Creating a Community Hub - a home away from home where everyone is welcome

Terressa Hann – Healthy Environs Roxby Downs Community Hub Supervisor

Almost 600 kilometres north of Adelaide on the traditional lands of the Kokatha people lies the small, and infinitely remote, mining town of Roxby Downs.

Now, a tiny outback town may not be the first place that springs to mind when you think of inclusion but in actual fact, the community boasts many different nationalities with more than a quarter of residents having recently arrived in Australia.

Almost one in five residents report having both parents born abroad according to the 2021 census, and the transient nature of the township and the constant ebb and flow of people means newcomers are welcomed and accepted almost instantly.

I’ve lived in Roxby Downs for almost 30 years - minus a few in Adelaide at boarding school and living my best life at uni – and I see firsthand the importance of inclusion and of celebrating diversity in creating a strong and connected community, and the crucial role of community programming which is geared towards inclusion and acceptance.

With our client BHP, we deliver exactly this type of programming from one central, physical location, the Roxby Downs Community Hub.

First established in 2016, Healthy Environs has played a role in its operations since its inception and has had sole responsibility for programming and facility management since 2020.

At ‘the Hub’, our team plays a vital role in welcoming new residents to town, providing a safe and inviting space and a sense of community and belonging.

We welcome new Roxby residents to the Hub on a weekly, even daily basis. Many new people here are living away from family and traditional support networks; fostering feelings of community, connection and ultimately belonging is vital.

One of the Hub’s most loved programs at present is our English Conversation Circle which provides a safe space for culturally and linguistically diverse community members to connect and practice speaking English, while celebrating their own culture through shared stories and food. Participants describe English Conversation Circle as ‘amazing’; a place to ‘enrich our understanding about other cultures and have much more new friendships in the same time.’

Fostering our town’s multicultural diversity is just one element of what the Healthy Environs team does at the Community Hub. The Hub is also a place for celebrating our Indigenous cultural heritage; recognising that families are diverse and offering support to families of all shapes and sizes - mums and dads, sole parents, grandparents, same sex couples and foster families to name a few; hosting and connecting people to a range of NDIS support services; celebrating gender diversity and the LGBQTI+ community through local events and involvement in broader initiatives such as ACON’s Welcome Here project.

Building an inclusive environment for all is an ongoing journey. Our team continually reflects and adjusts based on community feedback and by working collaboratively with stakeholders. We know we’ve made a difference when locals tell us that the Hub has made them feel welcome and like they’re part of this community.

After all, isn’t that what we all hope for?

The Community Hub is proudly supported by BHP in partnership with Healthy Environs.

Chat to Teressa about our Community Hub model, [email protected] or via LinkedIn here.