Harper Sercombe
Whittlesea council has endorsed an 11-year lease extension for the continuation of education and intervention services for at-risk youth in Mernda.
Preston and Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE) was awarded the extension at a council meeting on July 18, to enable it to continue using land within the Mernda Recreation Reserve in Schotters Road through to 2041.
PRACE provides specialist intervention services for vulnerable young people as well as adult education services.
This includes language, literacy and numeracy as well as the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL), pre-VCAL and Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses.
Chair administrator Lydia Wilson said council was pleased to be able to offer this long-term lease arrangement to PRACE, giving them certainty to be able to continue to offer important education services to the community.
“PRACE has been successfully providing vital education and support services for both young people and adults in the City of Whittlesea for a number of years, meeting the growing demand and needs of the local community,” Ms Wilson said.
“I could see first hand the absolutely critical work that this youth intervention service provided to young people.”
Administrator Peita Duncan said it is a critical service within the community.
“The services that PRACE delivers to the community are really really important for our vulnerable young people that are at risk,” she said.
Further consultation on the next stage of the Mernda Recreation Reserve master plan will be undertaken later this year.
