The Spirit March 2015

Spirit

Inside this Issue:• ChristmasAppealhighlights

• Celebratingourhistory

• Reunitingfamilies

• Inspiringyoungpeople

• Andmuchmore…

SpiritCelebrating 15

0 Years of Hope

Celebrating 150 Years of H

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A NEWSLETTER FROM THE ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY (WA) Inc. MARCH 2015

The Spirit March 2015

20 years of offering joy

St Vincent de Paul Society former State President, Brian Bull has been donning the red Santa suit and handing out Christmas presents to the residents of Vincentcare for 20 years.

The former WA Police Commissioner visits Vincentian Village in Woodbridge every Christmas to distribute gifts to the men who live at the village. His visit each year is much anticipated by the residents and brings joy and hope at a time that can be difficult for many.

Vincentcare provides accommodation to 76 people living with severe and enduring mental illness – many of whom also have experiences of homelessness. The service provides support across three different levels of accommodation giving the service flexibility to encourage people to maintain their independence and develop their life skills.

“I started doing this in 1994 since this Special Works inception, and I continue to get real enjoyment out of it,” Mr Bull said.

“It makes the residents feel valued and reminds them that people do care about them and I get a great deal of personal satisfaction out of seeing the pleasure they get.”

Christmas can be a very lonely and difficult time of year for individuals living away from, or without family. The staff and volunteers at Vincentcare not only provide the practical support the resident’s need, but stability and friendship. Without Vincentcare most of the people would be living on the streets, struggling to survive. The gifts Mr Bull distributes are collected as part of the Vinnies Christmas Appeal.

Brian Bull

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It is with great pleasure that I present you with the first edition of the Spirit Newsletter for 2015. As we move further into a new year, the Society continues to advocate for families and individuals marginalised or struggling financially in our community. We have been in dialogue with Government at both a State and Federal level, to ensure that they understand their responsibility to support people who are currently unable to support themselves.

Through our annual Christmas Appeal, the Society was able to provide much needed comfort to many individuals and families through the provision of Christmas hampers and gifts. This is made possible through the generosity of the West Australian community, with our donors, parishes, schools, corporate and community supporters all responding once again to our call for help. Donor funds have again enabled us to conduct camps for vulnerable kids and teenagers who otherwise would be denied these experiences.

We can already sense that many in our community will find 2015 another challenging year – although we hope that the downward trend in the private rental market and the drop in fuel prices may be of some benefit to the people we assist. We encourage anyone who is able, to please support our Appeals and events this year. Through your contribution we can ensure that anyone that calls on us for help can be provided with the support they need and our vital emergency relief, homelessness, mental health, refugee, and youth services and programs can continue.

Thank you

Bob Burns State President St Vincent de Paul Society (WA) Inc.

From the State President

Contact Information‘The Spirit’ is produced by: The Public Relations and Fundraising Department, St Vincent de Paul Society WA. Copyright 2015. Because we respect the privacy of the people we support, names in this newsletter have been changed, stories summarised and adapted and pictorial models used.

All correspondence can be sent to:Media & Communications Coordinator,Public Relations and FundraisingSt Vincent de Paul Society WA, PO BOX 473,Belmont, WA 6984

Email: info@svdpwa.org.au Website: www.vinnies.org.au

Vinnies are always looking for Christmas Appeal partners and supporters – if you would like to be involved in 2015, please contact Stephanie on 9475 5414.

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The Spirit March 2015

Christmas Appeal launched by new Governor GeneralWA’s newly appointed Governor, Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson AO, officially launched the St Vincent de Paul Society’s 2014 Christmas Appeal in the gardens of Government House on Thursday 4 December in front of around 160 guests.

Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson, who was installed as the 32nd Governor and inaugural female Governor of Western Australia in October, was pleased to be able to take part in the launch acknowledging the important work of the Society in the community.

“The St Vincent de Paul Society is one of WA’s longest serving charities, advocating for the marginalised and disadvantaged in WA,” Her Excellency said.

“I know the WA community is very generous and by supporting the Vinnies Christmas Appeal we can provide financial assistance, clothing, food hampers and gifts for children who would otherwise wake up to nothing on Christmas morning.”

The launch event provides an opportunity for the St Vincent de Paul Society to acknowledge and thank its many dedicated volunteers and Corporate and Community supporters, all of whom are pivotal in enabling the Society to continue to help many in need.

CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society in WA, Mark Fitzpatrick said the Society is seeing first-hand the dire impacts of the increasing cost of living on families and individuals.

“The 2014 Christmas Appeal reminded people that we all have the capacity to ‘Do Something About It’ and make a life changing difference to people who are doing it tough,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

Other notable attendees at the launch included the Hon. Tony Simpson MLA on behalf of the Premier Colin Barnett and the State Government of Western Australia, the Hon. Margaret Quirk MLA, representing the Leader of the Opposition Mark McGowan and the West Australian Labor Party and the Rt Honourable Lisa Scaffidi, Lord Mayor of the City of Perth.

The Christmas Appeal is an important initiative for the Society and many people across the Society, including staff and volunteers, worked hard to distribute toys and hampers to people in need over the November and December period.

“To reach out to so many people in need takes a truly collective effort and many people will have had a happier Christmas and New Year as a result of all this hard work,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

Again we were very grateful to Crown Perth for their generous donation of food hampers and gifts, which includes the Crown Housekeeping team forgoing their secret Santa gifts, choosing instead to donate to Vinnies.

IGA once again came on board as a national Christmas Appeal partner. Through the sales of IGA Community Chest products, IGA has raised $681,453 nationally for the Vinnies Christmas Appeal over the past two years.

Best & Less joined forces this Christmas with The Wiggles to raise funds by selling a series of Share a Smile stickers that could be purchased at any Best & Less stores.

Brumby’s also partnered with Vinnies this Christmas in the Art of Giving Campaign. The campaign encouraged customers to donate to the Brumby’s bread bank in participating Brumby’s stores.

Red Rooster, a new partner to the Vinnies Christmas Appeal, supported people in need by providing 1,000 vouchers for whole chickens to be distributed over Christmas and into 2015 through emergency relief and are keen to expand this support in the future.

The Society was delighted to have over 60 corporate and community groups and 53 schools support the Christmas Appeal this year.

Thank you to the WA community for generously supporting the Christmas Appeal and helping make a real difference in people’s lives!

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The Governor General Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson with St Vincent de Paul Society WA State President Bob Burns.

Crown Perth donate food and gift hampers.

Students from Sacred Heart College donate to the Christmas Appeal.

The Spirit March 2015

A long history

1865The first conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Western Australia was formed on 24 July 1865. Conferences are local volunteer based groups who deliver the core work of the Society which is Emergency Relief and Home Visitation.

Military man, John Gorman, who had arrived in Western Australia from Ireland in October 1851, inserted an advertisement in the paper inviting people to a meeting to raise funds for the relief of the poor. The first formal meeting was held on 8 December 1865 under the chairmanship of John Gorman.

The unknown yearsIn the years after John Gorman’s death in 1872, reports and accounts of the Society are scant. It is believed the good work of the Society continued and that many worked in the community distributing alms to the poor, consoling the bereft and following the principles of St Vincent and Frederic Ozanam, without belonging to a formally aggregated conference.

1911Fr Clune was consecrated Bishop on 17 March 1911. He invited Mr L F Heydon, MLC, the then Australian President of the Society, to come to Perth and establish the organisation in his diocese. The first meeting was held on 26 June 1911.

1917With 12 active conferences in WA, the organisation was officially named The Society of St Vincent de Paul, Western Australia.

John Gorman

Fr Clune

Founding members of the first conference in Highgate

Camillus House.

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1927The “Special Work” of ship visitation and support for the mariners, was consolidated with the opening of the Catholic Mission in Fremantle by Archbishop Clune.

1936The Silver Jubilee of the reforming of the Society in Western Australia was celebrated with a meeting and Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral.

A British Sailor’s Society function.

1947The Society was charged with the running of the Seaman’s Institute, providing accommodation for seafarers.

1950 The Society was involved in helping displaced persons from European countries devastated by the War, settle into Australia.

1954Archbishop Prendiville laid the foundation stone at Camillus House, the first night shelter. The new building was formally opened by the Archbishop in 1957.

The Spirit March 2015

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Attendees at the National conference in Perth.

Riding camels at Lake Leschenaultia.

1961The first retail shop was opened in Bulwer Street, Perth. The shop, the first of its kind in the Special Works program was a great success, selling second hand clothing and household goods.

1976The three hand logo, designed in 1965 was introduced. The new WA head office was established in “Record House” on Hay Street, Perth.

1979Migrant and Refugee Committee was formally established.

1984Perth was host to the National Congress in October which was attended by 350 national and international delegates.

1988Vincentian House was established in Midland as a refuge for homeless men. The site was originally the first hospital in Midland and it was officially opened on 30 September 1989.

1991The Youth Program was established and the first kid’s camp was undertaken in 1993 for disadvantaged kids.

2014Work begins on Tom Fisher House, a new shelter in Perth for the chronically homeless. It is named after one of the Society’s longest serving volunteers.

2015Marks 150 years since the St Vincent de Paul Society was established in Western Australia!

2001Named Ozanam House, the Society’s head office moved to new premises in Belmont, more suited to the needs of the ever expanding charity.

The complete history of the St Vincent de Paul Society in WA is captured in the book “With these Hands” by Kevin Casey. If anyone is interested in a copy please contact the Society on 9475 5400. Also special thanks to the Society’s archivist Tom Fisher for his ongoing commitment to gathering and recording the history of the Society.

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1999 The Passages Resource Centre was established in Northbridge to assist young people experiencing homelessness. The project is partnership joint venture with Rotary Club of Perth.

2007A Metropolitan Call Centre was established enabling the Society to centralise its emergency relief assistance calls and adopt new technology to support conferences.

2012With the support of the Rotary Club of Perth and philanthropist Jack Bendat a second Passages Resource Centre was established in the Peel region to assist homeless young people in the area.

The Spirit March 2015

Help in Housing

Our Call Centre Volunteers

Housing affordability continues to be one of the most significant issues facing many Western Australians, and is a major contributor to people experiencing homelessness and poverty. The St Vincent de Paul Society is working to address this issue at both a State and National level. The Society is heavily involved in providing housing to thousands of Australians, as well as a range of other services that help people avoid homelessness.

With Perth experiencing high rental prices and low vacancy rates, sustainable housing in WA is fast becoming out of reach for a number of Western Australians. It is no surprise that many people who receive less than the average income are struggling to find housing, and are then paying a very large proportion of their income on this housing. In fact, ABS data shows that housing costs are a far larger portion of a low income household’s expenditure than for higher income households.

The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report, Housing Affordability: The real costs of housing in WA, found a significant percentage of Western Australians are suffering from rental stress, particularly lone parent families and elderly renters (42 percent of lone-parent families pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent and 13 percent are paying more than 50 percent). The report concluded the State’s private rental sector is unable to deliver a secure and affordable supply of housing to people on lower incomes who are unable to access social housing or home ownership.

Housing is a basic necessity and human right, and one we believe that all levels of government have a duty to try to fulfil. Many of the programs already in existence are working hard to assist significant numbers of people, however these programs need funding extended, and in many cases increased. Instead, disappointingly at the end of 2014 the Federal Government announced it was cutting funding to many housing programs as part of the $240 million budget cuts to social services. It has also scrapped the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

This puts even greater pressure on the Society and other agencies to address these issues and advocate for change. Recently the Society in WA developed a new housing strategy with a focus to grow its

If you think back over your life, at one time or another you would have needed to ask for help from someone you did not know. It may have been when your car broke down, when you injured yourself, when something out of your control happened and you could not fix it alone.

Think back to how asking a stranger for help made you feel - you may have been embarrassed, shy, reluctant to ask, angry that you had to ask for help and could not fix the problem yourself, depressed, lonely, sad.

Asking for help is not an easy thing to do. By the time a person calls the St Vincent de Paul Society Call Centre to ask for assistance, a person’s situation and how they are feeling about having to ask for help is often a difficult and challenging experience for both the caller and the Call Centre volunteer.

Our Call Centre volunteers answered more than 33,000 calls for assistance in 2014, with only 2-4 volunteers manning the phones on any given day. The calls received are often challenging and sometimes heartbreaking, with our volunteers never seeing the faces of people

they assist, however these wonderful, caring and compassionate volunteers take it all in their stride and continue to volunteer with the Society as they enjoy “giving back to the community” and find the experience “extremely rewarding”.

The Call Centre operates between 9am and 1pm Monday to Friday and volunteers are always needed. If you are interested in volunteering please call 9475 5400.

People in need of assistance can call the Call Centre on 1300 794 054 during operating hours.

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To support the work of Vincentcare, the Society’s housing initiatives and its work in the homelessness arena you can donate by going to vinnies.org.au or by calling 13 18 12.

community housing stock and implement more programs to help people in need. The Society will also be taking part in the Department of Housing’s Community Housing Steering Group which is looking at policies and practices to improve the delivery of housing to people in need in WA.

It is not just about providing the bricks and mortar, but ensuring the support services are available to make it sustainable and effective in the long term. It will remain an important focus for the Society to continue to develop new initiatives by working with its members and staff to have a positive impact on the provision of housing for people in need.

John is one of our dedicated Call Centre volunteers.

Source: Bureau of Statistics.

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Youth leading the charge

Providing opportunities

Recently staff at Vincentcare were able to help one of their residents re-connect with family, an important part of the recovery model Vincentcare provides.

During a conversation with Olga, one of Vincentcare’s Accommodation Support Officers, Andrew, a 48 year old gentleman with mental health issues and an intellectual disability who has been living at Vincentian Village for two years, revealed that his family resides in Victoria and the only relative he knew was his uncle who he had lost touch with around seven years ago.

Olga set about trying to track down Andrew’s elderly uncle but they had no contact details. Eventually after several calls to various agencies Olga located a phone number and Andrew and his uncle were able to reconnect. They had several telephone conversations but

Andrew wished he was able to meet up with him in person and so Olga set about helping Andrew make arrangements to go to Melbourne.

With Olga’s help and support, Andrew was able to spend Christmas with his uncle. They caught up on the time they were apart and had a wonderful time together. Andrew returned from Melbourne with a new confidence and is currently working on getting his driver’s license so that next time he is in Melbourne he will be able to drive his uncle around.

Vincentcare provides accommodation to 76 people living with severe and enduring mental illness – many of whom also have experiences of homelessness. The service provides support across three different levels of accommodation giving the service flexibility to encourage people to maintain their independence and develop their life skills.

January is a busy time with two youth camps run by Vinnies Youth volunteers, giving kids a chance to have fun on their summer break whilst providing their families with a time for some much needed respite.

A group of children aged 8 to 12 spent 4 days of their school holidays with a group of youth volunteers, playing games, participating in craft activities and just generally having fun.

Each kid’s camp has a theme which the activities and games revolve around, this camps theme was Time Travel. The kids travelled through time and enjoyed activities based on Prehistoric times, the Ice Age, Medieval times and all the way into the future as well.

Also in January, teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 spent 4 days away from home, giving them a chance to have a break from their normal lives and challenges. The teens had the opportunity to learn many valuable skills including the importance of team work through raft building and rock climbing activities.

At the end of each camp both leaders and kids walk away with a week full of unforgettable memories, a whole collection of written

“warm fuzzies” from each other and rapports which become stronger and stronger each camp.

Vinnies Youth Volunteer Dennielle Massang said that to be able to make kids who have gone through so much, smile and laugh and to be able to inspire and make a difference in their lives, is an incredible and indescribable feeling and experience.

Ready for it’s maiden voyage, a camp group put their raft building skills to the test.

Reflection tree where kids write what they like about going on camp.

To support Vinnies Youth programs in the community you can donate today by going to vinnies.org.au or by calling 13 18 12.

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Follow us & keep up with all the activities and news of the Society!

After 30 years in its old location, the Vinnies Shop in Wembley moved to a bigger and brighter location across the road from its old location in July 2014.

A brand new Vinnies Shop opened in Applecross in October, setting record sales in its first week of opening. Formerly Civic Video, the new shop is located at 1- 783 Canning Highway in Applecross.

A new shop recently opened in Cannington on Albany Highway. If you know of anyone in the area who would like to volunteer some time each week in store, we would love to hear from them! To get involved as a volunteer in this rewarding work please contact Alex on 08 9475 5400.

Our Vinnies Shops always need donations and good quality pre-loved items can be donated through your local Vinnies Shop or thought the Vinnies Depot in Osborne park. Go to vinnies.org.au to find your nearest Vinnies Shop.

THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2015WACA PERTH

REGISTER NOWwww.ceosleepout.org.au

SAVE THE DATE

Save the Date.indd 1 29/07/2014 4:37:03 PM

Nominate your boss!

The main aims of Anti-Poverty Week are to:

- Strengthen public understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship around the world and in Australia; and

- Encourage research, discussion and action to address these problems, including action by individuals, communities, organisations and governments.

For more information visit www.apw.antipovertyweek.org.au or call 1300 797 290

Anti-Poverty Week11 - 17 October

The Vinnies CEO Sleepout event, which will be held in all capital cities on Thursday 18 June 2015, calls on CEOs and business leaders to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness while raising funds for Vinnies homeless services. There are 105,237 people experiencing homelessness every night across Australia; this represents an 8% increase since the 2006 Census. Last year’s record of 108 participants managed to raise an incredible $1.2million for homelessness in WA and we encourage WA business leaders to support this important event.

Retail Area Manager Linda Rigney and Shop Manager Terri in the new Applecross shop.

This year we celebrate a special milestone with 2015 marking the 10th annual Passages Race Day! The event will be held at Belmont Racecourse on 23 May 2015. You can enjoy a great day out all while raising money to help young people who are experiencing homelessness. To sponsor a table or donate auction items please email events@svdpwa.org.au or call 9475 5414.

To learn more about Passages visit www.passagesresourcecentre.com

“Hats, Fascinators, Fillies and Fun!”

10th Passages Race Day

New Vinnies Shops

The St Vincent de Paul Society is a National sponsor of Anti-Poverty week and this year Vinnies’ CEO Mark Fitzpatrick is a State Co-Chair in Western Australia.