EVERY second Friday night, a food trailer pulls into the Young Street car park in Frankston, and the smell of a barbecue drifts into the dark. No invitation is needed, and no one is turned away. The trailer belongs to Life-Gate Inc, a Frankston charity that many locals have never heard of, despite the hundreds of lives it touches each year. CEO Lauryn Hornby has been part of the organisation for 20 years and says the fortnightly event is central to what Life-Gate is about. “The heart and purpose of it is a community barbecue, and anyone’s welcome,” she said.…
Author: Sarah Halfpenny
FRANKSTON primary school students are preparing to take on artificial intelligence, ADHD, bullying and more in the second season of a podcast that has already reached listeners in 20 countries. Those 6 Tweens – a podcast made by local kids for kids – was created through Anglicare Victoria’s Communities for Children (CFC) Frankston program, and season one has quickly grown from a school project into something far larger than anyone expected. The six-episode first season was led entirely by a group of year five and six students from Kananook Primary School, who chose all their own topics – friendship challenges,…
NEARLY six months on from its official opening, staff at the new Peninsula University Hospital building say that its design is improving patient care. The redevelopment, designed by Bates Smart in partnership with Architectus, has added 130 beds and 15 operating theatres to the formerly-named Frankston Hospital. The redevelopment also included expanded mental health and oncology services, a new helipad, and enhanced women’s and children’s care. The facility has the capacity to treat approximately 35,000 more patients each year. Chantelle Pollard, nurse unit manager of the Chemotherapy Day Unit, has worked at Peninsula Health for eight years and experienced firsthand…
WHEN Hotel Paradiso opens its doors on Saturday 20 June, it will be for a cause close to Ashleigh Trotter’s heart – honouring the memory of her mother, Linda, who died from breast cancer in 2022. In the years since, that grief has become a driving force. Ashleigh, one of Hotel Paradiso’s business partners, has channelled her loss into action by hosting an annual fundraiser. This year they aim to raise $15,000 for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI) in Melbourne. “My mum was honestly one of a kind,” Ashleigh said. “She was the most caring, humble, loving mother…
JOE Bakhmoutski credits a unique trauma recovery program with transforming his own life, and now he’s bringing it to his community, hoping it will reach the men who need it most. Left Write Hook combines non-contact boxing with creative writing to support adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, gendered violence and complex trauma. The eight-week, research-informed program runs each Saturday from 1 August to 26 September at a Frankston gym. Bakhmoutski, originally from Ukraine, will co-facilitate alongside Daniel Rylatt, both of whom are former participants of Left Write Hook. “This is the first one that is for men, run by…