Wyndham City is supporting its community during the Covid-19 pandemic by inviting residents who are feeling isolated to ring in for a chat.
Wyndham City Mayor Cr Josh Gilligan said Council had had to evolve its service delivery model to meet the changing needs of the community during the current restrictions.
"This service demonstrates the care that we have for our community. It is the role of local government to be agile and respond quickly when we see a need arise," Cr Gilligan said.
"We know that many residents are finding these restrictions challenging, that's why we're offering a friendly ear from staff already connected to our community through their work at our Community Centres and on our community projects.
"This initiative keeps local people in local jobs and responds, in part, to Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry's call for innovative strategies that adapt and extend mental health care.
"While this is not a counselling or mental health service, sometimes just connecting with someone via a phone call, can contribute to mental resilience and if you feel you need more specialised advice, staff can point you in the right direction of where to find these services or other essential services or resources you may need."
"Check in and Chat is a one-on-one phone service, where you will be paired with a staff member for a regular chat - and they will check in on you to see how you are going."
The service, which operates on weekdays, between 9am and 5pm, is open to all ages and our multilingual staff also speak Punjabi, Hindi, Mandarin, and Tamil.
Further languages are also supported through Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450. When you call this number, let the translator know you want to be connected to Wyndham City's Check in and Chat service on 9742 0777.
