It is the desire to be part of a team that helps people each day that motivates Louise O’Connell.
And it is the amazing work which flowed from this that led Ms O’Connell to be named the 2023 Community Member of Byron Shire.
The general manager of the Byron Community Centre was given the award last week as part of the inaugural Byron Shire Community Awards, held at the Ocean Shores Country Club.
The Suffolk Park resident, who is also a keen bass player, was acknowledged for her tireless work with the Community Centre and Fletcher Street Cottage, a homelessness service in the heart of Byron Bay.
‘I honestly feel that I’m representing a whole organisation in receiving this award,’ Ms O’Connell told The Echo.
‘It’s for all of the people who’ve made Fletcher St work – the donors, the volunteers and the staff. It takes a team of 60 volunteers to make Fletcher Street work each week: cooking meals, cleaning, gardening, running the laundry service we provide.
‘And then there’s all the staff and volunteers at the Byron Community Centre itself who do an amazing job.
Tinge of irony
‘You come home every day knowing that there’s someone you’ve helped. It’s a really good feeling.’
While grateful and gracious in receiving the award, Ms O’Connell said she couldn’t help noticing a tinge of irony in the fact that the Fletcher Street Cottage was facing the prospect of having to cut services because the operation received no state government funding.
‘It costs $1 million a year to run Fletcher Street, but we’re not currently eligible for any state government funding.
‘It seems a bit ironic when we’ve got the highest number of rough sleepers of any shire in the state. I mean, we had 86 people come to our community breakfast last week’.
Ms O’Connell was one of nine local people or organisations to be honoured in last week’s awards.
Other recipients included the founder of the Cassettes dance business, Marissa Treichel, who received the Creativity Award, and Tiago Neto who won the Caring for Country Award for his work organising events for young people at the YHA Byron Bay.
For a full list of award recipients, visit www.echo.net.au or Council’s website.
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