By CASEY NEILL
“FOOD for the soul” is how Sergeant Joey Herrech describes forging ties between Greater Dandenong’s multicultural community and police.
“You’re empowering people that have had a really bad experience with police in previous times in their life,” he said.
“You’re showing them that policing in this environment is one of advocacy.”
Last Wednesday he was the inaugural Police and Community Multicultural Advisory Committee (PACMAC) Multicultural Award joint winner at the Multicultural Awards for Excellence.
“It was a bit of a highlight,” he said.
“When you do a lot of work in the community it’s not for the accolades, but it was really good fuel for the fire.”
The awards acknowledged 77 people and 23 organisations that have actively supported cultural diversity and promoted community harmony.
Sgt Herrech, from Narre Warren South, has been in the multicultural field for 12 of his 18 years as a police officer.
“Every day you come back from work and there’s been a proud moment,” he said.
“It’s breaking the stereotype and having people walk away with a positive sense of law enforcement and that they’re there to help.
“My dream is to stay there forever. I do it because I’m passionate.
“As times change overseas we’re seeing different communities coming to Australia. You need to stay on your toes.”
Sgt Herrech has been instrumental in rolling out Operation Police and Youth Leaders Engagement Team (PYLET) over the past year.
It puts police alongside recognised community leaders on patrol, engaging at-risk youths and referring them to support services for help.
“If we walk up to a group of Maori young people as just police, we don’t get a really super positive response,” he said.
“They don’t want to show their mates that they’re best friends with police – that’s not cool.
“You walk up with one of their community chiefs and it’s a whole different ball game.”
He said the operation had already helped young people return to school, beat drug and alcohol addiction and find accommodation and employment – and hopefully steered them away from a path to criminal activity.
Sgt Herrech has worked with vulnerable people overseas through policing and volunteer work, and returned with strategies to support the community and fellow police.
But he was quick to shrug off praise for his dedication and efforts.
“Anyone who works hard in any field will get recognised,” he said.
There were more than 200 nominees for the awards.
Among other local Meritorious Service to the Community recipients were Raja Dib and Jessiee Kaur Singh from Noble Park, Springvale’s Binh Hung Huynh and Neil Yip, Mohamed Shums Deen Mohamed from Dandenong North and THE-HE Vietnamese Language Centre in Springvale.
A Service Delivery to Multicultural Victoria award for Language Education went to Jing Cheng from Springvale and Jewish Aid Australia, which has a Dandenong office, received one for Community Services for Sudanese Communities.
