About Gailes Community House

The Gailes Residents Committee became incorporated in 2001 but it actually began in 1995. The Committee was set up to try and bring together the whole community through events and shared interests. It also aimed to offer help and support wherever possible to residents that needed it. The committee received funding through the Community Renewal Funding program which was administered by the Department of Housing. This money was used to fund Gailes Community House which first opened its doors in 2002.

The committee had established that there was a real need in the area for a venue where everyone in the community could come together in a facility that was open to all members of the public. Gailes Community House serves as a meeting room as well as a place where people are able to join in with different classes and activities, many of which are free. Other service providers in the area are also able to use this space which offers convenience for the people who may need to access these services. The centre serves the Gailes area and the surrounding suburbs. 

Gailes Community House hopes to be able to continue to make these positive changes in the community but it is dependant on the support of local people and external funding in order to remain open. A lot of the people who work here are volunteers but there are running costs of the building they need to be met. There are a number of social, health and wellbeing outcomes for people that the centre believes that it can continue to improve on if given the chance.

Mission Statement

The mission statement of the Gailes Community House is to 'promote growth, equity and community spirit within the Gailes community and surrounding areas'. There are a number of ways that it hopes to be able to meet this mission statement and it is always looking for new services to bring to the centre.

It will offer help and support to groups and individuals in any way that it can. This could be by just giving a group a place to meet or signposting an individual to other services that can provide support. Sometimes just a coffee and a chat it all that is needed.

It will offer encouragement to people in identifying what their needs are and how these needs can be met. This helps them to become more independent and can also increase their self confidence. It can also get them the help that they need and make them feel less alone.

It will liaise with local Government and other services to provide a place where residents can go to get the support that they need. They will encourage these services to have a presence at the centre as far as possible to make them more accessible.

It will promote the Community House as a venue that is safe and where people will be welcomed into a friendly and supportive environment. They will operate a policy where the door is always open to anyone that just wants someone to talk to. There will be no judgements made about any personal problems anyone is experiencing, just efforts made to help if possible.

Vision

Gailes Community House has a clear vision about the things that it wants to achieve within the community. It also sets out how these objectives will be met.

It wants to encourage people to take pride in Gailes and the sense of community that can be found here. It will plan and hold events throughout the area and encourage as many people as possible to get involved. These events can bring the whole community together and they are a great way to meet new people.

It wants individuals and groups to feel the benefit of this community spirit. They can use the Community House as often as they want to get together with other people. It can be used as a meeting room or people can just drop in for a coffee. People will always be made to feel welcome.

It wants to be able to help people get the help and support that they need by referring them to the relevant services. They can arrange appointments and contact organisations on behalf of a visitor to the centre.

It wants to be completely transparent and have accountability for the decisions that are made. All the work that will be done in the centre is built on strong foundations that will ensure the continued success of the project.

It wants to have a clear network that enables communication to take place between individuals, groups and organisation at all levels. Users of the Community House will have a clear idea of what services can be accessed and how to get help they need from elsewhere.