Manager's Report

by Elizabeth Riley

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

Just a brief report from me for this edition since at the time of writing I am about to head off for four weeks holiday.

Firstly I would like to belatedly wish everyone prosperous, health and fulfilling new year.

Centre Closure

The Gender Centre is undergoing a full organisational review and in order to facilitate this process we will be closing down our normal services for one week from Monday February 5 to Friday February 9. Only the residential needs of the service will continue during this period.

We apologise for the closure but are confident that when we reopen on Monday February 12, we will be better able to provide an efficient and effective service to members of the community. Anyone seeking counselling during this time should ring LifeLine on 13 11 14.

The Gender Centre After Hours Telephone Support Line number 9233 6222 will also be terminated from mid January. We have retained the service as long as possible but the four dedicated personnel who support the line have reported only limited access in recent months. We feel it is unfair to expect the volunteers to continue to give up their free time.

I would personally like to express our appreciation to all involved over the last three years for your selfless commitment and dedication to this service and the community.

Forum Questionnaire

In November, Jack, our Social and Support Worker, ran a community forum at which community participants were invited to put forward ideas on the types of programs they would like to see run at The Gender Centre.

Thirty people turned up, to the forum with a range of suggestions. As a follow up to the forum, we are now including a brief questionnaire in this edition to solicit wider community input into those programs.

I would encourage every recipient of Polare to take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire and return it to Jack.

This way we can ensure that our programs and activities are relevant in meeting the needs and desires of community members.

Once again on behalf of the staff and the Management Committee I would like to wish everyone the very best for 2001.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.