Ravenswood community connects with local services in uniting event

The Who are the People in Your Neighbourhood? health and wellbeing event was started as a means to help the Ravenswood community understand what local services were available to them.

Final year medical student at the University of Tasmania Erin Donoghue said she was involved with the Health Stop project, which approaches people in different communities to discuss their health and give advice on if they need to see a health professional.

"We've been talking to people about their living situations and how regularly they get to see a GP - generally that's not super regularly so it's a good opportunity to have a check up," Ms Donoghue said.

She said many weren't aware of what health services were available to them.

"We've spoken to a few people about bulk billing GP services which is quite sparse at the moment in Launceston, and particularly in the Ravenswood area," Ms Donoghue said.

"A lot of GPs have their books closed ... we're just hearing a little bit about the different resources that they don't know how to access.

"But I think an event like this has the ability to connect people to a lot of different services.

Starting Point Neighbourhood House Ravenswood manager Nettie Burr said the event was also about service providers getting to know each other better.

"If you know where to go, it doesn't seem so scary and if you know the face, it's easier to walk through the door or make a phone call," Ms Burr said.

"We've had a really good response not only from our service providers but from people coming along, many have said they didn't know these services existed.

"It's one of the things I love about this community is that it's well connected. People care for each other and it's just a great place to be."