Mission Australia will celebrate its 150th birthday with a morning tea in Newcastle today to thank loyal donors, volunteers and staff in the Hunter for their tireless support over the years.
Special guest at the event is the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Cr John Tate. He’ll be joined by around 100 other guests representing government departments, funding bodies, corporate partners, individual donors, volunteers and Mission Australia staff.
Lisa O’Brien, Mission Australia’s Operations Manager for Northern NSW, said the organisation had a long history in the region, originally providing support to families and children via the Mayfield Baptist Church before evolving into the Hunter Mission in 1991 and then joining the Mission Australia family in 2000.
“We run a range of crucial services for individuals and families in need in Newcastle and throughout the Hunter,” said Ms O’Brien.
“Our homeless services – such as Mission Australia’s Newcastle Adult Accommodation Support Service (NAASS) and The Signpost – focus on helping people at risk of homelessness maintain their housing or provide a first point of contact for homeless people to access assistance, including low cost accommodation.
“Our services for young people detect signs of problem behaviour and help divert them from the juvenile justice system. For those leaving detention we provide the support they need to get their lives back on track so they can avoid re-offending.
“We work with people with mental illness and help them overcome social isolation and participate in their community through education and employment.
“Our financial services help a diverse range of clients – from people in a bad position because they’ve lost their job and are unable to manage their debts through to those battling addiction.
“Our employment programs have been helping long-term jobseekers in the Hunter for more than a decade.
“And we have five new early childhood services in the area – which we recently took over from ABC Learning – and which emphasise supporting children to make a successful transition to school.
“These are examples of just some of the services we run in Newcastle and the Hunter – programs that make a real difference in people’s lives – but which we couldn’t run without the support of our loyal local donors, volunteers and business partners.
“We really look forward to celebrating our 150th with all our friends,” said Ms O’Brien.
To read more about Mission Australia's 150th Anniversary, please visit the 150th website (click here).
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