By Jonty Ralphsmith
Cornerstone’s 30-year anniversary celebrations on Friday 26 August saw the christening of the new Barb Siddall drop-in centre.
The centre was named in honour of Ms Siddall, whose vision 30 years ago has evolved into what Cornerstone is today, a centre for the homeless and marginalised community in Greater Dandenong.
With more than 100 people in attendance, chief executive Naomi Paterson said it was a successful night.
“It was an opportunity to thank people involved over the year, team members, volunteers and partner agencies,” Ms Paterson said.
“Thirty-one years ago, Barb was retiring and had extra time on her hands and was wondering what she should do with the extra time and knew there were lots of street youth and gangs in Dandenong and she felt compelled to do something about it.
“She knew nothing about working with street kids or homeless but it was something she couldn’t ignore so she figured out how she could connect with people from the communities.
“A lot of people alongside Barb helped make it a reality.
“We’re really excited about the drop-in centre – we have started setting it up as a comfortable cosy space people can come to if they need support and meet the needs of people when they are in crisis.”
