By Marcus Uhe
Community information and Support Cranbourne (CISC)’s work in supporting the community’s most vulnerable and at-risk residents has seen them awarded with The Community Business of the Year award at the Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce ‘Love Your Local’ Business Awards on Thursday 24 March.
CISC provides independent, free, impartial and confidential information, referral and support service to all members of the community, and aspires to be a “one-stop shop” for all associated services and needs, according to President Simon Walliker.
“There’s a lot of bravery involved within coming through our doors,” Mr Walliker said.
“Having them have to talk to 10 different organisations, as opposed to one organisation, where we can say, ‘we know this guy’, or ‘we know this girl’, ‘we can help you with this stuff’.
“It’s more about over time, drilling-down to some of the key elements.
“It’s not just about handing over a prize, it’s more about finding the route of a problem.”
Before taking on the role of president at CISC, Mr Walliker was a receptionist, assisting clients when they were at their most vulnerable, walking-through the doors for the first time.
“It’s not the easiest thing to do.
“We have some paid staff but we also have a huge amount of volunteers and our organisation could not run without their support.
“They’re an amazing bunch of people and I take my hat off to everyone.
“In this year it’s been really amazing how our organisation has been able to adapt, how many other organisations have been able to adapt.”
CISC’s facility is located at 156 Sladen Street in Cranbourne.
To learn more about the services they offer, head to cranbourneiss.org.au/index.html
