After 26 years with the Yacaaba Centre and having connected scores of Port residents with the help they required, Lynn Vatner will say her final farewells to the service this week.
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Ms Vatner said the time had come for her to retire, and will hand the reigns of managing the Yacaaba Centre to Barb James on January 31.
“Its been a great ride. I’ve loved my time here,” Ms Vatner said. “It has been wonderful working in a community that supports us as much as it does.
“Without this community we couldn’t do the things we do for our clients. The community has been exceptional in saving our service and its continued support of us.”
Ms Vatner’s first encounter with the Yacaaba Centre was as a client. She then volunteered with the service and was part of the managing committee before becoming an employee in 1992.
In that time Ms Vatner has watched the Yacaaba Centre evolve from a women’s information and counselling service that was not able to advertise its location for the safety of its clients into what it is now – a prominent “hub of services” to address the “complex needs” of the community.
While domestic violence remains the centre’s “core service”, it also supports residents for mental health, anger, grief and loss, and refers clients in need of homelessness, financial and legal assistance to external services.
“Whatever our community needs, we try to supply a service to meet that need,” Ms Vatner said. “It’s incredibly important to have the Yacaaba Centre in the Bay.
There aren’t many other services here. Using the centre as a hub means people get used to coming here and they don’t have to travel to Newcastle.”
Ms Vatner also lived through the tumultuous period in 2014 when the Yacaaba Centre came dangerously close to being closed due to a Family and Community Services reform and funding cuts.
Following a campaign to save the Yacaaba Centre, bolstered by Port MP Kate Washington’s support and the Save Our Services movement, the Nelson Bay centre gained recurring funding until 2020.
“It’s nice to know the service will go on once I leave, that our funding will continue, and I’m not leaving with that uncertainty over the centre,” Ms Vatner said.
Ms James said she was excited to join the Yacaaba Centre.
“I’m very community and family focused. The need is growing more and more. I hope to support our clients on their journey.”
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Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
