The Encounter Centre is a community centre based in the Victor Harbor area. For the past 49 years we have been providing services to those living with a disability. Since moving to our current site in 2003 we have not only continued our services for those living with a disability but have also expanded our operations. We are known for our wooden toy factory, where volunteers come together to make high quality, locally crafted wooden toys. We also have a volunteer run community plant nursery and garden. And it doesn't stop there we also offer our community a range of classes such as english as a second language, adult literacy, computing, pottery, and the list goes on. Our mission is to provide a place where our community can come together to create, learn, and grow. We see over 300 people come through our doors and engage with our services weekly. 

Unfortunately over the past 3 years the Centre has been hit extraordinarily hard by COVID-19 and the ensuing fallout from the pandemic. While the Federal government programs supported the Centre to maintain its position in 2020, the pandemic destroyed our core income streams. Group programming was gutted due to size restrictions and rules around closures to prevent spreading it from positive cases. This has left our Centre in dire straights financially with the real threat of closure, and with it the loss of our valuable services to the community. Since October 2022 the board and management have taken drastic action to reshape the Centre and increase its use and utility to the community. This is starting to pay off with significant reductions in the deficit, but without additional funding it is still questionable that we can survive long term. 

Our proposal to council is this. Most community centres across the state are operated and run by local government. Our strength is that we have been able to operate for 50 years as an independent organisation. However we now seek for the City of Victor Harbor to provide us with a contribution to help us through this period of financial instability and allow us to re-establish as the thriving community centre we know we can be. If we were to shut our doors in 18 months time, where would the people we provide for go? There is nothing similar to us in our local area. We envisage that this would look similar to Goolwa Community Centre’s agreement with Alexandrina Council, under which council provides them with $85,000 p.a. to allow the centre to exist and provide the range of services it does to their area.

Our ask is that the City of Victor Harbor consider entering into a MOU with the Encounter Centre Inc. which provides $60,000 p.a. for a 3 year period. During which time we will continue to provide our range of services and a place for community to come together and belong. We will also continue the journey we have begun in transforming our services and spaces to promote their growth and increase our revenue, increasing our financial sustainability.

Head Petitioner 
Name: Nick Hayles on behalf of the Encounter Community Centre (Encounter Centre Inc.) 
Address: 42 Armstrong Road, Victor Harbor, SA, 5211 

We, the residents/ratepayers of Victor Harbor, request the City of Victor Harbor (council) enter into the 3 year agreement to provide the requested $60,000 p.a. in funding for the Encounter Community Centre (Encounter Centre Inc.) to ensure the valuable work they do for the community can be continued. By not doing so Council would be putting a number of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups at further risk of harm. Council would also be denying our community much needed space for workshops, playgroups, adult literacy and language classes, community gardening, and general-purpose community programming which council's own Social Infrastructure Assessment said was lacking by up to half as much as is required.