Currently, we are developing a Community Transport program to help get Sydney Hills Seniors out and about even if they can’t afford to take a taxi. Our pilot program aims to help 10 to 15 pensioners with their transport needs over a six (6) months period commencing in the second half of 2012. More details about the project are attached or you can go to www.hca.org.au/hillscarpal-pilot or F/B us at HillsCarPal.

Right now, we are looking for Sydney drivers to volunteer to take a five (5) minute  detour from a trip they were planning to take … to offer a piggyback trip to a Senior. Recruitment is aimed at the Facebook generation.

I can't go anywhere without YOU!

 Hills Seniors right to mobility heard

Hills Community Aid’s (HCA) Executive Officer, Des Milligan today called   for   the community to support Seniors whose mobility is threatened by the loss of their driver’s licences.

Mr Milligan says, “Loss of licence can lead to increasing social isolation for more and more people unless action is taken to address the problem.”

In NSW the number of people aged over 85 years is set to nearly double over the next 20 years, from 1.6% of the population to 3%, which represents approximately 170,000 extra people aged 85 and over. There are currently 830,000 drivers over 60 years old who will also need to plan for their future mobility.

“People think that Community Transport is the answer but it can’t be expected to meet every transport need,” Mr Milligan said. “A new way needs to be found of filling the gaps including cross-Sydney, night-time and weekend trip services.”

HCA says it might just have an answer to the problem for Hills Seniors and is planning to operate a Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) pilot program in the second half of 2012.

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes operate in around a dozen US cities and in parts of Europe involving volunteer private car drivers offering to detour from a trip they are planning in order to accommodate elderly passengers transportation needs near the route the volunteer will be driving.

Bill Dixon, The Hills Senior Citizen of the Year and President of The Community Foundation of North Western Sydney, agrees that something must be done after having recently participated in the NSW Government Ageing Strategy Consultation. Bill says, “The consultation heard that transport for the elderly was one of the greatest issues of concern to Seniors and that the problem was much more widespread than previously assumed.”

The HCA pilot program, called HillsCarPal, is being supported by The Hills Shire Council, The Community Foundation of North Western Sydney and Rouse Hill Town Centre. It is now looking for 50 Spontaneous Volunteer Drivers to kick it off. For more details see www.hca.org.au, or Facebook “HillsCarPal”.

Hills Shire Times

Tuesday 6 March 2012

click on the photos

Hills Shire Times

7 Mar 12 @ 06:52am by Bev Jordan

International Women’s Day guest speakers, Carmen Lalehzari, Helen Everingham and Keisha Naidoo

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THERE will be some powerful and inspiring women’s voices heard in Hills Shire Council for International Women’s Day.

The free event on Friday will feature music and song from two African entertainers.

Members of the Atuu group are from different parts of Africa while Sing Loud and Dance Proud is from Sierra Leone.

Speakers include former Times journalist Keiasha Naidoo owner of Northwest PR.

Naidoo started out as a crime reporter on the Daily News in Durban and worked on several papers before she won a scholarship to study media in Florida and migrated to Sydney as a 28-year-old.

The mother-of-two’s message to other women is “to perservere”.

Helen Everingham runs the company The Centre Within which coaches and empowers women to act positively when things get tough.

Her talk will be about resilience.

She lost both her sons, Sam and Tim, in 2002 when the plane they were in sunk in Manila Harbour.

They were with four friends heading on a surfing holiday in the Philippines when the crash happened on take-off.

Carmen Lalehzari is a member of the Hills Baha’i Community and migrated to Australia in 1981.

She is a mentor and marriage celebrant as well as a Justice of the Peace and is active on the Hills Domestic Violence Prevention committee.

Funding for the International Women’s Day event has been given through the NSW Government through the Office for Women.

* Hills International Women’s Day is at Hills Shire Council on Friday, March 9 10am to 2pm.

It is supported by Soroptimist International of the Hills, Sydney Hills Zonta and the Hills Holroyd Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre.

HillsNews.com.au

BY SALLY WILLOUGHBY

06 Mar, 2012

AS sport starts to dominate the weekend schedule many families will feel the pinch in their pockets.

The Hills Community Aid’s program, “Join your local Hills sport and recreation club”, received a $4000 boost from the the state government last week.

The scheme covers, or subsidises, the cost of sports and recreational activities for children and youth from low-income families.

Executive officer Des Milligan said the program helped 61 kids take part in programs from rugby league to scouts last year.

He said many of those families had children who had never been part of a sport or recreational activity before because of the cost.

“The kids and parents, particularly single parents, benefit from the social inclusion of joining a sport or recreational club,” Mr Milligan said.

Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott said in an area like The Hills it was easy to forget some families faced significant financial pressures.

“This funding will assist in providing direct support to projects that look to break down those financial barriers,” Mr Elliott said. Other recipients from the state government’s Sport and Recreation Participation program include Baulkham Hills’ Riding for the Disabled Association NSW ($7750) and The Royal Life Saving Society NSW branch ($10,000).

The Hills Community Aid and Information Service:     www.hca.org.au.

Sporting appeal: Sport and Recreation Minister Graham Annesley (right) with Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott and The Hills Community Aid chief executive Des Milligan said: “We don’t want kids to miss out on sport just because they can’t afford it.”

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