20yrs old and still going strong!!!
In 2008 Edgeworth Neighbourhood Centre will celebrate our 20yr anniversary.

History of the Centre
Originally Edgeworth Community Hall, the centre was built approximately 50yrs ago on land donated to the community by The Joint Coal Board with contributions from members of the local community.

The Building was managed by members of the local community and provided a venue for local events, weddings, parties, dances and dinners.

A significant number of local residents attended or held milestone events in the hall often throughout two-three generations.

It is unclear when and why ownership/management of the property was transferred to Lake Macquarie City Council and the premises are currently leased from LMCC.

Edgeworth Memorial Neighbourhood Centre Inc was incorporated in October 1988.
The centre applied for and received funding from Dept of Community Services to establish a Neighbourhood Centre. Members of the existing Hall Committee carried over and a part-time coordinator and clerical assistant were employed in 1989.

The centre held playgroups, markets, bingo, craft group, a Daycare Centre for older people and various community groups as well as providing information to the community.
Edgeworth Daycare operated from the building before relocating to larger premises and Vacation Care was provided by Westlakes Activities & Van.

During this time staff and volunteers of the centre were involved with the development of and application for funding for Northlakes Carers which provided a range of support services for older people and people with disabilities within the community.

During this period the building was extended, carpark sealed and the building re-clad. Staff and volunteers operated from two small offices in the extended section of the building.

EMNC also ran Cardiff Neighbourhood Centre located in John Young Community Hall with funding provided by Area Assistance Scheme. Funding to continue was not available and the project closed.
In 1997, with funds contributed by LMCC, two new offices were built to accommodate Edgeworth Neighbourhood Centre and Northlakes Carers.

One of the small offices was donated to Northlakes Youth Project at nominal rent following the transfer of auspice from Hunter Life Education to Lake Macquarie Youth Network Inc. This began a long partnership between the two organizations and provided a range of services and opportunities for young people from traditional Drop-In type activities to targeted groups for young people and one to one support.

The centre began to diversify with a wide range of services, activities, courses and community groups being developed to cater for the local communities growing needs and interests.
Neighbourhood centre staff were involved with the establishment of Kaiyu Clubhouse as well as participating in a range of community networks and services, providing either advice and support or technical assistance.

Links were forged with a wide range of govt and non-govt service providers and community groups such as Glendale TAFE, Australian Tax Office, Glendale High, Lake Macquarie Council, Migrant Resource Centre, Westlakes Family Support, other Neighbourhood centres etc. to provide access to programs and services to meet identified needs either on an outreach basis or by bringing courses and special projects to the centre.

Transport to what were primarily Newcastle based services has always been an issue along with limited hours for centre staff (21 hrs 1995).

In 1999, center staff were involved with the establishment of North Lake Macquarie Youth Association which received funding (Area Assistance then Dept of Community Services) for a Northlakes Youth & Family Counselling Project. This operated from a cottage owned by LMCC in Harris St which proved to have difficulties for service provision for both staff and clients.

In 2001 the Neighbourhood Centre committee decided to build an extra office and a counselling room and offer these premises to the counselling project. This addressed issues of access for clients and safety for both counselling staff and clients.

Difficulties maintaining a suitable management structure for the project led to discussions and a mutual decision to amalgamate the Northlake Macquarie Youth Association with Edgeworth Memorial Neighbourhood Centre and place management of the project under the neighbourhood centre. This was finalized in December 2004.

In 2005, Northlakes Carers in consultation with DADoCH decided to close the organization and transfer all assets and services to Mercy Community Services. This was the end of an era and extremely distressing for clients, staff and volunteers.

Also in 2005 the centre accepted Better Futures funding to provide programs to address identified issues in Glendale & Cardiff High schools. This has been highly successful in Glendale High and an extremely cooperative and productive partnership has been developed between the centre and the school.

In 2006, following ongoing discussions the decision was reached for EMNC to accept the formal management of Northlakes Youth Project. The project had been located in EMNC since 1997 and managed on a day to day basis by the centre coordinator on behalf of Lake Macquarie Youth Network.

Management Committee members have always been recruited from the local community and represent many aspects of involvement with the centre and hold a diverse range of skills and experience.

Look out for our 20yr celebration!!!