July 05, 2020

An update on western Melbourne restrictions on Gateways’ services

As restrictions ease in many areas, I hope you have been able to safely enjoy a return to some of the activities and people you have missed over recent months. 

Here at our new North Geelong headquarters, it has been a real delight to hear the laughter and chatter of participants enjoying holiday programs and individual support sessions. 

Unfortunately for our western Melbourne participants, recent outbreaks in that area have seen the Victorian Government enforce a return to lockdowns in a number of postcodes, which has limited our ability to roll out the holiday and term 3 programs we’d been so looking forward to. 

As a result of the lockdowns and Level 3 restrictions now in force across the areas listed below, we have taken the decision to cancel our entire western Melbourne July Holiday recreation program, effective immediately.  

We have also taken the precautionary measure of cancelling non-essential individual supports within western Melbourne for the four weeks specified by the Victorian Government. We will be contacting each of our individual support participants to discuss your needs and assess any specific risks during this month of enhanced restrictions. People requiring essential home-based supports will continue to receive this service. If you have any queries in relation to individual support services in western Melbourne, please get in touch with coordinator Rachel Fenn on 9396 1111. 

Our western Melbourne recreation team is releasing the Term 3 program as planned, however programs will not run during the four-week lockdown period or any subsequent extension. The team will keep you up to date with any additional changes to group activities. 

The popular online Zumba and Bingo sessions will continue to run, and the team will bring back Netflix parties and online cooking if our participants are interested in those activities. You can let the team know by emailing westermelbourne@gateways.com.au 

While these cancellations and changes are terribly disappointing for our staff and, of course, for you our participant family, it is important that we take these steps for the benefit of individual and community safety. Our decisions are made to comply with state regulations and to reduce the risk to participants and staff of potentially coming in contact with someone who may have had contact with someone from an affected area. 

As at Sunday 5 July, areas affected by the latest restrictions are: 

3012: Brooklyn, Kingsville, Maidstone, Tottenham, West Footscray 

3021: Albanvale, Kealba, Kings Park, St Albans 

3032: Ascot Vale, Highpoint City, Maribyrnong, Travancore 

3038: Keilor Downs, Keilor Lodge, Taylors Lakes, Watergarden 

3042: Airport West, Keilor Park, Niddrie 

3046: Glenroy, Hadfield, Oak Park 

3047: Broadmeadows, Dallas, Jacana 

3055: Brunswick South, Brunswick West, Moonee Vale, Moreland West 

3060: Fawkner 

3064: Craigieburn, Donnybrook, Mickelham, Roxburgh Park, Kalkallo 

3031: Flemington, Kensington

3051: Hotham Hill, North Melbourne

We are deeply grateful to you for your understanding and patience as we navigate these changes. Please be sure to get in contact with a team member by phoning 9396 1111 if you have any queries or concerns about this.  

Our services across the Geelong and South West Victoria regions continue as planned, and you can review this on the COVID-19 Current Services Update page of our website. 

We will continue to update our COVID-19 resources page with the latest information from government departments and other trusted sources. In particular, we’d like to draw your attention to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services’ new suite of translated information about COVID-19 for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 

As always, stay safe and let us know if you need any further help during these challenging times. 

Warm regards, 

Stephanie Gunn 

CEO