Murray Bridge Community Centre will open wellbeing hub on Edwards Square

Exciting times lie ahead for the non-profit organisation, which has had a series of funding wins in recent months.

Peri Strathearn

Dec 20, 2022 — 3 min read

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Sarah Smith and Jade Porter plot new ways of helping the Murray Bridge community in their office at the Square Community Centre. Photo: Peri Strathearn.

Exciting times lie ahead for Murray Bridge Community Centre in 2023.

A series of funding wins mean the centre will be able to offer more programs than ever, as well as officially opening its second site at Edwards Square.

The Square Community Centre, as the former senior citizens’ clubrooms will be known, is already being used by mental health service Skylight and other local service providers on a regular basis.

The building will soon become a wellbeing hub for Murray Bridge, too: somewhere local people can go to participate in activities that benefit their wellbeing, such as fitness classes, craft workshops or adult education.

The community centre’s coordinators, Jade Porter and Sarah Smith, said it had been a busy year.

On top of the wellbeing hub funding, they have secured:

Funding to employ Helen Mattick as a safety hub coordinator, helping women access information and escape domestic violence, from the Women’s Information Service
$50,000 for a series of 12 workshops intended to reduce isolation and build resilience, from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
$22,000 for a “click and connect” hub, where community members will be able to access laptops and videoconferencing facilities, from the state Department of Human Services

“Whatever the community wants to see, we’re going to aim to fill those needs,” Ms Smith said.

That included anything that could help people reconnect with each other, and the wider community, post-COVID.

“COVID has driven everyone indoors,” she said.

“We want to give the whole community opportunities to re-engage in safe events.”

Murray Bridge Community Centre was announced as the new tenant of the council-owned building on Edwards Square in March. Photo: Rural City of Murray Bridge.

The centre will also add a part-time wellbeing hub coordinator to its staff in the new year, thanks to funding from Wellbeing SA and support from the Murray Bridge council.

Council CEO Michael Sedgman said COVID-19 had shown the importance of community wellbeing.

“We are always striving to support our communities in ways that work and are meaningful to the people who live here,” he said.

“I’m very pleased the community was willing to engage with us on this issue and provide the feedback we need to make informed decisions.”

An official opening for the Square Community Centre will likely be held sometime in January or February, too.

The centre’s original site, on Beatty Terrace, will continue to offer programs including connection for people with dementia, mosaic-making and basic digital skills; and services including free legal advice and relationship support.

The centre is closed for Christmas but will reopen on January 9.