“My patch covers all of the Mitchell Shire and includes Broadford, Beverage and Seymour,” Lauren said.
For the 35-year-old officer this is the life that she has been falling toward since she was 16 years old.
“My parents were uniformed members of the Salvation Army in Ballarat,” she recalls.
After graduating from Ballarat Clarendon College, Lauren studied for a bachelor’s degree in youth work at the Australian Catholic University. This led to work at the Ballarat Community Health and later on for an organisation called Lead On.
In 2010 Lauren was called to Echuca where she became an assistant youth worker for the local corps.
“My greatest challenge was working with young people who are facing a range of mental health issues,” she said. “These include depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.”
After completing a Bachelor of Ministry, Lauren worked at head office as the Divisional Youth Secretary Melbourne Central Mission.
“It’s a grand title isn’t it?” she laughed.
In 2018 Lauren moved to Bendigo to become the Associate Corps Officer. For the next five years she worked with the homeless and young people struggling with mental health.
“The city has a real problem with drugs and alcohol,” she recalls. “And all of the social issues that flow from those addictions.”
In Seymour Lauren feels that she is on a steep learning curve.
She has been challenged to look after her own stress levels because of the high burnout rate among colleagues.
“The people I work with are lovely,” she said.
“I have a great team and our op shop is the cleanest one I have seen.”
In the short time here Lauren has noticed that people are struggling with the high cost of living. Some families are struggling to pay bills.
“I am committed to healthy communities,” she said.
“Part of that is helping people to work together in partnerships.’’
— Geoffrey Johnstone, Pastor of the Seymour Baptist Church
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