Every year, the Sacred Heart Mission in St Kilda opens its doors to thousands of people who are homeless or living in desperate situations. Every day more than 600 people from all over Melbourne come to the Mission to share a hot meal, to seek assistance or to connect with others in a welcoming and safe community.
To help meet the call for short-term crisis accommodation, St Joseph’s Emergency Housing in South Yarra has taken a large hall in a disused school building and converted it into a refuge for families who are suddenly made homeless. Even if only temporary, having a safe, clean place to sleep can go a long way towards easing a difficult and very traumatic situation.
A general grant from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation has helped with the hall’s conversion into two fully furnished studio apartments, complete with kitchen and bathroom. These new crisis shelters relieve the pressure on St Joseph’s existing shelter, and are available to eligible families free of charge for five weeks. Some food from the St Joseph’s Food Store is also provided at no cost.
CERES has successfully converted a Citroen Berlingo from fuel to electric power as part of a project funded by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.
In recent months, the electric powered Citroen has been clocking up carbon-free kilometres to take the safe carbon emission message to electric vehicle workshops in regional towns. Organised by CERES, the first workshop was held at Wonthaggi’s Energy Innovation Festival, while a second was staged in Beechworth with the assistance of Beechworth Sustainability. The third workshop in Flowerdale was delivered primarily to its Bushfire Recovery team, and has since proved a valuable source of ideas for the town’s newly adopted sustainability strategy and future rehabilitation efforts.
Habitat for Humanity’s mission to provide safe, decent and affordable houses for disadvantaged families is empowering them to rise out of the poverty trap. Selected families are given the opportunity to purchase their home with a no-interest mortgage, but have to contribute at least 500 hours of sweat equity helping to build their house. They also attend courses in basic home maintenance and money management.
“By working alongside community volunteers, families are also developing important life skills,” says Executive Director, Philip Curtis. The personal transformation is remarkable, he says, with noticeable improvements in the children’s health and school performance once they are in a stable housing environment.
Your Donation at work
Every year, Sacred Heart Mission in St Kilda opens its doors to thousands of people who are homeless or living in desperate situations.
To help meet the call for short-term crisis accommodation, St Joseph’s Emergency Housing in South Yarra has taken a large hall in a disused school bui
CERES has successfully converted a Citroen Berlingo from fuel to electric power as part of a project funded by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.
Habitat for Humanity’s mission to provide safe, decent and affordable houses for disadvantaged families is empowering them to rise out of the poverty