Excerpt from book "New Old Ways: A Beautiful Blueprint For A Resilient Byron Shire / Bundjalung Nation" by Creative Capital
"This is an invitation. To look after Country, build stronger communities, design better developments and keep the Byron Shire wonderfully weird."
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The Beating Heart: Interview with Louise O'Connell
Not only does Louise O’Connell, general manager of the Byron Community Centre, run the local markets, a theatre, and homeless hub all without guaranteed funding, but she's keeping community spirit alive, too.
How would you describe the Byron community and your role in it?
We call the Byron Community Centre the beating heart of Byron because we're a 100-year-old institution that's still going strong.
The town has changed so much over that time. A good example of this is our logo, which used to be a mother and child, but we had to change it because we simply don’t get families coming in anymore. Previously we held mother and baby programs, family programs, and teenager programs. But lots of families can't afford to live here anymore, so now we're seeing more single people and older people.
Twenty years ago, the demand for social housing was all three-bedroom homes for families. Over the past 10-to-15 years it's been more one and two-bedrooms, so we need to accommodate different housing in the Shire. This brings more of a need for community too, because there's a lot of lonely people. They don't have connections. They're by themselves without extended family. How do we provide housing for them, but also the community?
How would you define ‘community’ more broadly?
Thanks to technology, we've got a global digital community now. But Covid really woke us up to the importance of having people around you, to feel supported, and to have somewhere to go. We all quickly realised how much you treasured the person in the shop knowing your name, or a neighbour saying g'day.
Why is it important for a community to look after people in need?
The impact on society if you don't look after people in need is that it's going to cost you in the future, whether that be socially, fiscally, or otherwise. A great example of this is Fletcher Street Cottage, our homeless hub in town. It ran for years, but was forced to shut its doors due to a lack of funding. When it closed, my predecessor said, "You watch, there's going to be more trouble on the streets" and that's exactly what happened. We reopened it one year ago and within three weeks the police said there was a noticeable positive impact around town. It's really important you look after people who are in trauma and at that desperate end of things, if only for public safety.
The people coming to the community centre are very different now. Byron has very, very wealthy people. But then we've got others who are holding down three jobs and living in a van. It's a broad mix, and people are often surprised Byron has such a high rate of homelessness. Many of our homeless have been living and working here for decades. It's not a case of people saying, "Oh, it'd be nice to be homeless in Byron." That's simply not true. It's a lot of people who have been pushed out of the housing market.
Another reason why the middle should be concerned about these issues is because it could happen to any of us. Most people are only two or three pay packets away from being bankrupt. So, it could happen to anybody and we're seeing that at Fletcher Street Cottage. People are coming to us who've never asked for help before. People with a job that still can't make ends meet.
“Some people say Byron’s lost its heart. I still see it. People come and support us and get involved all the time. Our community spirit is still alive.”
Is Byron at risk of losing its community spirit?
Some people say Byron's lost its heart. I say come with me and I'll show you around. I still see it. People come and support us and get involved all the time. Our community spirit is still alive. Of course, it's at risk of being lost if we don't plan and think carefully about how we support the community to stay here. I think the transient nature of a lot of the accommodation, which keeps the longer-term accommodation from happening, reduces community. You can't have people in and out for a week and create trust and relationships. Without community, the risk is Byron becomes a resort town.
How is the housing crisis affecting the community today?
I have a staff member who lives in her van. She parks near the community centre in a little spot where she won't be harassed and feels safe. She's got a good job, but still can't get housing.
I wish we didn't have so many people coming to ask for help finding a place to live, which is almost all we do every day. We'd like to be helping more in other areas. Ideally, there would be accessible services, better public transport, and all the things you see on any report measuring the health of a community.
Tell us more about Fletcher Street Cottage.
Fletcher Street Cottage is critical for the most vulnerable in our community. We have 15 co-located services operating there. It's a one-stop shop where people come in and they're made to feel at home. When you're homeless, you're forever getting moved on. But you're always welcome in Fletcher Street Cottage. Sometimes people are slow to engage and move ahead, but by building trust with them, we can gently start to steer them towards possibly reconnecting back to family, connecting with mental health support or seeing the GP. Whatever it might be as a next step towards optimal health. For me, it's all about how we create ladders of opportunity.
"New Old Ways: A Beautiful Blueprint For A Resilient Byron Shire / Bundjalung Nation" Book
Download your FREE copy of New Old Ways and join the movement: SUBSCRIBE TO NEW OLD WAYS HERE
New Old Ways is proudly supported by Creative Capital, a team of likeminded experts dedicated to building better communities through better developments in the Northern Rivers.
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