SEVERAL events over the past month have, hopefully, prompted deeper thinking from the Gawler community.
This week’s page five story by Aidan Curtis detailing the work of Gawler police and local services such as the Salvation Army is the latest in a string of articles discussing the community’s bottom line.
Earlier this month, local café owner Gayle Joyce spoke about the importance of looking beyond what’s on the surface.
She encouraged people to think about what has caused someone to be doing it tough, or why they might come across as grouchy or unapproachable.
The importance of what conditions have led people to land themselves in less than favourable situations is too often overlooked by your average Joe.
Following that story, Gawler encountered its first true heatwave of the year, recording five straight days of horrifically uncomfortable temperatures, prompting the issuing of a code red from the State Government.
Comments flowed thick and fast from a community that never misses a chance to hold its council to account, with many labelling the actions of local government unsatisfactory.
Facebook comments were littered with shows of displeasure as to how Town of Gawler dealt with the soaring temperatures, particularly relating to a lack of services and care readily available for the homeless population.
To its credit, council, while initially failing to serve the community to an acceptable standard in the face of potentially disastrous weather, held its hand up and has launched a review into its practices.
Hopefully when similar situations arise in the future, those that need it most will not only have options for care posted on social media, but will actively be looked after and treated with priority.
This week’s story regarding homelessness details a triumph of yet another local police initiative.
The lessening of homeless numbers in the town since the implementation of the Red Room Project is another feather in the cap of Senior Sergeant Robert Mowday and his crew.
While the housing and rehabilitation of the people in question is a major win for all involved, the final comment from SS Mowday is the most important takeaway of all.
“We’re getting there slowly, but need everybody’s assistance. We need the entire community to work with us,” he said.
Please remember, it is not a crime to be homeless or sleeping rough.
Have some compassion and help look after members of the community that need it.
