Justine Sless does not like to settle for anything less than the best for her local community.
The 46-year-old is the manager of the nine-month-old Thomastown
Neighbourhood House, a fledgling venture that has already won the
community over in droves.
Sless and her family-lawyer husband, James, are parents to Ruby,
15, and Jess, 8. A former chef, Sless decided after Ruby arrived that
she wanted a change and threw herself into community work.
She has worked for Wingate Healthcare, Darebin Health, NMIT’s
adult migrant English program and Thornbury Women’s Neighbourhood House.
When it comes to her latest project – transforming Thomastown – Sless
is filled with enthusiasm about the prospects that lie ahead.
“The way I see Thomastown is absolutely a place of opportunity,” Sless explains.
She says with the abundance of industry and rich multicultural
community, one of her long-term goals is to see a food and wine festival
held in the area in 2015.
Sless is a strong believer in community spirit, and has been
encouraged by the community response to the house’s Totally Thomastown
events. The first event attracted 1052 people.
The neighbourhood house also offers adult education through
Preston Reservoir Adult Community Education, and there’s a playgroup
that meets every Thursday.
‘‘Many people come through our door with a diverse range of issues
– health, domestic-violence issues, housing issues, kindergarten
issues, bridging-visa issues, temporary protection-visa issues,” says
Sless, adding that these issues are all outside the direct scope of the
community house, but everyone is welcome.
“We’re not going to start a domestic-violence group,” Sless
explains. “But we’re saying, ‘hey, let’s have some lunches’, ‘we’ve got
some events’, ‘hey, I’m accessible and I’m friendly’ – we’re just not
naming [the issues].
“It’s about inclusion, making people feel like they have someone to talk to.”
The neighbourhood house has applied this theory in the form of an
open-house policy for local students. Thomastown High School finishes at
2.30pm every Thursday and Sless began noticing groups of students who
came to the library to use computers, play games and socialise, so she
decided she would extend an invitation into the neighbourhood house
space.
“I just thought, what if we just put a bit of food on in here –
not call it anything, just ‘here it is’,” she says. “Three weeks later,
you have girls sitting there talking.
“There’s needs, and you’re not going to meet all the needs, but
having the neighbourhood house means it gives people opportunity,” she
explains. “An opportunity for education, for employment, for connecting,
simply for connecting.”
» Thomastown Neighbourhood House will
hold its next community event, a free Family Fun Spring Carnival, on
October 5. Activities will run from 10am-1pm and include a petting farm,
a barbecue, and a world cardboard challenge, and attendees will have an opportunity to win a family pass to Luna Park.
