“I love it here.” Pinaroo Village resident Joy Cox, with Opening Doors Foundation management Lee Hesketh and CEO Shane McMullen. Picture: Marguerite McKinnon.
For Marlene Bowen, three steps, literally, changed her life, and she couldn’t be happier.
“I was [a resident] at [Wagga residential aged care facility] The Haven and they had three big steps out the back to the clothes line and I couldn’t get back up and down them,” Marlene said.
The hazard for Marlene prompted a pivotal decision last year to relocate to one of 35 new units at Pinaroo Village in Glenfield Park, that offered affordable seniors housing and specialist disability accommodation as part of its not-for-profit Opening Doors Foundation.
“I love it. I’ve been here 12 moths now and I really love it,” declared Marlene.
“Everybody’s friendly, and we all get on good together. It’s like a family.”
Last week, Marlene joined other residents and management to mark 12 months since Pinaroo Village opened, with a celebration of cake, balloons and laughter.
Joy Cox is another resident who calls Pinaroo Village “home”, after relocating from Geelong in Victoria.
“It’s such a relief to be here,” Joy said.
“I lived in Wagga previously and I actually worked at the old hospital. I’m so happy to be here in a community village because where I was in Geelong, it was just a (government) housing unit and everybody kept to themselves,” she said.
“Everybody’s so good, and Lee is just so helpful.”
Opening Doors Foundation’s Lee Hesketh takes a selfie with resident Marlene Bowen.
Lee Hesketh is the Opening Doors Foundation’s administration and property manager at Pinaroo Village.
“It’s the community spirit here that’s so strong,” Lee said.
“There are so many good people here. Not all of them have been in dire straits but some have, and it’s been really, really good to be able to give them that phone call that we have a unit available and it’s just the best.”
At the helm of the Opening Doors Foundation is CEO Shane McMullen, who has more than 22 years in management in aged care.
“People that are coming in here usually don’t own their own home, they’re out renting in the community, and they’re just eligible for the pension basically, and they might have a few other assets. These people are our first priority,” he said.
Pinaroo Village residents celebrated its first anniversary with cake, balloons and laughter. Picture: Lee Hesketh.
Stage One has 35 units, 31 of which are seniors living units, plus four special purpose disability units.
Stage Two has just opened with 36 units, all of which have been taken, while Stage Three is under construction to build 32 units, with the opening date set for March 2026. In total there will be 103 units, comprising 88 seniors living units and 15 special purpose disability units.
“We’ve got a waiting list of 130 for the remaining units in Stage Three which is being built, and that’s for 32 units,” Mr McMullen said.
It comes as Australia’s median home price reached a record high of $827,000. According to property data analysts PropTrack, July figures rose 0.3 per cent to push the 2025 rate up by 4.9 per cent so far. Regional areas have outperformed capital cities, with prices climbing 0.4 per cent for the month of July, and 6.5 per cent for the year so far. The only place to buck the Australia-wide trend was Canberra, which fell 0.1 per cent.
At Pinaroo Village, all residents have care packages or NDIS packages depending on eligibility, and all units are rented. The amount they pay is determined by their circumstances, to maximise access for the financially disadvantaged. The village is next to a bus stop, and walking distance (or a short drive) to Glenrock Country Practice Medical Centre, and South City Shopping Centre.
Shane and Lee also have the backing of a highly experienced and respected board of locally-based trustees that oversee the governance of the Opening Doors Foundation. In a world where profit and greed abound, The Opening Doors Foundation has worked tirelessly to honour its origins of service to others in need.
The not-for-profit Opening Doors Foundation Ltd. originated in 1951 through the generosity of Mr Eric V. Roberts, who founded Wagga’s local radio station, 2WG, with his beloved wife Ida in 1932. In 1937, Ida launched the 2WG Women’s Club which began an incredible legacy.
2WG founders Mr and Mrs Eric V Roberts, who started the radio station in 1932, before Mrs Ida Roberts created the 2WG Women’s Club in 1937 that raised huge sums of money to help locals in need. Picture: Wagga Wagga City Library.
The 2WG Women’s Club identified a need in the community to provide accommodation for aged persons who were financially disadvantaged. In the 1930s there were no aged care services, and public housing was scarce.
Mr Roberts purchased 18.5 acres in Bourke St, and gifted the land to the 2WG Women’s Club. The 2WG Women’s Club had raised more than 100,000 pounds for a wide range of community projects, including the creation of Wagga’s first aged care facility in 1955, “The 2WG Old People’s Home”, with the support of 16,000 Riverina women who didn’t want loved ones to be sent to homes far away. It would later be known as The Haven.
By 2018, the board of The Opening Doors Foundation sold off the residential and community aged care services to Catholic Healthcare, and shifted its focus on housing for those in need through its charitable benevolent institution.
Pinaroo Village resident Christine Smith relocated from West Wyalong seven years ago, but in the past week she had a joyous reunion, when her big sister Kathleen moved into Pinaroo Village, 10 doors up.
“God, we were only kids the last time we lived so close,” Christine said.
“I’ve been up there every day helping her unpack, and after our first anniversary celebration, I went up with some birthday cake and made a cuppa, and we sat and had cake together,” Christine said.
“Everything’s great here. Everyone’s beautiful, and you walk past and say hello. Lee and Shane are just brilliant. They’re absolutely top notch, you know? They know what they’re doing and it’s just really comfortable.”
Click HERE to find out more about the Opening Doors Foundation.
