Jen’s jammies hit the headlines

Permanently PJ-clad Jen Cramond, Community Fundraising Manager in our National Office in Sydney, has attracted plenty of attention this month – and a story on the front page of today’s mX newspaper will ensure more people see her in her bright jammies.

As Jen explained to mX journalist Cathy Morris, she’s been wearing pyjamas on her daily commute from Bondi to the city since the start of the month to help raise money for homelessness. And that includes when she pops out for a coffee or goes out for dinner and drinks at night.

"Generally, people give me an up and down look, and don't say anything," Jen told mX. 'But I have had a couple of people ask me what I'm doing.

"I felt a bit nervous on the first clay, after that I kind of go with the flow. It feels like my normal work attire, but I am looking forward to getting back into my normal work clothes."

Jen said she was motivated by the fact the money was going to a good cause.

"I think it's a small discomfort to raise money for such a good cause, there's lots of people out there who don't get a choice about where they sleep each night."

About 100,000 people were homeless across the country every day, with half of those aged under 25.

For every $100 Jen raises she's wearing PJs for another day this month. She has currently raised $1,400 and her last day is set to be Thursday.

"But if I receive more donations I'll keep going," Jen said, adding that she’s been wearing a variety of different types of PJs as part of her fundraising effort, but "the ones that are matching get the best reaction from people".

Great work, Jen! To show your support for Jen’s efforts and help homeless Australians visit everydayhero.com.au/jen_cramond_pj

You can also follow Jen on Twitter - @everynothingyen

National data mirrors demand at Mission Australia's services

New national data released today showing an increase in demand for welfare services across Australia mirrors Mission Australia's own frontline experience.

Mission Australia CEO, Toby Hall, said the number of people seeking assistance at Mission Australia’s homeless services and other community assistance programs has continued to rise in recent years – highlighting the ongoing plight of Australians struggling with financial and personal hardship.

Data published by the Australian Council of Social Service today reported a 12 per cent increase in assistance provided by agencies for services ranging from homelessness to mental health to aged care.

The data also showed that despite providing services on 6,180,282 occasions in 2009-10 compared with 5,513,780 in 2008-09, more than half of the 783 organisations polled said they had been forced to turn people away as they were unable to meet demand.

“This is a clear indication of how serious the demand has become for more services to help people who are struggling in our community,” Mr Hall said.

“Everyday, staff at our services are contacted by individuals and families desperately in need of help: people struggling with long-term homelessness; parents who are unable to find work and can no longer afford to pay the rent; and children who are dropping out of school because of the challenges they face on the home front.

“These trends are particularly concerning, when you consider that high unemployment, large numbers of young people not engaged in education or training, and general disengagement from community are the seeds of the kind of activities we have seen in Britain this month.

“This is a strong reminder to Australia of how important it is to provide adequate support services to help disadvantaged members of our community turn their lives around.

“We don’t want to see Australia's level of disadvantage increase. And most of all, we don’t want to see people in need being turned away from crucial services because the demand is just too great.

“At Mission Australia we are committed to helping people turn their lives around – especially those people who have been turned away by every other service provider.

“We don’t want to see anybody left behind – and that’s why we will continue to work with all levels of government to identify new opportunities to support people who are at risk of homelessness or disadvantage," said Mr Hall.

Media Release: International Youth Day – a chance to help young people reconnect

As communities around the world celebrate International Youth Day today, Mission Australia is reminding Queenslanders to spare a thought for those young people who are disadvantaged or struggling to cope in their community.

Mission Australia Queensland State Director Penny Gillespie said there are many young people making a great contribution to our communities – but we need to also ensure those who are struggling to get by are not forgotten, and that we do what we can to keep those young people engaged and connected.

“At Mission Australia, we provide support for some of the most vulnerable young people in our communities – people who have often lost touch with their families, disengaged with education and found themselves homeless or, worse, in trouble with the law,” Ms Gillespie said.

“In recent months, Mission Australia staff have reported a particular increase in the number of young people coming into contact with our services who are not coping in their current school environment – and as a result are avoiding classes or dropping out altogether.

“In many cases, this disengagement with school has also led to young people leaving home and ending up on the streets where they are more susceptible to becoming involved in crime or anti-social behaviour.

“Our youth services, such as Reconnect and Project Circuit Breaker, aim to help those young people to reconnect with their family and support networks, and to find education opportunities that will be supportive and responsive to their individual needs.

“As the demand for these services continues to grow, Mission Australia is encouraging government to think outside the box and support initiatives that recognise the fact, not all young people fit into the system and alternate education opportunities need to be provided.”

Ms Gillespie said the shocking events that have occurred in London over the past week should act as a reminder of how important it is to support young people to stay engaged in the community in order to prevent anti-social, destructive activities.

“The events of the past week in London have horrified the world. It is a very disturbing situation when you have young people taking out their anger on their own communities and fellow citizens,” Ms Gillespie said.

“We are fortunate not to have this sort of situation in Queensland. But these events should act as a warning that we must not allow the seeds of this sort of activity to grow, such as high youth unemployment, large numbers of young people not engaged in education or training, and disengagement from community.

“Mission Australia will continue to work with all levels of government to identify new opportunities to support young people who are at risk of homelessness or disadvantage.

“Queensland youth are the future of our State and we want to see all young people given the chance to engage positively with education, employment, family and community.”

Media Contact: Nicola Hazell – 3394 8114 or 0467 783 421

Helping young offenders turn their lives around

A new Townsville service run by Mission Australia is helping to change the lives of young people just released from youth detention.

The Supervised Community Accommodation pilot opened its doors last November and has already helped prevent youths from reoffending or ending up back on the streets.

The pilot was officially launched on Friday by Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers Senator Jan McLucas, Member for Townsville Mandy Johnstone and Mission Australia’s Queensland State Director, Penny Gillespie, during National Homeless Persons’ Week.

Ms Gillespie said the program is a Queensland first, aimed at reducing rates of homelessness and recidivism.

“This program provides 24 hour, seven day a week supervised accommodation for young males who have just come out of detention and don’t have anywhere to go,” Ms Gillespie said.

“It’s about helping those young people to transition back into the community and get a fresh start in life – so they don’t become homeless, and don’t become repeat offenders heading back to detention.

“We know that young people coming out of detention face real challenges and without the necessary support many can end up homeless or return to a life of crime.

“Through this service, our staff work with the young people to help them make positive decisions about their future, to find secure long-term accommodation and to get back to school or into work.

“We also place a great focus on reconnecting with families and support networks, which will help the youths stay on track in the future.

“The program is already achieving great results, with a number of young offenders who have accessed our service now back at school or starting new jobs – making a positive contribution to their community.

Ms Johnstone said the Queensland Government was pleased to be funding this important service, with $3 million committed over three years.

“We know that there is genuine concern about youth homelessness in Townsville and young people coming out of detention are particularly vulnerable,” Ms Johnstone said.

“The Mission Australia staff who work at this service are dedicated individuals with the experience and knowledge to help these young people get the support they need to get their lives back on track.

“This is not only helping to build a better future for these young people, it is also helping to make our whole community safer by preventing homelessness and youth crime.”

Senator McLucas said the service is playing an important part in the Gillard Government’s efforts to reduce homelessness around Australia, through the Homelessness National Partnership Agreement.

“This pilot is a great example of how grass roots community services can make a real difference to reducing homelessness across Australia,” Senator McLucas said.

“Ensuring these young people have a safe place to call home is an essential part of helping them turn their lives around.

“The service is providing a roof over the heads of some of our more vulnerable members of the local community and helping them to stay connected and lead productive, healthy lives.”

The Supervised Community Accommodation service targets primarily 16-18 year old young males who:

• Are residing in Townsville catchment areas 


• Are leaving detention on either a Supervised Release Order or bail 


• Are homeless or at risk of homelessness 

The service can support up to 4 young people at any time and Mission Australia works intensively with them for up to 6 months.

Mission Australia is working collaboratively with the Queensland Department of Communities, Youth Justice, and Cleveland Youth Detention centre to deliver the pilot under the State Government’s Youth Housing and Reintegration Service (YHARS).

Photo: From left, Senator Jan McLucas, Service Manager Judy Paton, State Director Penny Gillespie and Member for Townsville Mandy Johnstone.

Help Missionbeat reach out to rough sleepers

This National Homeless Persons’ Week, Mission Australia is launching an appeal to keep our iconic Missionbeat vans on the streets of Sydney.

Patrolling the city’s streets, alleyways and parks in vans and on bikes, Missionbeat outreach staff provide first aid, hand out blankets and swags, and offer support – and a friendly face - to find rough sleepers. They also help to organise a bed for the night and link homeless people with other support services.

With the public’s help, we aim to raise over $100,000 to keep the vital Missionbeat service on the streets this year and support more people like Hayley*.

Hayley turned to drugs as a way of coping when her parents' marriage was falling apart.

The 18-year-old became addicted to drugs and started experiencing severe mood swings. Fearing for the safety of their two younger children, Hayley’s parents kicked her out of home.

Missionbeat met Hayley earlier this year. We keep a look out for Hayley when patrolling the inner city to see if we can help her find a bed for the night. We are encouraging her to seek help to combat her drug addiction and rebuild the relationship with her family.

"Missionbeat is someone to talk to when there’s no one else," Hayley says.

To help Missionbeat reach out to more people like Hayley, please support our Missionbeat Appeal – so we can keep the vans on the street, and homeless people off them

*Name and image have been changed to protect the identity of the people we help.

Media Release: Mission Australia warns battle for affordable housing continues among the homeless

In a sign that the battle for affordable housing is growing, leading Queensland homeless organisation Mission Australia has reported its staff are now spending almost twice as many hours trying to find appropriate permanent housing for people as they were six months ago.

According to the latest data, Mission Australia’s frontline staff working in seven of its homeless services across Queensland, spent more than 420 hours assisting clients to secure permanent housing and tenancy between 1 January and 25 July 2011.

This compares to 241 hours staff had to spend specifically on securing housing for clients in the six months prior.

State Director Penny Gillespie said the increasing challenge in finding permanent accommodation for people experiencing homelessness shows just how essential the push for more affordable and social housing has become.

“Mission Australia has seven services throughout Queensland aimed specifically at helping homeless people to find permanent accommodation and turn their lives around,” Ms Gillespie said.

“Often our work isn’t primarily about finding someone a ‘roof over their head’; it’s about tackling the issues that stop them being able to maintain independent accommodation such as family conflict, mental illness or unemployment.

“But in the last six months, the amount of time our staff have had to dedicate to simply trying to locate and secure permanent housing for eligible clients has almost doubled.

“This demonstrates just how tough the lower end of the housing market has become, and of greatest concern is the impact such a shortage will have on people who are homeless or at risk of becoming so.

“We don’t want to see homeless numbers spiral in Queensland, leading to more young people, adults and families ending up living on the street or sleeping on a friend’s living room floor.

“We know that the demand for public or affordable private housing in Queensland is very high and we acknowledge the significant efforts of the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments to invest more funding than ever before to boost social housing supplies.

“We also welcome the significant contribution of both levels of government to providing better services and support through the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness.

“With National Homeless Persons’ Week starting today, this latest data is a strong reminder of how important this investment is and the risks to our community if such investment doesn’t continue.

“Our staff will keep doing everything we can to support people who have nowhere else to go and we will continue to work with all levels of government and other housing providers to assist clients to get a fair go in the housing market.”

Media Contact: Nicola Hazell – 3394 8114 or 0467 783 421

Media Release: Beds to give away in unique project to help homeless South Australians

Mission Australia - one of Australia’s leading community service organisations - has lots of beds to give away – to the homeless or those at risk of being homeless.

Its unique Sleep Better Project targets children, young people and adults that do not have access to a bed or mattress.

"National Homeless Persons’ Week (August 1-7) is a time to acknowledge that there are thousands of people in South Australia who are not able to tuck their children into a bed or lay their head on their own pillow at night,” said Kim Holmes, Operations Manager at Mission Australia.

"Homelessness is not always obvious or visible on our streets – but that does not mean it isn’t a problem. There are families living in cars, young people hoping to find a friend’s couch to sleep on and people living in overcrowded dwellings.

"Homelessness has many layers, but the ultimate impact is a sense of diminished safety, security and certainty,” she said.

As part of Sleep Better, Mission Australia has a large number of single and double beds with mattresses to be distributed through their own homelessness services as well as through their non-government partners for people in need.

"There's no substitute for a home of your own, but many of the people we help don't even have their own bed.

"A bed of your own brings with it a sense of safety, security and rest. It is more than a piece of furniture.

“Mission Australia’s Sleep Better initiative aims to help provide a good night’s sleep so South Australian children and adults can have a better opportunity to participate in education and employment,” said Ms Holmes.

The project has been funded by Community Benefits SA.

Media contact: Renae Sullivan at Rann Communication – (08) 8211 7771 or 0438 980 636

Mental health in the spotlight this National Homeless Persons’ Week

Mental illness among homeless people has become such a significant problem that Mission Australia frontline staff spent more hours assisting people with mental health needs than homelessness.

From 1 January to 25 July this year, 255 Mission Australia frontline staff across 75 of our homeless services nationally spent 5,896 hours helping people with mental health issues. In the same period, they spent 4,093 hours helping people with homelessness issues and another 1,379 hours in relation to clients at ‘risk of homelessness’ – a total of 5,472 hours.

This illustrates the strong link between mental illness and homelessness and follows on from Mission Australia’s groundbreaking study of homeless men last year that found close to 70 per cent had a diagnosed mental health or substance use disorder, 81 per cent had “very high levels” of psychological distress and exhibited Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at levels 20 times greater than the general male population.

Mission Australia CEO, Toby Hall, said the new data provides an insight into an important aspect of Australia’s broader mental health problem and of the huge demand homeless services face from people wrestling with mental illness in addition to their need for shelter.

“When you look at these figures, there’s no doubting how big an issue mental health is for both the people accessing our homelessness services and our frontline staff,” Mr Hall said.

“And when looked at in combination with Mission Australia’s earlier research on the extent of mental illness among homeless men, we are looking at a hugely significant problem. Through Mission Australia’s data collection we’re able to see exactly the type of supports our homelessness services offer young people, adults and families on a daily basis.

“It tells us that in a little over the first six months of 2011, frontline staff in our homelessness services put in more hours assisting people with mental health needs than with issues directly related to their homelessness. That’s quite extraordinary. That includes conducting health assessments, providing counselling – both formal and informal – and referring clients to more specialised medical care.

“It also reflects the complexity of the support we provide homeless people. Often our work isn’t primarily about finding someone a ‘roof over their head’; it’s about tackling the issues that stop them being able to maintain independent accommodation.

“For example, a debilitating mental illness that, untreated, makes it impossible for an individual to hold down a job or a home. For both homeless people – and the staff that support them – it’s an issue that keeps on getting bigger and bigger.

“This National Homeless Persons’ Week, while it’s important to recognise the downpayment the Australian Government made on mental health in its last budget – at $2.2 billion over five years, a significant amount – we need to keep in mind how huge the demand out there is, particularly among our community’s most vulnerable.

“I suggest that the experience of our frontline staff is just the tip of the iceberg. The government’s mental health funding is going to need to stretch a long way,” said Mr Hall.

For more information see our Media Release.

National Homeless Persons’ Week in SA and Queensland
In South Australia, Mission Australia is giving away a large number of single and double beds with mattresses to our own homelessness services and non-government partners for people in need. Find our more about our Sleep Better initiative here.

In Queensland, the battle for affordable housing worsens. Mission Australia staff are now spending almost twice as many hours trying to find appropriate permanent housing for people as they were six months ago. Read more here.

Further reading:

• Sean Tovey’s ‘treatment’ for sleeping out
• Find out what’s happening during National Homeless Persons’ Week

Media Release: Homeless service staff spend more hours assisting people with mental health than homelessness

National Homeless Persons’ Week – 1-7 August

Mental illness among homeless people has become such a significant problem that staff at one of the largest providers of homeless services in Australia spent more hours assisting clients with mental health needs than homelessness in the first six months of 2011.

According to the data, 255 Mission Australia frontline staff, across 75 of its homeless services nationally, spent a total of 5,896 hours assisting clients with mental health issues between 1 January and 25 July 2011.

In the same period, staff spent 4093 hours assisting clients with homelessness issues and another 1,379 hours in relation to clients at ‘risk of homelessness’ – a total of 5,472 hours.

The data illustrates the strong link between mental illness and homelessness and follows on from a groundbreaking study of homeless men by Mission Australia in August 2010 which found close to 70 per cent had a diagnosed mental health or substance use disorder, 81 per cent had “very high levels” of psychological distress (compared to 3 per cent among males in the general population), and exhibited Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at levels 20 times greater than the general male population.

According to Mission Australia’s CEO, Toby Hall, the new data provides an insight into an important aspect of Australia’s broader mental health problem and of the huge demand homeless services face from people wrestling with mental illness in addition to their need for shelter.

“When you look at these figures, there’s no doubting how big an issue mental health is for both the people accessing our homelessness services and our frontline staff,” said Mr Hall.

“And when looked at in combination with Mission Australia’s earlier research on the extent of mental illness among homeless men, we are looking at a hugely significant problem.

“Through Mission Australia’s data collection we’re able to see exactly the type of supports our homelessness services offer young people, adults and families on a daily basis.

“It tells us that in a little over the first six months of 2011, frontline staff in our homelessness services put in more hours assisting people with mental health needs than with issues directly related to their homelessness. That’s quite extraordinary.

“That includes conducting health assessments, providing counselling – both formal and informal – and referring clients to more specialised medical care.

“It also reflects the complexity of the support we provide homeless people. Often our work isn’t primarily about finding someone a ‘roof over their head’; it’s about tackling the issues that stop them being able to maintain independent accommodation.

“For example, a debilitating mental illness that, untreated, makes it impossible for an individual to hold down a job or a home.

“For both homeless people – and the staff that support them – it’s an issue that keeps on getting bigger and bigger.

“This National Homeless Persons’ Week, while it’s important to recognise the downpayment the Australian Government made on mental health in its last budget – at $2.2 billion over five years, a significant amount – we need to keep in mind how huge the demand out there is, particularly among our community’s most vulnerable.

“I suggest that the experience of our frontline staff is just the tip of the iceberg. The government’s mental health funding is going to need to stretch a long way,” said Mr Hall.

Media contact: Paul Andrews (02) 9219 2080 or 0409 665 495

New central office opens in Newcastle

Mission Australia has officially opened a new office in central Newcastle, which will be a base for a range of community services.

The new premises at 956 Hunter St, Newcastle West, enables Mission Australia’s Northern NSW Division to provide support services from one place rather than three separate offices across the city, which was previously the case.

Mission Australia will continue to provide important services to the community from this central location, including:

• Newcastle Adult Accommodation Support Services
• Personal Helpers and Mentors program
• Community development and Family Support
• Breakaway Post Release Support Program
• Hunter Gambling Counselling Program
• Gambling Smart Program

Mission Australia Operations Manager for Northern NSW, Lisa Short, said the new, central office will have many advantages for the local community.

“I am very excited about this move, as it provides a range of services for the community in one place,” Ms Short (pictured left) said at yesterday’s launch. She was joined at the launch by Newcastle Lord Mayor John Tate as well as Mission Australia Executive Leader - Community Services Lincoln Hopper and our Chief Operating Officer Catherine Yeomans (both also pictured).

“It has been part of our longer-term vision for Newcastle for quite some time, so seeing it actually come together is extremely satisfying.”

“Having such a large team situated together assists us in keeping abreast of the local issues at a grassroots level,” she added.

“I am hoping that the prominent position in the heart of the city will increase our local profile and be more accessible to our clients and the community.”

A young life back on track

As Services Manager for our Making Tracks and On Track programs in Perth, Vivienne Keeley helps at-risk youths in and around the city to get their lives back on course through positive intervention.

Transforming these young lives can be a long process – in some cases it takes years of dedicated and persistent work before positive and lasting change occurs. But when it does, there’s plenty of reason to celebrate, as was the case with Tom*.

Tom was 15 when he first came into contact with On Track, which provides an alternative to police custody for vulnerable young people on Perth’s streets. When the police picked him up he was in a bad way, self-harming and using drugs.

After a very complicated and distressing start to life, by his teens Tom’s family situation had not improved. His mum had married a man who was controlling and imposing, which made an alternative life as a ‘goth’ seem all the more appealing to the young man.

Tom had stopped attending school and started self-harming. To complicate matters, he was also struggling with his sexuality. When things became unbearable at home, Tom moved in with his grandmother – but with the move came more problems.

“His grandmother was well-intentioned but when she tried to set very strict boundaries, which at the time only made matters worse,” said Vivienne. “She also thought homosexuality was unnatural, and vehemently disapproved of how he dressed and behaved. Not knowing how to deal with the constant criticism from someone he had turned to for love and protection, Tom’s confusion and anger turned to violence.”

Over the past two years Vivienne and the Making Tracks team have worked with Tom to help him address his identity, develop his esteem and channel his energy into positive activities:

“We helped him to get into kick-boxing and self-defence and provided him with the counselling he required. We recognised that he was very intelligent and articulate, so started to work with him on building on these strengths. No one had ever taken a strengths-based approach with him – that is concentrating on his assets. It took us 13 months of hard work to get him to believe in himself and develop the resilience to withstand challenges.”

Tom is now living back with his grandmother, who has grown to understand his lifestyle and the considerable obstacles he has faced in his short life. He continues to work through his issues with a psychiatrist and is taking medication.

Now 17 and ready to exit the Making Tracks program, Tom has a job and is studying youth work.
“Tom has agreed to stay in contact with Making Tracks in the future and to visit every once in a while,” said Vivienne. “His life has truly transformed.

“It’s good news stories like these that make me love my job,” she added. “I’ve been very lucky in my four-year journey at Mission Australia to work in programs that make a real difference.”

*Name and image changed to protect client identity

Former refugee proud to help new arrivals

Refugee Week is a celebration of the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society.

Since the end of World War II, more than 750,000 refugees and others in humanitarian need have been resettled in Australia – among them Minoo Jizan.

A member of the Mandean community, Ms Jizan left Iran 10 years ago and moved to Sydney with her family. Keen to adapt to her adopted homeland and build a new life, she spent her first years in Australia improving her English language skills.

“I remember how hard it was for me and my family to live in Australia because we did not know English and especially Australian life,” she recalls.

“I tried hard to learn English – I would read newspapers, watch TV, have lots of conversations with people and practise by writing shopping lists and letters…. I was never embarrassed to ask questions and I that helped me succeed.”

Ms Jizan is now a volunteer tutor with Mission Australia’s Home Tutor Scheme and Enhancement Program in Sydney. As part of her role, she visits students’ homes once a week and tutors them in English and also provides information about community services that can assist the resettlement process.

"I would really like to thank the Home Tutor Scheme for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to make life easier for migrants and refugees,” Ms Jizan said. “It’s also made me more interested in learning other languages like Arabic, and Afghani, which makes it easier for me to communicate with learners.”

Mission Australia Team Leader Mina Zolfaghari said approximately a third of the Home Tutor Scheme’s students were refugees, mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last year 80 per cent of people who participated in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship program in the west and south-west of Sydney were women, and the dominant first language was Arabic.

“It’s so rewarding to see former refugees like Minoo giving a helping hand to others who are trying to establish a new life in Australia,” Ms Zolfaghari said.

As of 1 July, Mission Australia will recruit and train volunteer Home Tutors to teach English in the following regions of Sydney: Blacktown, the Outer West, Central West, Fairfield/Cabramatta, inner Sydney (including the CBD), eastern and southern Sydney, Inner West, Canterbury/Bankstown and Liverpool.

For more information please call (02) 9635 1543 or email zolfagharim@missionaustralia.com.au

Media coverage - The Mercury: Testing times for a cause

Mission Australia recently hosted a five-course degustation dinner to raise funds for MA's Chigwell House in Tasmania. At the dinner, guests were asked to guess the key ingredients in each dish as well as the type and origin of each wine.

The below article on MA's fundraising event appeared in The Mercury yesterday.

---

The dessert did us in.

Judith Sweet and I were doing some forensic dining at the Ultimate Taste Test, the dinner cooked by Paul Foreman to raise funds for Mission Australia.

Each of the five courses came with a list of questions.

Was the fish blue-eye, swordfish, spanish mackerel or stripey trumpeter? Was the special ingredient in the foam scallop, anchovy, urchin roe or mussel? We were right with the blue-eye and urchin roe, and correctly identified samphire as the green vegetation.

Samphire, also known as sea asparagus and sea fennel, grows in many coastal areas.

It has a salty taste and a firm, fleshy texture.

Ours, from Bruny Island, was collected by oyster farmer Hedley Browning.

Not the usual beady-looking succulent, it was more like a mini fern.

Paul liked its "nicely toned down" taste.

As the partner of a blueberry and strawberry grower, I'm ashamed to admit I did not pick strawberries in a berry consomme, along with blueberries and raspberries.

But, as Paul said: "You put ingredients together and it changes the flavour of them. Then you put the herbs in and it really makes it tough."

He had added basil, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Fundraising by way of an elaborate dinner is in marked contrast to the circumstances of the people the money will help.

Mission Australia's Chigwell House, in northern Hobart, is in an area with the highest proportion of single-parent families in the state.

It is the home base for a number of the 22 services the mission runs.

These include Parents Staying Connected, which teaches parenting skills, and Youth Beat, which sends a couple of youth workers with a van of information out to places where kids gather.

We were eating at Cooleys Hotel in Moonah, better known for chicken parmi than fine dining.

But Paul, who is food manager of the seven hotels in the Kalis Group, said regulars, too, enjoyed being taken out of the ordinary now and again to meet – tonka beans.

These South American beans, a favourite of Paul's, cost $500/kg and can be poisonous in great quantities.

They can be milled or grated into custards, foam, parsnip puree or, in this case, parfait.

They have a compendium flavour – vanilla, cardamom, clove, cumin and cinnamon are all in there.

So when we were asked what was in the parfait, we got it wrong.

We missed out on winning by two points.

Story published in The Mercury on Thursday 16 June.

Another doorway opens for at-risk youth

Mission Australia, in partnership with Juvenile Justice in NSW, has opened a new rehabilitation centre for youth with drug and alcohol problems.

The 50-acre property located on the banks of the Macquarie River, in regional New South Wales, has been completely remodelled to cater for eight young people aged from 13 to 18 at a time.

The new centre provides a welcome rural setting for youth to receive individualised programs including therapy, counselling and education.

James Toomey, Mission Australia’s National Operations Support Manager, told Dubbo’s Daily Liberal that the program is followed up for a further six months of outreach work after the youth leave The Mac River Centre and re-enter their community.

A community support worker will support the young person and their families when they leave the centre to help prevent relapse.

“The program is unique because of the age group targeted. Because it is aimed at 13- to 18-year-olds. It is recognised there is a need, that their age group isn’t catered for,” said Mr Toomey.

Juvenile Justice NSW Deputy Chief Executive, Valda Rusis, told The Daily Liberal that the centre aims to support young people though education and vocation to lead to a productive and healthy life.

"We have strong community networks in the area. We view this facility as a great example of a community working together to achieve good outcomes for these young people," Ms Rusis added.

This program is based on the model developed at Mission Australia’s Triple Care Farm and will help the youth learn routine responsibilities of rural life such as, feeding chickens, tending a vegetable garden and raising poddy calves.

Have your say, young Australians: Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians will draw to a close in just over two weeks time, so act now if you want to be heard.

Photo:  from left, Mission Australia’s Ann Winterton, Talbragar Wiradjuri descendent Coral Peckham, Deputy Chief Executive of Juvenile Justice Valda Rusis, James Toomey of Mission Australia and Juvenile Justice’s Leonie Bender.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Liberal

Time is running out to have your say!

Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians will draw to a close in just over two weeks time, so act now if you want to be heard.

Each year Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians helps to inform government, educators and communities about the wellbeing, hopes and attitudes of teenagers and young adults.

As in recent years, in recent months we’ve had a strong response from schools, students, youth groups and individuals. Yet we still need your help if we are to gain a clear insight into the values, personal and national concerns of young Australians in 2011.

This year’s survey is asking participants to indicate their main three issues of concern, rather than ranking the whole range of issues in order of the most to least concerning. We’re also trying to find out who or where young people turn to for support to deal with specific concerns.

To have your say, complete Mission Australia’s 10th National Survey of Young Australians online at mayouthsurvey.com.au by 1 July. We’re aiming to capture the views of more than 50,000 young people aged from 11 to 24 – but we need the community’s help to make it happen.

There’s still time to order printed copies of the survey - simply contact Aimee Tyson at youthsurvey@missionaustralia.com.au or on (02) 9219 2022.

This is a fantastic opportunity for young people – particularly those too young to vote – to be heard by governments, youth agencies and community service organisations like Mission Australia.

Media Release: Concern at numbers of homeless people turned away

Mission Australia - one of the largest providers of homeless services in the country – has expressed its concern at new figures which show close to 60% of people who need help from government-funded homeless shelters are turned away each day.

The data, released this morning by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, show that of people needing new and immediate accommodation every day in 2009-10, 58% were unable to be placed.

The AIHW’s report also states the group most likely to be turned away were families with an average of 82% of couples with children, 69% of couples without children and 67% of individuals with children who requested new and immediate accommodation turned away each day, compared with 45% of individuals without children – similar results to those in 2008-09.

Mission Australia’s Chief Executive, Toby Hall, said the knowledge that the majority were family groups – who would have ended up sleeping rough, in cars, or in other dangerous situations – fitted with Mission Australia’s experience and was cause for significant alarm.

“These numbers – and the tragic individual stories behind them – are shameful. Any level of homelessness in Australia is unacceptable,” said Mr Hall.

“For our society not have the capacity to meet the demand of homeless families is an indictment on our values and priorities.

“These latest results match up pretty closely with Mission Australia’s own experiences. Our data suggests that single women with children and families are likely to have the most difficulty in accessing accommodation due to a lack of capacity.

“Anecdotally, many services in outer metro and regional areas are reporting escalating demand that they are unable to meet. What then follows is a ‘drift’ into the inner city which causes both a loss of personal and community networks for the individual and a severe bottleneck in terms of demand for services and access to housing in those areas.

“We also need to recognise that these figures only tell part of the story. For every person fronting up at one of these government-funded services for help there’d be hundreds of others who chose not to – the 'hidden homeless'. I’m thinking of young people couch-surfing temporarily with friends or extended family. Those people don’t get counted in this research.

“And let’s not forget that 30% of people turned away were Aboriginal, despite making up just 2% of the population.

“Both federal and state/territory governments have made a significant investment in tackling homelessness over the past few years – measures that are aimed not only at addressing accommodation capacity but also to cut the flow of people into homelessness and to try and get them on their feet more quickly once they’re there.

“Figures released last week show that funding starting to have an impact with the total number of people supported by government-funded homeless services rising by seven per cent in 2009-10 to 219,900.

“But with the turn away rates remaining at last year’s levels it’s obvious we haven’t succeeded in ‘turning the tap off’ in terms of people entering into homelessness.

“What these figures show us is that Australia’s homeless problem won’t be fixed overnight. It’s a reminder that we need to work harder, better and more effectively if we’re going to get on top of the problem,” said Mr Hall.

Media contact: Paul Andrews (02) 9219 2080 or 0409 665 495

Craigie passes on smart gambling message

Mission Australia has teamed up with former NRL player Owen Craigie to present a series of two-day workshops aimed to help NSW Aboriginal health and community workers fight problem gambling.

The former Rabbitohs and Knights player is delivering a series of 20 intensive workshops with Mission Australia’s Training Coordinator Sheree Drylie as part of Gambling Smart Project, which is funded by the NSW Government through the Responsible Gambling Fund.

Having experienced the detrimental effects of gambling personally, Owen feels strongly about helping to educate frontline workers about the warning signs of problem gambling:

"It's always good to try and get people in the early stages of gambling because the long-term effects are family break downs, divorces, mental abuse and even suicide,” said Owen.

"A lot of people take their lives each year, which is related to problem gambling. So suicide is probably a major factor there and we just trying to steer people in the right direction so we can help save lives."

He said gambling had become a major issue around the country, not just in rural NSW: “Our program is out there reaching people that have got problems. We're not trying to tell them to stop gambling, just be smart about it.”

This month Owen and Sheree will run two-day workshops at the Awabakal Newcastle Aboriginal Co-Operative in Hamilton (6 to 7 June) and Lismore Workers Sports Club (15 to 16 June). A further 12 workshops will be held throughout NSW in the second half of 2011.

These two-day workshops will cover a range of issues associated with gambling such as forms of gambling activity, signs and symptoms of problem gambling, risk and protective factors, impacts on health and relationships, types of therapeutic interventions and treatment programs, the role of gambling counsellors, assessments and where to find help.

Participants will receive a certificate and resource manual, and food and beverages will be supplied.

To find out more call Sheree Drylie or Owen Craigie on (02) 40334941 or email drylies@missionaustralia.com.au If you or someone you know needs support to overcome a gambling addiction visit www.triplerservices.com.au.

Further reading:

• ‘Online gambling causing real problems’ - ABC.net.au
• Previous MA news - gambling

Get active and make a difference

The winter running season is almost here, with a host of marathons, fun runs and half-marathons planned across the country over the coming months.

There’s the Gold Coast Marathon on the weekend of 2-3 July, Run Melbourne on 17 July, the Sydney City2Surf on 14 August and the Perth City to Surf on 28 August, with more events planned in Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney during September.

These events not only offer a great chance to get healthy and take on a challenge, but also the opportunity to help raise funds for Mission Australia’s work with disadvantaged Australians.

Simply follow one of the links below to your chosen event, register online and select Mission Australia as your charity of choice. We can help you set up your own unique fundraising page to share with your friends and family so that you can start fundraising to transform lives.

If you’re planning to take part in the Sydney City2Surf or the Gold Coast Marathon you’ll have to move quickly as earlybird registrations (with a discounted entry fee) for both events close on 1 June.

So why not get moving to make a difference this winter?

Events

• Gold Coast Marathon, 2-3 July, goldcoastmarathon.com.au
• Run Melbourne, 17 July, runmelbourne.com.au
• City2Surf (Sydney), 14 August, city2surf.com.au
• City to Surf (Perth), 28 August, citytosurf.activ.asn.au
• Bridge to Brisbane, 1 September, bridgetobrisbane.com.au
• City-Bay (Adelaide), 18 September, city-bay.org.au
• Sydney Running Festival, 18 September, sydneyrunningfestival.com.au

Thank you - blanket drive for Missionbeat

Last Thursday our Missionbeat service manager, Dan Petsalis, put out a desperate plea for blankets via his Twitter network.

Within only a few hours Dan’s plea was re-Tweeted by organisations and individuals – reaching thousands of supporters and reported by channel 10 and channel 7 in Sydney reaching thousands more.

Our Missionbeat service has received hundreds blankets with hundreds more en-route to Missionbeat headquarters.

I want to express our deepest thanks to all the people who have collected blankets from their friends, their communities and their colleagues – from large organisations and small. Your contributions make an active and tangible difference to a human life.

These blankets will be distributed to the rough sleepers in the Sydney area whilst the Missionbeat vans are on patrol. We will also respond to the calls for assistance and calls for blankets directly from those clients that will be sleeping on the street, where accommodation wasn’t secured, and we follow-up again the next day.

In the Sydney city area there are about 400 people sleeping rough on any given night. Blankets don't last a person all winter due to issues around keeping them secure, clean and dry.

Cheers and God bless,

Toby Hall
CEO of Mission Australia

To donate a blanket, please contact Missionbeat directly on 1800 306 461 or drop off your blanket directly to the Missionbeat office located at Unit 1/1 Brompton Street, Marrickville NSW 2204.

Dan Petsalis thanked the public today in a short film. Use the player below to view or visit Mission Australia's Youtube channel.

Hotel refurbishment helps those in need

An Alice Springs hotel has generously donated 180 desks, 50 chairs and 180 televisions to support Mission Australia’s range of local community programs.

The Crowne Plaza, which is a national supporter of Mission Australia, saw the donation, as an opportunity to help out on a local level.

“We are currently refurbishing our guest rooms and replacing some of the furniture. It just makes sense to pass it on to someone else who can use it,” said General Manager Monique Harmer on Tuesday, when the shipping container of donated goods arrived.

“This is one way we can give back and say thank you to the community in which we operate.”

Mission Australia’s NT Operations Manager Community Services, Brad McIver, said that the furniture will make a valuable contribution to a number of support programs the organisation is establishing in Alice Springs and the surrounding region as part of the Australian Government initiative to help people who are either homeless or at risk of being so.

“There are so many things we take for granted in our daily live that are beyond the reach of others. These donations will really make a difference to individuals and families in the Alice Springs area,” said Mr McIver.

Photo (L to R): Monique Harmer, General Manager Crowne Plaza Alice Springs and Jeff Prossor, Mission Australia’s Alice Springs Services Manager.