As we recover from last month’s Hello. Day celebrations, our first Hello. activity is asking you, the Latrobe Valley community, to tell us (and the rest of the community) how you like to connect with others.

The task:
We would like to build a collection of selfie videos from the community answering two simple questions:

1. How do you socialise or connect with others in the community?
2. How do you feel when you socialise or connect with people while out and about?

For a little inspiration, see the video to the right of some our members responding to what they enjoy about socialising with others and how they do it.

The Victorian Men’s Shed Association partnered with the Latrobe Health Assembly to bring the Moonlight Market and Winter Festival to Old Gippstown in Moe on 23rd July 2022.

The aim of the event was to promote the Men’s Shed movement and support men’s mental health through engaging the local community, and more broadly to encourage positive community connection for residents of Latrobe Valley. As the Moe Men’s Shed are located within Old Gippstown, the heritage park seemed a perfect location for such a night.

Working closely with both the Latrobe Health Assembly and the events management team at Old Gippstown, we were able to organise a range of attractions to draw in the community. The event included market stalls, food vans, real snow, horse and cart rides and fire twirlers, and community service providers were invited to attend.

Attendance was estimated at between 4000 to 5000 people over the course of the night! The crowds absolutely blew away even our most optimistic estimates. The Men’s Shed Field Officer held a stall beside the park entrance and handed out hundreds of showbags containing promotional material for Men’s Sheds and mental health services available to the community.

The Health Assembly stall were kept very busy handing out promotional scarves and providing free badge-making. Moe Scouts Group ran free s’mores roasting over an open fire and the the Moe Men’s Shed held a sausage sizzle that moved 450 sausages in 3 hours.

It was great to see the Latrobe Valley community come together in such numbers. 

The Latrobe Health Assembly has developed a pen pal program between primary school students and aged care residents as part of their Hello. campaign, with the aim of supplying a tailored experience that promotes positive intergenerational connections between the two groups.

The two groups will benefit from interacting with each other through storytelling and having the opportunity to learn from each other. The program is being piloted between a number of local primary schools, and local aged care facilities.

The goal of the Hello. campaign is to improve social connection within the community simply by encouraging people to say ‘hello’ to each other when out and about. We hope that the pen pal program will be able to help both groups feel more involved in both the Hello. campaign and their community.

When asked about their involvement, Ben Tunks of Stockdale Road primary school said “The Grade One students at Stockdale Road Primary School are eager to participate in the Hello. Pen Pals program. We see this as a fun way to grow their literacy skills as well as feel more connected to the community.”

Latrobe Health Assembly Chair, Ms Tanya Rong, said “The Hello. campaign encourages us to connect with each other regardless of our differences, skills, background or age.”

“The Hello. Pen Pal project will be a rewarding opportunity for young students to learn how to write meaningful letters to a real recipient at their school’s linked aged-care residence —in some cases, that recipient may desperately need a little Hello. in their life.” added Ms Rong.

 This event is one in a series of six-months of Hello. Day events to further promote community outreach and connectedness

September is going to be big! We know that youth socialise in different ways, so we’re thinking outside the box and on the board by hosting a month of youth board game expos. Each week will host experts from a range of different board games for youth to come and try, or even master!

The Latrobe Health Assembly will also help organise ongoing game nights beyond September for games that receive enough interest.

We will have more event details as September closes in but if you, your children or someone you know loves board games, register for event updates using the form above and we’ll make sure you know when and where to roll the dice.

October is Hello. Pet’s Month. For all of October the Latrobe Health Assembly will be shining a light on the social opportunities our pets bring us. From chasing your dog around the park, to cuddles on the couch with your cat, to chatting away with your bird — if you love pets, mark October as Hello. Pet’s Month in your calendar.

We will also be working closely with local pet adoption organisations, animal welfare organisations and pet education providers to help you make the leap into pet companionship for those who are interested.

Start planning your social gatherings because November 19^th-27^th is Social Inclusion Week. This year, among other Social Inclusion Week activities, the Latrobe Health Assembly will be offering micro-grants to organisations and residents alike to host Social Inclusion Week gatherings. Think street parties, office morning teas, open days, game nights and more.

Grants will be subject to selection criteria however our goal will be to assist you in hosting an accessible, inclusive event to celebrate Social Inclusion Week and help bring about a social, kind community in Latrobe Valley. More details to come.