08 Dec Hub Cap: a community literacy space for men
Image: Reading lounge in the Hub Cap
Hub Cap is a place in Geraldton, where men who are marginalised in the community can heal and grow through learning and creating art, music, reading and writing. It is a new service which came about in response to a need to provide continuity and support for ex-prison art and literacy students, and for men who are homeless or isolated. It is funded by Community Bank Geraldton and other local community donations.
Located in the Centacare Geraldton Men’s Hub facility, Hub Cap is staffed by a specialist adult literacy teacher. Clients are also free to attend and work on their own whenever the Men’s Hub is open using self-paced materials and software.
Literacy program
The Hub Cap literacy room is a good example of place-based learning, with a reading lounge and relaxing space. It has music, plants, and artwork.
There are a lot of carefully selected materials, that can help adults who are struggling to read and write. Support ranges from one-on-one tutoring to self-paced learning and everything in-between. There are no upfront formal assessments.
Hub Cap offers a special program called Hearts and Words. Men living apart from their children can practice reading children’s books until they are ready to record themselves reading to their child. Hubcap burns it to a CD, adds their artwork to the front cover if they want, then posts off the CD and the book(s) to their child.
Hubcap also runs art and music programs. These programs provide a space for men to creatively express themselves. Hub Cap plans to help clients develop their talents, and archive, display, market and sell their art and merchandise if they wish.