Listening Tour Week 6: La Trobe Valley

5 - 8 May

Listening and connecting with communities doing the real work. 

The PLACE team visited the Latrobe Valley – a region shaped by ongoing transitional challenges and remarkable local leadership. From early childhood to emotional wellbeing, we saw what it means to act with care, adapt with purpose, and walk alongside community. 

We began at The WES (Wellbeing and Emotional Support) by Wellways, a welcoming intergenerational space designed with community at its core; then visited The Little Village Project at Grey Street Primary School, where a big-hearted idea sparked by one child’s needs is now transforming many lives. Later, we joined a roundtable at the Latrobe Health Assembly, where local organisations, government, and First Nations representatives spoke candidly about what’s working and what’s not. 

Our Journey Map:

VIC: La Trobe Valley | The Wes | The Little Village Project | La Trobe Health Assembly

Powerful words that stayed with us

• “People don’t like things being done to them, they like things done with them.” 

• “Sometimes it feels like we’re only a few steps up a mountain four times the size of Everest.” 

• ”How can we form a village to wrap around and support these kids?” 

Community insight: What works? 

At Little Village, we saw care triumph over red tape. One young boy’s story , from low school attendance to thriving, showed the power of small, personalised support and how a watch with an alarm changed his life. Now he’s at school 96% of the time. 

The project breaks down barriers that have become unaffordable for families, assisting with essentials needed to thrive, from assessments to therapies and even food packs. They’re filling the cracks with compassion, persistence, and purpose. 

At the same time, The WES and the Latrobe Health Assembly are proving the impact of long-term, co-designed models. But it’s not easy. Exhaustion and frustration were clear. Communities are tired of retelling their stories for short-term funding and navigating rigid, top-down systems that don’t reflect local needs. 

“We tell the government the same story again and again, about entrenched disadvantage, and still only get short-term funding.” 

Still, they show up. They adapt. They lead. The call from La Trobe was clear: trust, partnership, and systems that invest in the long haul.