PLAYFORD COMMUNITY FUND INC.

The Hon. L. STEVENS (Little Para) (15:39): I would like to pay tribute to an outstanding organisation serving the northern suburbs and that is the Playford Community Fund Incorporated which had its general meeting on Friday 23 October. I just want to bring to the house's attention the outstanding work that that organisation does, not only in the Playford and surrounding communities but also it has extended its influence to other areas of the state.

The group is led by Dennis Jarman, the chairperson, who a few years ago was named South Australia's Citizen of the Year for his work in this organisation. It is staffed entirely by volunteers, 45 of them. During the last financial year they had 3,541 interviews for food, bill pay vouchers, bedding, furniture, prescriptions, baby formula, nappies, etc., and they say that due to the downturn in the economy they have assisted 769 first-time clients, whose circumstances have varied from being out of work, to having reduced hours or being new residents to the area. They have been able to provide assistance in most situations but, where it has not been possible, they have been able to provide direction to other sources who are more able to deal with particular problems.

The main role of the organisation is to provide emergency relief, and I agree that what they provide is of the highest standard. Their volunteer staff are trained in all aspects of emergency relief. They are trained in five categories to allow them to provide the best assistance to clients, and that is emergency relief, financial counselling, food and household handling, and warehouse and transport. They include amongst their staff two members who have undertaken an extensive course in financial counselling and who passed with good results. These two volunteers are now accredited and recognised by the South Australian Financial Counsellors Association.

They are supported by a number of agencies and they attribute thanks to those agencies. They include the Department for Families and Communities, the City of Playford, the Morialta Trust, San Remo, Myer, Sheridan and Para Worklinks, and they have made particular note of that help. They have also ventured into assisting with drought relief, on behalf of the federal government, in providing financial assistance on Southern Yorke Peninsula. This has taken a while to set up, as they had to train four people, based at Stansbury, in emergency relief work. The federal government has provided them with a separate budget for this project, but they have been able to work with a different community in a different area of our state to pass on their particular successful brand of support for people in need.

This fund plays a very important role in the northern suburbs community for people in need. As I said, it is staffed entirely by volunteers and led by an enthusiastic board headed up by Dennis Jarman. It is an outstanding example of how community-based groups can make a significant difference to the lives of ordinary people in the community.