An exciting new initiative of Banyule Community Health has been the establishment of the Early Years Parenting Centre (EYPC), a partnership between BCH and the Children's Protection Society.

The EYPC provides a safe and nurturing environment for children and parents as well as a dedicated area to run programs aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of families in our community.

The EYPC provides a pathway for children and families to access a wide range of services and supports as their families grow, all offered in a safe and welcoming space.

A number of groups and activities already run out of the EYPC, including two supported playgroups (Wednesdays and Fridays) providing new mums with information, friendship and support in raising their babies; a toy library service (Fridays); the CHUGS program (Mondays) for women with post-natal depression; and the Mother Goose program (Thursdays) supported by the BCH Speech Therapy team.

2009 will see the introduction of a range of other programs based out of the EYPC including dance, art & music; community choir; community garden and other group activities such as exercise classes and massage sessions.

The EYPC will be officially launched early in 2009 and we are currently looking to the community to help us name our space. The name of the space needs to reflect the community that it serves and be meaningful to the people who use the space - and we are inviting suggestions from the community. The best suggestion will be used as the new name for the EYPC with the winner receiving Gold Class movie tickets for two people.

For more information about the Early Years Parenting Centre, or to make your suggestion for the new name, contact Tessa Hughes on 0437 073 902 or email thughes@cps.org.au. You can also download the competition flier here.