sherbrooke children and family centre

Good news, construction is about to start on the new Sherbrooke Children and Family Centre. The new centre will deliver integrated services for families across the Dandenongs.

It's going to be built on the current site of the Upwey Pre School, the Upwey Hall (being refurbished) and Sherbrooke Children's Centre.

It's a project I'm particularly passionate about. The reason I first ran for council back in 2005 was to save Sherbrooke Children's Centre, which was under threat of closure from the then council (see blog). The hub was borne out of an idea by the Save Our Sherbrooke Children's Centre, a group of highly motivated parents, including me, keen to turn around the closure decision and get better children's services in the hills.

Council has committed $5.3 million to the project along with funding from the State and Federal governments. The fruition of this project is a testament to being persistant and tireless in advocacy on behalf of children and families in the Dandenongs.

The new centre will expand the capacity and range of services available to support families, including maternal child health, early childhood education, care and intervention.

The centre has been designed with the environment in mind and is being constructed as a collection of single storey buildings with a connecting walkway and new entrance from Burwood Highway. The Upwey Hall is being refurbished as part of the project and will include additional multi use facilities for the community.

Construction is due to start in mid February and will be phased over the next few months so parents wont be forced to look for alternate care during the construction.