A Wodonga children's service finally has its new office more than six months after an out-of-control car ploughed into the building.
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The Learning, Education and Play Centre in Moorefield Park Drive received significant damage to its administration area in the crash.
Since then, the team has needed to set up temporarily in a private home, cancel some programs and put up with a makeshift office until the refurbishment was completed late last week.
"We had a bit of an after-work occasion just to mark that because it's been such a long journey," Sarah Nicolson, The LEAP Centre manager, said.
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Her car drove off a ledge outside The LEAP Centre, which supports children with disabilities through the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and crashed into the building.
The people in the vehicle weren't hurt but Mrs Nicolson suffered a cut to her leg and spent a night in hospital.
"I was in a moon boot for a couple of weeks, but no long-term damage and we were extremely lucky," she said.
"Only two of us here then, so that was lucky, there were no children here at the time, thank goodness."
The extent of damage forced the team to relocate until July.
"One of our team members kindly offered us her office at home and her dining table," Mrs Nicolson said.
"We set up there and were able to keep things going pretty well."
Several group programs during the Easter school holidays and some centre visits had to be cancelled.
"But in actual fact the team did a fantastic job of keeping things going and we just put our heads down and said let's make this as little of a disruption as we can and I think everybody worked really hard," the manager said.
The LEAP Centre's board of management also ensured everyone was looked after physically and mentally.
Team meetings, activities and debriefing sessions were held in the crash aftermath.
"We've made sure that as a team we spent time together, supporting each other at work but also just having time together socially and keeping a strong connection and just keeping an eye on everybody and making sure everybody's OK," Mrs Nicolson said.
Now staff members are enjoying their new office space.
"We've got nice furniture and plenty of storage, new carpet," she said.
"So it's been very disruptive and difficult but then the final outcome is a nice, newly refurbished administration area, so there's a silver lining to every cloud, I guess."
