CCH chief executive Christine Osborne said the afternoon tea was part of the organisation’s outreach mission.
“Cobram Community House is a carer-friendly house and has been working on a project to support carers in the community,” she said.
“Carers in rural areas find it difficult to access services, so we wanted to provide an opportunity for them to learn about the support that is available to them.”
The afternoon event featured guest speaker Kristine Rawlinson from Carers Neighbourhood Houses Victoria.
Ms Rawlinson spoke about her experience as a carer for her husband and son.
Her husband contracted meningococcal disease six years ago, losing both legs and multiple fingers and suffering extensive brain damage, which altered his personality.
Her son was diagnosed with autism and an eating disorder, which renders him incapable of attending school regularly.
Ms Rawlinson said the organisation she worked for aimed to support unpaid, often forgotten carers.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure that carers who look after a loved one who’s a family member, so they do it for little or no compensation, that they are looked after and supported in their local community,” she said.
Ms Rawlinson said the care industry was well funded, but the approach taken by policymakers needed to be corrected.
“There’s actually a significant amount of funding in the care sphere at a state and federal level, but it’s very much done in a top-down policy approach,” she said.
“Whereas carers, their need is to be supported in their community by their village ... What we want is for the village to support carers to make them feel like they are valued rather than carers needing a call centre or to fill out forms to get support and acknowledgment for the work they do.”
Ms Rawlinson believes gatherings such as the one at CCH are important as they allow carers to connect with others in a similar situation, as carers often feel social isolation.
“Carers have twice the rate of mental illness as the general population and twice the rate of physical illness than the rest of the population,” she said.
“If we’re surviving on Centrelink payments alone, we’re living below the poverty line. Most of us have to hold down part-time jobs to also fulfil our care obligations.”
Part of the event was for Carers Neighbourhood Houses Victoria to have a platform to call for neighbourhood carers clubs, allowing carers to gather and socialise in an understanding environment.
“It’s a concept that we’re lobbying for funding for because there are more than 420 neighbourhood centres and community houses across the state like this one here, Cobram Community House,” Ms Rawlinson said.
“We would like carers just to know that there is a neighbourhood carers club in their backyard.”
A financial adviser also spoke at the session about different financial avenues carers could use when seeking assistance.
Ms Osborne said she was happy with the turnout.
“I am amazed by the commitment and resilience of the carers that I meet and happy that we could support them in a small way,” she said.
“If there are carers in the community who were unable to attend and would like some information, please call into Cobram Community House or call us on 5872 2224.”
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