Category: Burdekin Life Article

Last Friday, the Burdekin Move IT Program came to an end, bringing up a lot of emotions for everyone involved. This program was made possible with the support of North Queensland PHN, Burdekin Shire Council, MoveIT NQ, and NQ Sports Foundation.

We want to express our sincere

thanks to the Burdekin Shire Council for giving us the chance to make a positive impact on our community. It’s been incredible to witness the changes in everyone over the past 16 weeks. The connections and friendships that have developed among the participants, Andrea, and ourselves have brought genuine joy. The arrival of the Monday and Friday groups at the Centre was always filled with excitement and anticipation. We are truly moved (no pun intended!) by the experience and its positive impact.

Programs like MoveIT don’t just happen on their own, so we have been working behind the scenes to find the right funding to keep the program going, although it will be under a different name. We are still working on this, but the BNC Committee can see the positive impact the program has had and has decided to contract Andrea Piotto to continue with another 8-week program starting on July 8th. This time, there will be a cost, and we hope our community members aged 55 and above will be able to participate. If you would like to participate – don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Centre to find out more information and register.

We don’t have a name as yet – and we would love the input of our community in naming the new program. Send us your best suggestion to admin@thebnc.org.au

Until next week

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

As a team, we’re shifting our perspective on failures. Instead of dwelling on what we couldn’t achieve, we’re embracing them as stepping stones towards improvement. We can train our minds to recognise that every failure comes with a valuable lesson. Although we may not have achieved our goal this time, we can learn something from the effort to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Have you ever felt like you’re giving your all, but things just don’t seem to work out? It’s a sign that we need to pause, reflect, and adapt our approach. Remember, the key to success is not repeating the same actions but in our ability to learn, grow, and improve.

Are you trying to tackle an ‘issue’ on your own? It is so easy to get overwhelmed and not know how to move forward. This is when the community can help. Sharing our experiences often brings forward others who have tackled similar issues. These conversations are opportunities to ‘brainstorm’ possible solutions or alternative methods you haven’t attempted. By taking the initiative to help yourself, you also have the potential to positively impact the person you’re talking with.

Sharing experiences with someone who has gone through a similar journey can be a powerful way to begin healing. Conversations often trigger an unconscious reflective process, where both parties share what has worked for them and what hasn’t, acknowledging how far they have come and how far they still must go. This exchange of ideas can be beneficial in helping individuals feel less alone in their journey and providing them with effective coping mechanisms.

There are just under 17,000 people in the Burdekin. Somewhere amongst all our community members is someone(s) who has walked a similar path.  It’s finding and making a connection.  All it takes is one step forward by everyone…

Sometimes, failure is not about the action you took; it can be about the action you didn’t. 

Until next week

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

The new cookies at Home Hill News and Café inspired this week’s column. Coffee and Anzac biscuits from Alfie’s Bakery helped the ideas to flow.

Basic Community Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• Active listening and understanding to create a solid foundation.

• An open mind to add unique and interesting flavours.

• Kindness to help the cookie to rise and achieve its full potential.

• A sprinkle of humour to keep things light and fun.

• A dash of acceptance to create a welcoming and inclusive environment.

• The spice of difference to celebrate diversity and individuality.

• Participation to bring everything together and create a sense of unity.

Method

Combine listening and understanding in a large bowl, sifting out any lumps. Add open-mindedness, kindness, humour, acceptance, and differences, and mix everything together. Make a well in the centre for participation and bind everything into a soft dough. Shape the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet, leaving plenty of space for expansion. Then, bake the cookies at 180°C for 15 minutes and watch them rise to the occasion.

Sometimes, we need to stop and reflect on where we are going. In today’s fast-paced world, we often reach for the easy, pre-prepared option instead of utilising those time-tested skills. Not all of us have had this experience, and this is where community participation comes to the fore. Community is about sharing experiences and skills to enable everyone to achieve their potential.

This is by no means the full list of ingredients that could be used to create a tasty cookie. The beauty of cooking is that little bit of ‘something’ we all add to build something ‘new’. Change occurs when ‘heat’ is applied as the catalyst, which is how a community develops and evolves.

What ingredient would you add to this recipe?

Until next week

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

The recent incident of a boating accident made the team at the Neighbourhood Centre think about the power of communities coming together. Family, friends, strangers, and people from different areas and backgrounds joined forces to search for the missing men, showing the strength of community connection. The emergency volunteers came from different places, but their shared connection brought them together for a common cause. It was an amazing outcome, showcasing the power of people when they come together.

This week, the Neighbourhood Centre team has been working on our Strategic Plan and reviewing our mission statement and vision for the Centre. We reflected on how communities can come together and help each other when presented with challenges.

Challenges take on different meanings for different people, and what may seem like an inconvenience for some may be an insurmountable task for others. However, sharing these challenges with others can open up doors to finding solutions. At the Centre, we support community members in discovering solutions to their challenges, and we hope that this encourages community members to share what they have discovered with others they encounter along the way.

Engaging in casual conversations is an excellent way to exchange information and energy without getting too personal, deep, or involved.  It’s important to remember that no one can solve other people’s problems for them, but by sharing our experiences and solutions with others, we can create a ripple effect of positive change.

We think this quote by an anonymous author beautifully sums up the impact of a community coming together to support each other: “You think you’re just a drop in the ocean – but look at the ripple effect one drop can make!’

Until next week

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

At the Neighbourhood Centre, we love providing opportunities for the community to come together to increase their knowledge about various topics and, in turn, inform others about different supports and services available.

We will be offering several community information sessions over the next few weeks. Please call the centre on 47834243 for more information and to register your attendance.

VISITING SERVICE CENTRELINK

Friday, 19^th April 2024 9am – 11am

Home Care and Aged Care Information Session to help you understand:

• Aged Care Specialist Officer’s Role
• Commonwealth Home Support Program
• Home Care Packages and Fees and Charges
• Aged Care Fees and Charges

DEMENTIA AUSTRALIA

Tuesday, 23^rd April 2024 10am – 12pm (online presentation)

Understanding Changes in Behaviour suitable for Family Carers and family members of people living with dementia.

• Provides an introduction to dementia and changes to the brain, effects on behaviour and the impacts of changed behaviour.
• Introduce problem-solving models, including strategies to minimise and respond to changed behaviour.

Queensland Retirement Village & Parks Advisory Service (QRVPAS)

Thursday, 16^th May 2024 1.30pm – 3.00pm

Retirement Living Options – This seminar is more general in nature and is designed for people considering where they would like to live in retirement. It canvases a range of different options, including both manufactured home parks and retirement villages, summarising the relevant laws, setting out the benefits of each option and pointing out potential pitfalls or things to consider for each option.

We are excited to let you all know that  SELF CARE & MENTAL WELLNESS sessions with CoRES Ross Romeo will be offered monthly from the Centre.  Keep your eyes out on our Facebook page for dates!

Anzac Day is nearly upon us, the Centre’s Crochet Group ladies have crocheted poppies available from the Centre or from Selections.  .  The poppies can be worn as badges, used in craft projects ie wreaths etc. 

The money raised from purchases will be donated to the Burdekin Legacy.

Until next week

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

Buddha tells us ‘That the only constant in life is change’.  Henry Ford says ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got’.  They are certainly not wrong.

Change is one of the big things we are always navigating here at the Neighbourhood Centre. In the last couple of weeks, we have been presented with a possible big change for our operations, and it got us thinking: How do we work through this change, what are our options, and the big one—how do we feel about changing?

While embracing change as an opportunity for growth and improvement, we recognise that navigating change can be challenging. 

We invite you to Google the Küblar-Ross Change Curve. It shows that change is a cycle—each event has a beginning and an end.  Is that at all helpful?  We think so!

For any event in our lives, the Kübler-Ross Change Curve can give us a general map of where we might be sitting. The progression of change is different for everyone, and as a community, we strive to be accepting of each other and of our particular journeys.

Neighbourhood and Community Centres can play a significant role in peoples’ journeys, as it doesn’t really matter where on the curve we engage people – we can accept them and adapt our work so that we may be a positive influence to them moving forward. We can all learn something from someone else – a perspective, a skill, a story. These only come from change and the circumstances we experience.  It is only when we stop and listen that we can truly hear and appreciate the value of these experiences.

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

Give and take, back and forth, exchanging energy, you only get out what you put in.  How ever you want to say it, creating a vibrant, healthy, and strong community requires effort from everyone involved.  

Our Burdekin community is unique and has its own set of strengths, needs, and challenges that should be considered when developing strategies to address our requirements.  To do that, all hands are needed on deck.

We believe in working together to identify our community’s strengths, prioritise community needs, and develop solutions tailored to the Burdekin community. Empowering every community member to actively shape where we live, work, and play creates a better future for ourselves and our families. By working together, we can achieve great things.

We are asking the Burdekin community to put some thought around and feedback to us about:

• What issues are important to you?
• What are your unmet needs?
• What energy do you have to contribute to solutions?

Based on last week’s article, #letsgettalking, we have had several people identify that it would be great if there was some way that our community members from a non-English speaking background could get practice in having conversations to improve their English, share stories, culture and decrease isolation. 

We love this idea! Does it interest you, too? Would you like to be part of creating a new social connection?

At the Neighbourhood Centre, we know that people are the bosses of their own lives and that they have the solutions to most of the things happening in those lives.  Our role is to provide opportunities for those conversations and support the solutions.

Here is some more food for thought:  

• Dementia Friendly Community Activities
• Opportunities for Community Physical Wellness Activities
• How do you? aka Adulting (because – let’s face it – it’s hard!)

There needs to be more than one voice in creating solutions – please reach out to us – we really do listen! Call in at 40 Chippendale St and have a chat with us!

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

This week, we wanted to share with you something that comes up a lot at the Neighbourhood Centre.  We often hear people say – “not that my opinion matters”, “I don’t have anything to offer”, “I am just… xyz”.

One of our core values at the Centre is that EVERYONE has something to offer, EVERYONE has had life experiences that can help others, NO ONE is JUST anything…. You are You – and YOU MATTER.

People often get caught up in the expectations and opinions of others, leaving little space for self-discovery and self-acceptance.

If you are struggling to recognise your self-worth here are some things to think about:

• Appreciate your unique talents, skills, and experiences. Don’t compare yourself to others. Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small.

• Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself like you would treat a good friend. Accept your flaws and be gentle with yourself. Try not to be too hard on yourself. You deserve kindness and respect, especially from yourself.

• Set boundaries in your relationships with others. This means knowing when to say “no” and making your own well-being a priority. It’s okay to communicate clearly and assertively with others about your boundaries, even if it might feel uncomfortable at first. By doing this, you’ll be taking an important step towards building healthy relationships with yourself and others.

• Take care of yourself.  It helps you to feel good and value yourself. You can do this in different ways, like getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, exercising, practising mindfulness or meditation, or seeking professional help when needed. By taking care of yourself, you are telling yourself that you are important and you’re worth the effort.

• Positive people around us can greatly impact our self-esteem. It’s so important to surround ourselves with supportive individuals who uplift us. This means letting go of toxic relationships and finding like-minded people who share similar values. Creating a positive environment promotes personal growth and well-being.

It inspires us every day to see Burdekin community members recognise their self-worth and then go on to help others do the same. Working together and creating opportunities that we all can benefit from helps our community grow.  Wishing you all a great week!

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

Have you ever been lost for words or not know how to start or conduct a conversation?

You are not alone – it happens to us all at one time or another.

So, what is the Art of Conversation? Good conversation involves being able to connect with others, share thoughts and ideas, actively listen to what they have to say, and being respectful by not interrupting or making everything about yourself.

Conversation is a work of art – there is more than one creator!

We all can communicate or converse; sometimes, we just need to practise. Have you ever heard of Human Libraries, Death Cafes, Conversation Clubs, or Speed Dating? These are all examples of social activities where conversation is a way of getting to know someone or of hearing their stories.

Recently, community members have approached us asking if there is anywhere in the Burdekin where people can practise their English. We would love to get a Conversation Corner happening at the Centre where community members can meet to practise their conversation skills, improve their English, decrease their loneliness, and increase their confidence. Helping each other is an excellent way of improving our well-being.

The Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre is happy to offer a place to meet, help, and support groups interested in starting a new project or activity. If you are interested in joining a group or starting one, please let us know. We would love to hear from you and provide you with the necessary support. Please call the office on 07 4783 4243.

The Team at the Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre values conversation and welcomes the opportunity to converse with the community. So, come on in and have a yarn with us. Let’s start a movement -#letsgettalking.

Wishing you all a great week!

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

Did you know that the Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre links the community with various services, social groups, and community organisations?

Neighbourhood Centres are places where people meet to build connections and strengthen their community. They provide a safe and welcoming environment for all community members to access essential services and participate in social activities. Essentially, they help bring people closer together and create a sense of belonging within their community – they are the ‘glue’ that helps hold things together.

The Team at the Neighbourhood Centre actively seeks ways to bring information to the community to help educate, inform, or improve our local community. Currently, we have several established social clubs and support groups that are hosting guest speakers and the groups would like to encourage and invite any interested fellow community members to join them.

CoRES & BNC – Self Care & Mental Well-being Workshop.  Tuesday, 19^th March @ 5.30pm

Burdekin Seniors’ Computer Club – Scam Awareness presentation by nbn Local – Thursday, 21^st March 2024

Parkinson’s Support Group of Qld – ADA Link & ADA Law – Friday, 22^nd March 2024

Dementia Support Meeting – Self-Care Workshop by Cores – Tuesday, 2^nd April 2024

Please contact the Centre on (07) 4783 4243 for further information and to register your interest.

If you are a service provider or community organisation that would like to partner with the Centre to deliver information to the community, please contact us to discuss how we can work together.

If you are a community member or group looking for a place to hold an event, please contact us.

If you have a circle of friends with a common interest and are looking to form a social or support group, please contact us to discuss how we can work together.

Don’t forget to follow our Facebook page – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre.

Or get online at www.thebnc.org.au  to keep up-to-date with what is happening at the Centre. Wishing you all a great week! 

The Team – Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre