Ladder young people give back to the community through Morwell Neighbourhood House

Ladder Step Up Latrobe Valley commenced their first program session at Morwell Neighbourhood House in early 2020. Due to the impact of COVID-19, our programs were only able to attend more consistently, this year once restrictions allowed us to.

Young people from our program have been involved in a range of fun and meaningful activities at Morwell Neighbourhood House. They are welcomed by the friendly staff and spend approximately 2-3 hours once a fortnight. 

On their first visit, young people are given a garden pot to paint and take it home with them on their last visit. They also assist with gardening and maintaining the vegetable garden onsite and decorating small garden pots, which are part of their self-care sessions. 

Together with their Ladder Development Coaches, the young people also prepare, cook, package and label meals so they are ready to be picked up by those in need within the Latrobe Valley Community.  This has been a really rewarding experience for both young people and staff, having felt a stronger connection to the community and level of satisfaction knowing they are doing something for those less fortunate. The young people have really benefited from this activity as they've built independent living skills by being in the kitchen as well as having learned how to play a role and work within a team. 

In our last program alone, 150 meals were prepared across two visits. We are hoping to schedule in more visits once COVID restrictions ease and we will also look at involving our program alumni.