The initiative has been two years in the making and was launched yesterday by Bendigo’s mayor, Cr Kevin Gibbins.

Picture-based store guides will simplify shopping for those who struggle to read English.

Speech pathologist and manager of the Southern Loddon Mallee Regional Communication service Barbara Solarsh said she hoped the program would help raise awareness about the plight of people with disabilities in central Victoria, while helping them feel welcome in public places.

“We want people to be aware that every single member of the community can play a role in supporting people to feel welcome in their local communities and shopping centres are such social places, so it is a good place to start,” she said.

“It is a really important venture and if this can have a positive effect, it may gain momentum more widely.”

The program will be closely monitored for the next six months.

“We are going to do some check-listing observation of people using resources and we are going to survey shoppers,” Dr Solarsh said.

It’s hoped that if the trial is successful, it will branch out to other Woolworths stores.

Marketplace Woolworths store manager Steve Jones said he was optimistic the trial would succeed.

“We are really excited about the chance to be involved in such an important project with Bendigo Health to make shopping easy and accessible for all customers,” he said.

Mr Jones said Woolworths wanted to support community initiatives.

“Woolworths is a corporate citizen and we try to be a good one, so when Bendigo Health and Woolworths started talking about this (initiative), it was something that we needed to do.”