Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House Inc

Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House is a not-for-profit, community-owned neighbourhood house established to strengthen resilience across East Gippsland's most vulnerable communities. Our vision is to be an inclusive, caring and connected community resource. Our mission is improving community resilience through connection and support.

We address entrenched disadvantage, disaster recovery impacts, social isolation and food insecurity across rural and remote communities where access to essential services, affordable food and mental health support is severely limited. Operating from our Bairnsdale base, we deliver high-volume emergency relief, food distribution through our Remote Rural Meals program reaching 8 Bush Nursing Centres and neighbourhood house venues, community lunches and dinners, op shop, toy library, community garden, and place-based mental health programs including Rural Minds workshops.

We are best-placed to deliver this work because we are community-led, locally embedded, and have proven capacity to respond rapidly during disasters and sustain recovery support long-term. In 2024-25, we transformed income of $404,889 into independently valued community benefit of $8.05 million—delivering 270,120 meals annually, significant emergency relief, and $653,151 in improved quality of life through social connection, supported by over 110 volunteers. This represents $27.99 of community value for every $1 of income.

Current priorities include: expanding our toilet and shower facilities to support volunteer operations and community programs; strengthening Remote Rural Meals and satellite food relief infrastructure; enhancing recovery and mental health programs; and sustaining our volunteer workforce capacity.

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