By Mikayla van Loon
For 24 years, Gayle Courtney-Warren has been a pillar in the Lilydale community op shop scene, volunteering to make the lives of others that little bit easier.
Having started at the CIS Yarra Ranges Op Shop all those years ago when it was first located in the Lilydale Marketplace, Gayle said “it was nothing like this”.
“If you think of school classrooms, we had three of those, one was the office and one was the op shop,” she said.
“We’ve moved from nothing to a shop like this and we would never have believed it when we started.”
Many of the customers who would come into the shop initially were often looking for outfits for job interviews or starting a new career.
“So we started off with people going out for work and you had to dress appropriately, so guys having to have a suit jacket, women would come in and younger kids and we could support them in that.”
From there the shop moved to its location on the corner of Hutchinson and John Streets which is where Gayle formed many relationships with local people and it grew beyond just an op shop.
Coming from a background working in the courts as a domestic violence officer, Gayle used her connections with organisations like the Eastern Domestic Violence Service (EDVOS), now known as FVREE, to help women and children fleeing violent situations.
“They would say we have a couple of women coming out to your area who have a couple of kids and we would actually give them anything in the shop [to help set them up],” Gayle said.
The rate in which Gayle saw and helped women escaping family violence increased over the years, especially after the pandemic.
“It happened just before Covid as a trickle and then after Covid of course, there was a lot more coming in for it.”
As a key support of the Community Information and Support office in Lilydale (CIS Yarra Ranges), the two worked collaboratively to provide families with what they needed through a voucher system.
Gayle said just this year, she has had hundreds of people come in with vouchers, needing some essential items of clothing or household goods.
The op shop has also supplied sleeping bags, warm clothes and other essentials to people experiencing homelessness, something that increased too in the Yarra Ranges.
“When the city decides to put people out, they put them at the end of the line and try to find them accommodation in the area, which usually means the Lilydale motel,” Gayle said.
In recognition of her service to the community, Casey MP Aaron Violi visited the op shop to present Gayle with a certificate of appreciation.
“24 years is an amazing impact on our community and I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to recognise that service,” he said.
“It was just an opportunity to say thank you to someone that’s served our community so well for such a long time.”
In part, the recognition was not only to say thank you to Gayle but to the entire team.
“CIS and the op shop have done so much for people providing material goods for those in need, particularly when you hear the stories about domestic violence and women fleeing domestic violence and also the social aspect they’ve created here with many people coming in,” Aaron said.
Sharing a similar sentiment, CIS Victoria executive officer Kate Wheller said without the dedication of volunteers like Gayle, it wouldn’t have been possible to provide the support the op shop has.
“I don’t actually know how many hours she has done over that time, but it would be hundreds and hundreds of hours that she has given up each week to support the store.
“One of the wonderful things about Gayle is that she’s so engaging and she’s very gently supported her colleagues and also the community who come in. Often going into our shop can be a bit of time for community connection as much as it can be for shopping.”
It is that element of volunteering Gayle will miss the most about the CIS Yarra Ranges Op Shop.
“It’s the people, absolutely and the friendships,” Gayle said.
