Roy Tickner and Urban Neighbours of Hope worker Sharmila Blair at the launch last week of Uncle Roy’s, a community aid centre named in honour of Mr Tickner’s contributions to the community.By Shaun Inguanzo
A ONE-stop emergency aid outlet opened last week in Noble Park to service the town’s poor and recent migrants.
Charity group Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH) launched Uncle Roy’s at an Ian Street premises formerly used for asylum-seeker aid.
UNOH volunteer Sharmila Blair said Uncle Roy’s expanded the services offered by the former premises to cater for the broader community.
Ms Blair said the shopfront acted as a foodbank on Tuesdays to allow those with a health care card to pick up a food parcel and eat breakfast.
On Wednesday the centre will run an asylum-seeker lunch and on Sunday evenings will be transformed into a place of worship for the Rainbow Church group.
“Uncle Roy’s has a wonderful family feel and it’s good to be able to be a presence in the neighbourhood,” Ms Blair said.
“It’s a place where people know they can find friendship, warmth and acceptance, no matter where they have come from or what they are currently facing.”
Ms Blair said the centre was named after charitable Springvale man Roy Tickner who started a foodbank in the same town in 1996. He then moved to Noble Park’s Ian Street four years ago.
Ms Blair said Mr Tickner now took a backseat role in the emergency food bank, but had coined the saying ‘an empty stomach has no ears’, meaning food was a better solution than kind words.
“I look forward to seeing the asylum-seeker lunch grow to see more asylum seekers able to access this service, especially when there is such a shortage of services out there to cater for this vulnerable group of people.”
