Pagan Kelly is the dynamic Community Connector at Local Connect Glen Innes, which delivers The Welcome Experience – a service designed to attract and retain essential workers in regional NSW. It is a simple proposition, as Pagan puts it “Success to me looks like people coming and staying in our community”. However this is not without its challenges.
By way of background, The Welcome Experience is a NSW Government funded initiative which is delivered to 55 Local Government Areas. The Local Connect team for the Northern New England Region comprises Executive Manager, Margot Davis and Community Connectors Pagan Kelly in Glen Innes and Emma Johnson in Inverell.
The purpose of the service is to help essential workers with ‘life admin’ when they move to town. It is a free service. It is not an employment agency nor does it provide any financial assistance to its clients. Local Connect’s responses to each client are tailor-made because a one-size approach does not fit all. Some new workers have partners who need jobs, others do not. Some have children, some have their housing organised, some have never visited Glen Innes. Pagan says her question for each person who contacts the service is simply “What do you need?”
Local Connect can assist with relocation, forging cultural connections, education and childcare, partner employment, social connections, accessibility and healthcare, housing, leisure and recreation and local knowledge.
For example, Pagan welcomed a frontline worker and showed her around town one afternoon. Later that day the worker rang to say her car had broken down, she could not get home and she did not know where to get help. Pagan was able to organise a local mechanic and everything was sorted that same evening.
Local Connect is available to public and private sector workers including health workers, education workers, veterinary service workers and paid employees of the Rural Fire Service. In addition Local Connect supports all employees of the NSW Police Force, NSW Department of Community and Justice, Corrective Services NSW and Fire and Rescue NSW. People can register for the service online at The Welcome Experience which then contacts Local Connect for those who register an interest in this area.
In the first quarter of this year alone, The Welcome Experience and Local Connect saw 28 people registered and so far 17 have moved here. It is a strong start and Pagan is pulling out all the stops to see these numbers grow. She wants to get the message out about Glen Innes, particularly its affordability and friendliness.
The biggest challenge for Local Connect is the housing shortage. Most people are not interested in boarding or sharehouse arrangements – they want their own place. This is especially true for shift workers. Pagan is in regular contact with real estate agencies but adds “If you have a rental property available please contact me”. Local Connect is keen to hear any suggestions on how to find accommodation for ‘new to area’ workers.
Pagan adds that everyone can help get the message out about The Welcome Experience and Local Connect: “If you know of an essential worker, perhaps a friend or family member, interested in moving to Glen Innes, ask them to phone me on 0437 248 496”.
Join Local Connect as they welcome essential workers who are new to Glen Innes at an upcoming welcome pizza night.
When: Saturday 19 July – 6pm til 9pm
Where: The Great Central Hotel, Glen Innes
Bookings essential as numbers are limited. To book, visit www.localconnect.org/events
