Illawarra's community engagement officer in action
New South Wales media release
Monday, 7 June 2010
Support for young, vulnerable and homeless people in the Illawarra is in good hands with Centrelink Community Engagement Officers (CCEOs) Margaret Eastley and Linda Robinson.
The CCEO program sees 90 specialist Centrelink staff, located across all capital cities and many regional centres, supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
Margaret and Linda’s job is to ensure homeless people, and those at risk of homelessness in the Illawarra, have better access to income support and the many other services available through Centrelink.
Margaret’s patch covers Port Kembla and Berkeley to Helensburgh while Linda covers Figtree to Gerroa, so they have a lot of ground to cover.
"The CCEO role is wonderful," said Margaret. "It’s a privilege to perform this function, helping people get back on their feet when times are really tough for them.
"I work with 9 community centres that help homeless people, making sure that services are available to them, and I also visit a lot of hospital wards and psychiatric wards."
Linda says she sees herself as the voice for people whose circumstances mean they cannot speak up for themselves.
"Recently a local welfare agency referred two young people to me who hadn’t felt able to come to Centrelink for assistance due to their personal traumatic circumstances.
"By working patiently with others I was eventually able to make sure they were both receiving payments they were eligible for, and refer them to other services that will hopefully make a big difference in their lives.
"This job is about opening up possibilities and pathways, where before there were brick walls and despair. We really give people the assistance they want to help them make their lives better."
For more information, telephone the relevant Centrelink media contact.