PARTNERSHIPS with the communities it serves will be vital to the ongoing growth of services delivered by the South East’s own resilience-building organisation ac.care, according to its chairman Michael Bleby OAM, of Millicent.
After being recognised in the Australia Day honours last month with an Order of Australia Medal, he said country-based organisations helped overcome a city-centric focus in service delivery by government and agencies in South Australia.
Since the mid-’90s, he has overseen the diverse “country specialist” grow to employ more than 250 people and expand its presence from its foundation in the Limestone Coast to also deliver services in other regional areas.
“I have lived and worked all my adult life in rural communities and you soon realise volunteering and community service is what makes our country communities function properly,” he said.
“At ac.care, our mission is we want all country people to have a safe home, enough money to live and strong, positive relationships.”
Last year ac.care found homes with foster carers for 331 children across its service area, successfully used early intervention services to help 282 people avoid becoming homeless and helped move 906 people from homelessness into stable accommodation.
The multi-function Millicent Community Centre at the main intersection offers a range of ac.care services, such as financial counselling, emergency relief and family support, serves as an agency for Service SA and the Department of Human Services, as well as providing space for visiting outreach services.
But Mr Bleby said there was still much more the organisation could do.
“So often we just have to struggle against the ‘toll gate or Gepps Cross syndrome’ and provide a strong non-Adelaide voice,” he said.
“There are special needs in country areas and we have a special understanding of those needs.
“South Australia suffers worse than any state from being city-centric because there is Adelaide with 1.2 million people and the next biggest city is Mount Gambier with 25,000 and there are no large cities in between with a few hundred thousand people, like you see in the other states.
“So when many politicians talk about South Australia they mostly mean Adelaide.”
He said country people knew if help did not come from within their own community, it often did not come at all.
Mr Bleby worked with ac.care founding chief executive Rob Foggo in Mount Gambier from the mid-’90s and continues to guide growth of the organisation alongside current chief executive Shane Maddocks, who was appointed in 2017.
With a background in the forestry sector, Mr Bleby initially settled in Millicent after relocating to the area to oversee replanting of the Mount Burr forest after Ash Wednesday.
He said there were always challenges to respond to and meet people’s needs in country areas, but ac.care’s community, agency and government partnerships along with staff based in the regions continue to deliver results.
MILLICENT PRESENCE: ac.care chairman Michael Bleby OAM at the Millicent Community Centre, which provides a range of services, such as financial counselling, emergency relief and family support, as well as an agency for Service SA and the Department of Human Services.
