“Neighbourhood Watch is a wonderful place to meet people that we would be unlikely to meet elsewhere.”

The Happy Valley and O’Halloran Hill Neighbourhood Watch Area recently celebrated Christmas in June at the Vines Golf Club in Reynella.

The group has traditionally celebrated together with an end of year lunch at the Vines Golf Club, and since this event has been such a success they decided to hold another celebration in the middle of the year – Christmas in June!

At this year’s event Erin Thompson MP presented a number of the group’s members with National Volunteer Week awards from the Department of Human Services in recognition of their many years of dedicated volunteering.

O’Halloran Hill Neighbourhood Watch merged with Happy Valley Neighbourhood Watch back in 2018 and the combined group has been going strong ever since.

The group holds regular meetings throughout the year and their volunteers deliver 3,400 newsletters to local households, 4 times a year! These informative newsletters contain valuable crime prevention information to help the local community keep their families and properties safe.

The group has around 30 active volunteers who deliver newsletters and attend meetings. Their commitment to volunteering their time and helping their community is commendable.

But they don’t consider the amount of newsletters delivered to be the only measure of their success – sustainability is key – and they credit their many achievements to the friendships they have made along the way.

The group actively embraces inclusiveness and diversity and they look forward to growing their group and seeing more of their local community at their social events in the future.

If you live in the Happy Valley or O’Halloran Hill areas we encourage you to get in touch with the group by visiting their page on our website. You can connect with your neighbours and help to make your local community a safer place.

^{Pictured:  Front row: Jim Phillips Area Coordinator (standing), Sue Bernik, Paul Bernik, Debra Phillips and Carol Durrans. Rear row: Christopher Nogaj, Darren Johns, Peter Chlebowski, Erin Thompson MP Member for Davenport, Christopher Abinett, Roy Durrans and Nancy Johns.}