Tag: Poverty

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Social Impact

Homeless charities call for targets to halve homelessness by 2015

The largest providers of homelessness services across Australia joined forces to call on all political parties to make reducing homelessness a national priority.

In a joint letter to the four party leaders, the major charities Anglicare, Mission Australia, Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, UnitingCare Australia and Wesley Mission demanded a commitment to halving homelessness by 2025.

The organisations have also launched a petition to generate public support for the campaign during the Federal Election and invited the party leaders to a forum with their clients in June.

On any given night over 100,000 Australians are homeless – including over 44, 000 children or young people. And each year more than 200,000 people seek help from homelessness services.

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News & Announcements

A budget of missed opportunities

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia, Stuart McMillan, has described the 2016-17 Federal Budget, as a “missed opportunity” to alleviate poverty and disadvantage at home and around the world.

”There is not nearly enough in this Budget to assist the most vulnerable,” said Stuart.

“It is deeply disappointing that planned cuts to foreign aid are going ahead, leaving some of the world’s poorest people without the life-changing – often life-saving – assistance that comes with Australian aid.

“The Budget also contains no new social programs aimed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who are the most persistently disadvantaged Australians.

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News & Announcements

Budget 2016: tax cuts at the expense of health, aged care and disability

UnitingCare Australia Associate National Director Martin Cowling has said that the 2016 Budget paints a selective picture of living within our means, with cuts to health, aged care and disability payments outweighing new spending in these areas by at least $1 billion over four years.

Martin said it was pleasing that the Budget contains three positive measures for which UnitingCare has been advocating for some time.

“We particularly welcome the Youth Jobs PaTH program and will work with the Government through its Try, Test and Learn Fund.

“It is also pleasing that the Government is committing to programs designed to help those most at risk of long term welfare dependency and that the PaTH program contains a strong focus on equipping young people with essential work skills.

“UnitingCare strongly welcomes the reforms to superannuation tax concessions which will deliver a critical $6 billion revenue stream. We have been calling for these for almost a decade” said Martin.

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News & Announcements

Gather your voices for justice

Micah Australia’s Voices for Justice National Gathering is an opportunity to raise your voice and influence our nation’s leaders on behalf of the world’s poorest people in the lead up to the 2016 election.

Join together with like-minded Christians from around the country to pray and worship, be equipped and trained for advocacy, and speak out for a world of justice and compassion as you meet with federal politicians in Parliament House.

The program includes a day spent at Parliament House; as well as a dedicated prayer room, a market place and workshops. There’ll also be programs for primary and high school age people.

Cherry Johnson, from NSW, attended Voices for Justice in 2014.

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News & Announcements

UnitingCare West broadens focus to help those most in need to belong and thrive

As UnitingCare West enters its tenth year of providing service to the WA community, they are proud to launch their new four year Strategic Plan. This Plan marks the start of a new era for UnitingCare West; and will guide the work of UnitingCare West’s 360 staff and 650 volunteers working in local communities. The Strategic Plan 2016–2020 has a strong emphasis on innovation and adaptability and will enable UnitingCare West to maximise positive outcomes for people and communities so those most in need can belong and thrive.

The organisation continues to advocate for people who are most marginalised in West Australian communities. Together with the Strategic Plan 2016–2020 UnitingCare West launches a revised mission statement, with the focus remaining on working with people most in need.

The mission statement from January 2016 is: “To work with people and communities so those most in need can belong and thrive”.

UnitingCare West CEO Sue Ash says “The change in mission statement reflects UnitingCare West’s growing maturity as an organisation and continued response to the needs of the people we work with and the communities UnitingCare West works in.”

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Stories & Feature Articles

St Stephen’s School students serve

St Stephen’s School Carramar students, Alexandria Reuben, India Graham and Martika Jary spent hours in the kitchen recently baking 120 muffins for the homeless, along with the rest of their homeroom. In total, students donated more than 200 muffins to UnitingCare West’s Tranby Day Centre. Tranby Day Centre provides meals and referrals to people experiencing and at risk of homelessness.

Brett Roberts, head of secondary at St Stephen’s School Carramar, said the School was devoted to help improve the lives of those in need.

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Social Impact

MYEFO: Human services funding must focus first on those most vulnerable

UnitingCare Australia has reported that the Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook has adjusted spending in essential human services, particularly aged care.

“UnitingCare Australia supports the reduction of childcare subsidies for high income families. Our focus is to ensure that vulnerable and low income parents are provided with adequate support and access to quality childcare; as the results of regular access to early learning and education are well documented,” said Lin Hatfield Dodds, National Director of UnitingCare Australia.

“Social and aged care services require adequate funding to meet the needs of those who rely on them. Sustainable public funding is critical, as are increased private contributions from those with the capacity to do so.

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News & Announcements

Australian churches unite for justice

Hundreds of Christians from churches across the country have gathered in prayer vigils this week to pray for our nation’s leaders and Australia’s contribution to a world without extreme poverty.

Almost 200 participants of Micah Australia’s annual Voices for Justice event (10-13 October) joined with Federal politicians and local Canberra Christians in a public candlelit prayer vigil on the lawns of Parliament House last night.

Leading the vigil prayers were Gregor Henderson, former general secretary and president of the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia; Bishop Stephen Pickard, executive director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Lt. Col. Kelvin Alley, national secretary of the Salvation Army; and Dr Graham Hill, vice principal of Morling College.

They were joined by over 40 local churches and Christian groups across Australia from all major denominations who simultaneously cried out for God’s work of peace, mercy, and justice in Australia and the wider community of nations.

“If we define advocacy as speaking to the powerful on behalf of the powerless, then prayer itself is a form of advocacy as we cry out from the depths of our hearts to the God of grace and justice,” said Ben Thurley, national co-ordinator of Micah Australia.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Financial counselling crisis

For many years, demand for financial counselling services has far exceeded the available funding for the service. UnitingCare West (UCW) provides financial counselling and emergency relief  services at three sites in the metropolitan area. For every person who is able to get into a counselling appointment, more than three other people are turned away.

The service was originally established as Creditcare by Wesley Mission and in more recent years has been supported by Uniting Church in the City. Governments recognised the need for the  service and added funding that enabled the service to expand.

On 5 June 2015, the WA Government announced that funding to metropolitan financial counsellors who were providing face-to-face services would cease from 30 September 2015. This is a  devastating decision for those people who need affordable, effective, financial support to get back on their feet. UnitingCare West is working actively with a number of other organisations to find a solution to this funding crisis. Your involvement by writing letters of support for the service to your member of parliament or sending messages of support to UCW financial counsellors via the UCW website, www.unitingcarewest.org.au, would be valued.

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Stories & Feature Articles

Neighbours on the street

From left to right: Sarita Rivers, Ben Dettmer, Jesse Hands and Laura Short ready for the evening's visitors.

Within a period of eight months, UnitingCare West, a community service provider of the Uniting Church, has come into contact with over 180 families who are at risk of  homelessness in Perth. That is over five families a week in crisis situations. Responding to this need, UnitingCare West opened the Family Foundations Service to support families  who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in Perth and the surrounding suburbs.

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