Volunteers at the Liberation Larder

To address the need for a safer space at street level for their homeless and vulnerable clients, the Liberation Larder is now providing a trained social and mental health care worker on the street and surrounds of the Byron Bay Community Centre Fletcher St Kitchen.

With the support of a NRCF Community Grant, this service is creating a safe environment for their volunteers while carrying out their core duties of providing nourishing meals and produce to vulnerable clients. It is also helping to build a safe and calm atmosphere for the public and workers who use facilitates at the Community Centre.

In early 2020, the Liberation Larder was forced to put this project on hold, due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, the team are delighted to now have Ianna Murray filling this important position.

“Ianna is a committed, compassionate and insightful individual. Through attending breakfast and lunch services at the Centre, she has been developing a trusting relationship with some of our more troubled clients and has been able to successfully diffuse some volatile situations while still maintaining good and clear communication with the clients,” said Liz Jackson, President at Liberation Larder.

Ianna has been working in and around the Byron community for the past 12 months and brings a range of important skills to this role.

“My approach to the role strongly focusses on direct client work in the form of outreach, intensive case management and community engagement,” said Ianna. “My approach to community work engages a strengths based, person centred, trauma informed approach which I feel best positions the individual as the expert in their own lives and enables them to drive decisions and build capacity.”

“I have a strong interest in trauma and homelessness and as a local of the Northern Rivers, I am particularly passionate about supporting those in our local community to access the necessary supports and build capacity to reach and further their goals,” she said.

Through this pilot program, Liberation Larder hope to provide an incentive for other communities to offer a similar support service to their needy. They also hope to use the outcomes of this project to highlight and promote the importance of this service and need for ongoing Government support.

“Liberation Larder would like to take this opportunity to thank the Foundation for their amazing patience and support towards us since we became beneficiaries of this Community Grant,” said Liz. “We are so happy to finally have the project underway!”