and love to look after a family member or friend who needs them.

In addition to the significant contribution carers make to their family and their community, the important work they do also provides a $15 billion benefit to the economy every year.

The strategy will help give carers more opportunities to be physically and mentally healthy and socially connected, and improve access to education, employment and peer led support programs. It is widely recognised that when carers are supported, they enjoy a better quality of life and have improved health and wellbeing.

Jaala Pulford, Member for Western Victoria

MOST don’t know what it is like to sleep out in the cold, to not know where they will get their next meal, to be forced to sleep with their shoes on just so they can make a quick escape if someone comes to harm them. 

Most don’t pay too much attention to those sleeping rough. But I do.

This week is Homelessness week.

Everybody needs a home and no one deserves to be left out on the streets.

I started Youth Off The Streets in Kings Cross by feeding the local homeless kids and that was just the beginning, I started to recognise the dire need for something more. 

Now my organisation has many housing options available for young people but homelessness remains a significant issue.

In NSW alone, homelessness rates have risen by 27 per cent since 2011, and the numbers aren’t much better in other states and territories. 

We as a country need to stop ignoring homelessness and begin to take positive steps to help Australians in need.

So much can be done to prevent this issue; we need to give struggling families a boost before homeless becomes an unfortunate reality.

Father Chris Riley chief executive and founder, Youth Off The Streets