Health Week - Wednesday 6 September from 12 until 2pm at the Melbourne Town Hall Yarra Room

Ronniet Milliken welcomed Councillor Dr Olivia Ball - City of Melbourne representing NCWV’s Patron, the Hon Lord Mayor Sally Capp AO. Cr Ball is portfolio lead for Health, Wellbeing & Belonging and deputy portfolio lead for Aboriginal Melbourne and Deputy Chair of Council’s Disability Advisory Committee

As a psychologist, Olivia has an understanding of health issues. She outlined what the City of Melbourne is doing: At local government level, we don’t run hospitals. Most local governments are getting out of aged care. The only direct healthcare we provide are vaccinations and maternal & child healthcare where a healthy life starts. Local government also has an important role in building community and other social determinants of health – like connection to nature, access to public pools, recreation facilities, affordable housing and healthy eating.

The state of your health is correlated to distance from the nearest park or nature reserve, and the distance to your nearest fast-food outlet. Health is both physical and mental. Local government has an active role in addressing isolation and loneliness providing community facilities and supporting community activities and efforts to create community. For example:

• Funding Project Respect – a Melbourne organisation by and for women trafficked for sexual exploitation.
• Immunization nurses have been caring for refugees who have fled Afghanistan and Ukraine with initial home and immediate healthcare and social needs addressed in before being resettled across the city and state.
•  A collaborative effort, Project Night Justice, working with Victoria Police, Crime Stoppers, Full Stop Australia and Melbourne Uni to make our streets safer for women and gender-diverse Melburnians. This offers training and accreditation to nightlife venues to recognize and support women experiencing harassment or assault
• funding training for hairdressers in how to recognize and refer clients experiencing domestic violence.
• The City of Melbourne is currently converting a disused industrial building in Little Bourke St into 50 studio apartments for people sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness – with secure floors for women.

Provide free menstrual products in council libraries and municipal bathrooms to help address period poverty

To read more: September 2023 newsletter