Tara Murray
The sense of community is returning to Brimbank, according to Sunshine Salvation Army captain Colin Reynolds
With restrictions eased, people are getting out and getting back to their normal lives.
“In conjunction with Christmas, there’s a lot of people enjoying freedom post lockdown,” Mr Reynolds said.
“I would describe things for us like a perfect storm, but in a positive way.
“There’s a lot of positive vibes, which is being created by a lot of the community-based activities. Groups we partner with are getting back into the community.”
Mr Reynolds said what the Salvation Army was finding people were wanting to hang around for a chat instead of just coming in to get things.
He said some of the people they helped had really felt the social isolation of lockdown.
“Being in lockdown socially isolating for extended periods of time, people have been craving community and really want to enjoy other people’s company,” he said.
“They want to feel that little bit of human contact.”
As well as getting the community programs back up and running, the Salvation Army is starting to prepare for Christmas.
They are again running the Brimbank Giving Tree Program with the council and are seeking donations.
“We are doing food relief, toys, hampers,” he said. “It’s business as usual.
“We’re seeing similar numbers as in the past. As we have seen through the pandemic, we are setting new people who would have never come to us for assistance before.”
Mr Reynolds said people who wanted to help could donate non-perishable food.
The Salvation Army is also doing gift wrapping at Sunshine Marketplace and Highpoint to raise money.
The group’s work will continue until Christmas Day, with volunteers to provide about 350-400 meals for those who need them.
“On Christmas Day we are distributing takeaway lunches, we did something last year,” he said.
“Normally we have sit-down community lunches, but we still can not do that, so we’re doing takeaway lunches.
“People who want to volunteer are welcome to come down and do something meaningful.”
