St Barbara Limited has come to the rescue for Shooting Stars in Leonora.
Shooting Stars Executive Officer Fran Haintz says the program’s rollout in the Goldfields would have hit a road bump if not for the generosity of one of their key partners in the area.
Leonora is Shooting Stars’ newest site and the first program in the Goldfields.
Leonora Program Coordinator Shelley Coleman, a Kokatha and Mirning woman originally from the far West Coast of South Australia, had relocated from Perth to take up the opportunity to work with Shooting Stars.
She was in need of permanent housing but none could be found before St Barbara recently stepped in.
Innovative gold mining company St Barbara’s are already committing significant financial support for Shooting Stars.
They have now demonstrated a deeper partnership by supporting both financially and in kind, through housing support.
“Shelley commenced work in Leonora at the start of term one,” Haintz said. “When it came time for her to move into permanent accommodation and we could not source any, the Shooting Stars program in Leonora was at significant risk.”
“It’s a full-time, in-school program so we work with the girls every single day on ways of engaging them to, not just come to school, but when they’re at school behave and be positive and work towards positive outcomes. Without St Barbara’s support, we would have put the program on hold.”
“St Barbara as a company, and then also the Leonora Operations, put great value on being a positive and contributing member of our host communities. We always try and help where we can, and try to make a difference that will benefit the larger communities in which we operate. The Shooting Stars program is a fantastic initiative. Helping this program be successful is part of why we are involved. We see ourselves as a key partner that will also benefit from its success. Providing assistance, by way of housing of other aspects, just makes sense to us to support the success of the program” – Stean Barrie, Leonora Operations General Manager.
