BROTHERHOODof S! LAURENCE

Helping people build better lives

A newsletter for our valued friends and supporters

From church aisles to shopping aislesThe Brotherhood of St Laurence launched a radically new approach to our clothing stores recently with The opening of a new shop in the lovely St Paul’s Anglican Church, Station Street, Fairfield.As part of the BSL’s renewed commitment to maintaining and enhancing community partnerships, the new retail venture grew out of discussions between members of St Paul’s parish and BSL representatives.

Now the church has been partitioned to allow the sale of clothes at the eastern end of the church during the week while worship will continue to be conducted at the western end on Sundays.

The parish will share the profits from the shop with the Brother­hood as a way to help us continue our work in creating a more equitable society, helping those most economically disadvantaged and striving for an Australia free of poverty.

Vicar Stuart Gardiner said: “This allows us, as a small parish, to help the Brotherhood whose work we strongly support.

“At the same time it allows us to have the church open through the week and on Saturdays for private prayer and meditation which we have not previously been able to do. The cooperative effort will also help support the parish.”

Fr Robert Holland, BSL chaplain, also warmly welcomed the venture saying he hoped it would be the first of many joint enterprises between the BSL and church and community groups.

“ Projects like this allow us to create stronger links with the parishes which in turn allows for greater interaction with the wider community,” Fr Holland said.

“When people come in with needs we hope the parishioners and volunteers in the shop will not only be able to point them in the right direction for assistance, but feed back to the BSL as a whole the real stories of the real people in the communities in which we are operating.

“ I believe partnerships like this will help us to better understand not just the symptoms of economic disadvantage but the causes.”

The Brotherhood of St Laurence could not operate our recycling shops if not for the support of our dedicated team of volunteers. The money raised helps us work for an Australia free of poverty. If you could spare even a few hours a week to help in one of the BSL’s 23 shops around Melbourne we would be grateful. To volunteer call Rosa D’Aprano on 9483 1390.

buildinq better lives

Sidney Myer dedication

An Australia free of poverty?

BROTH CH|iOO|o f S‘ I

The old St Mary’s Mission House, located behind the BSL head office in Brunswick Street, now has a new name.

After a varied but always useful history as a base for the BSL’s work in Fitzroy (1930s), to a centre for homeless women and single mothers (1940s) to a Russian Orthodox Church (1950s), to a rooming house (1970s), St Mary’s has now formally been renamed Sidney Myer House.

The name change was decided upon in recognition of the grant of $1 million from the Sidney Myer Centenary Celebration 1899 - 1999.

The grant was given as part of our Building Better Lives appeal which is allowing us to redevelop our elderly people’s accommodation facilities.

We are grateful not only for this donation but to all those who gave so generously to the appeal.

We are delighted that the refurbishment program will be completed in time for our residents to celebrate Christmas back where they belong in their new homes within the Sumner/Millott/ Sidney Myer House complex.

The photo shows BBL Appeal Chairman Graeme Wise with local resident Margaret Miller, Marigold Southey from The Myer Foundation and BSL Board Chair Sandy Clark at the dedication ceremony.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those supporters who responded to our recent request to send us a postcard telling us what you think about poverty. More than 1000 people took time out of their busy lives to reply.

Probably what struck me most about the comments was the passion that is out there to actually do something about getting rid of poverty. This reaction was a timely and powerful reminder to me of the central mission of the Brotherhood of St Laurence.

This organisation was established around 70 years ago through the vision of Fr Gerard Tucker who could no longer stand idly by watching the heartache and misery brought on by the Great Depres­sion. Since then we have worked not only to alleviate the suffering caused by poverty but to try and prevent it occurring in our community in the first place.

As part of this mission, the Brotherhood dedicated itself to ensuring the dignity of those suffering economic disadvantage, to remember always that the causes of poverty are many and varied and that those without deserve the same respect and care as those of us more fortunate.

Although many aspects of Australian society have changed since those early days, particularly the introduction of the social welfare system, it disturbs me greatly to read the statistics of rising homelessness, economic stress causing family breakdown, soup kitchens again back out on our streets. Yet if we just read the headlines most of us would remain convinced we live in a prosperous society.

That may be true but as we see here day after day it is not true for all of us. Australia is becoming more polarised between the haves and have-nots every day while at the same time poverty is increasingly being blamed on those experiencing it.

Yet as we know from the people we meet here at the BSL, those in financial

difficulty often brought on by the lack of a job, are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to improve their situation. Like a young Somali woman I met recently.

She was determined to study dental hygiene so she could use her skills to help her community. After attending 20 unsuccessful interviews she began a training course with the BSL.The fact that she tried so hard, received so many knock-backs but kept on trying, to me, shows incredible fortitude and courage. She was meeting her part of the mutual obligation deal but society let her down time and time again.

The heartening thing, though, is that we know many people care about such inequity: your responses prove it.

Poverty is a complex issue but I am convinced that by working together, with you our supporters, we can put this issue back on the political agenda.

Together, I believe, we CAN make a difference.

Father Nic Frances Executive Director

Brotherhood of St Laurence

KkJZ &BROTHERHOOD

of S! LAURENCE

Helping people build better lives

Published byBrotherhood of St Laurence 67 Brunswick Street Fitzroy 3065 Victoria

Telephone 03 9483 1183 Facsimile 03 9417 2691 E-mail fundraising@bsl.org.au ISSN-1442 4681

A day in the life...M ost reception ists sort the m ail, deal w ith couriers, answ er te lephone enquiries, type le tters and look a fte r v isitors.

At 67 B runsw ick St, Brotherhood reception ists C uthbert and Brian are m ore like social w orkers than adm in istrators .

A typical d ay.....

Two plain-clothes police ask Brian and Cuthbert if they know of any bearded gentlemen who would be prepared to take part in a line-up!

A solicitor from a country town phones because he has a man in his office who has travelled over 100kms by limousine in the mistaken belief that he owned a property in the area. The limousine driver was prepared to drive the man back to the city but the man had no money and so did not want to return to the rooming house he had just left.

These and far sadder stories are heard by the BSL’s job-sharing receptionists Cuthbert and Brian throughout a typical day at the front desk.

Stories like the single mother with six children who has no food or milk; the young man high on something who doesn’t know where he is; the people who drop by seeking a meal, a bed, or who just want someone to talk to.

When Cuthbert arrives at 8.00 am some Coolibah clients are waiting for him as the reception foyer is a warmer place to be until the doors open at 9.00.

Handling the many and varied requests in person or over the phone requires a broad knowledge of the different support systems that are available to people in Melbourne and surrounds.

At 12.30 p.m. Brian arrives for the after­noon shift and both men work together until 1.30.

The afternoon continues with similar requests for help - more people through

the door and dozens of phone calls. “Where can we get a meal tonight?” a visitor asks.

“ Here's a list of the services available - the timetable for the soup van is high­lighted in red” .

And so the lights go off at 5.30 but Brian and Cuthbert continue to think about those waiting for the soup van, the mum with no money, the man in the limousine.

The BSL front liners will be back tomorrow to continue working for an Australia free of poverty.

Johnny Kalisperis retires after 41 years at EMCJohnny Kalisperis, one of Melbourne’s first ethnic workers, retired recently after 41 years continuous service at the Ecumenical Migration Centre (EMC).EMC’s work commenced at the Brotherhood premises at 67 Brunswick St in the late 50s and now in the year 2000 is once again under the wing of the Brotherhood of St Laurence.

During his time of dedicated service, Johnny was awarded the Victorian Council of Social Services community services award in 1977, the first annual Hellenic

Association award in 1983 and the Order of Australia for long-term service to the community in 1984.

The former chair of the EMC, Mr Basil Varghese of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, described Mr Kalisperis as having an “extraordinary wisdom and deep understanding of the common good” .

Keeping kids connectedEarly school leavers are among the most disadvantaged members of Australian society.

According to BSL research, these young people have lower levels of participation in further education along with higher rates and longer duration of unemployment.

Since 1996, the BSL has been working with Victorian schools to model a program to provide young people with a bridge between school and the labor market.

Called the Transition Project, the program involves placing a case worker in the school to develop personal relationships with the children at risk of leaving school early so as to help them make the next step toward work or further training.

So far the Transition Project has operatedout of Karingal Park Secondary College and the BrunswickSecondary College.

The report was based on interviews with 50 teenagers, many of whom had been part of the BSL’s Transition Project.

But so successful has it been that this month the BSL is to launch a new project at the Monterey Secondary College in Frankston.

Our expertise in this area was also recently recognised by the State Government when the BSL was chosen as a site to launch an important new report focussing on why teenagers drop out of school early.

“Too many teenagers are leaving school early,” Ms Kosky said at the launch.

"The Government and the broader community must take responsi­bility for knowing where young people go when they do drop out of education and then work to give all young people the support they need and help keep them connected.”

The State Minister for Post Compulsory Education, Training and Employment, Lynne Kosky, said the “ Out of Education” report highlighted the complex challenges facing many teenagers as they struggled to complete their education or training.

The BSL looks forward to working with the State Government helping these vulnerable young people to achieve a secure, rewarding future outside the school gates.

“One of the reasons that Melbourne is more understanding of cultural difference than other places, I believe, has a lot to do with the work done by the EMC of which Johnny Kalisperis was a central and pioneering player,” Mr Varghese said.

“ His contribution has not only touched the lives of thousands of people in Melbourne it has helped make this city such a rich and diverse place in which to live.”

Mr David Cox who worked with him in the early days of the EMC said: “We should salute Johnny for his key role in the inauguration of immigrant youth work, street and outreach work, during a time when the government did not want to know about immigrant needs, when money was tight and when innovative work required very great sacrifices.”

Johnny was always part of the action at EMC.

Do you want to be part of the action like Johnny? Then ring, fax or write to your local Federal MP to protest at the harsh treatment of refugees being released from Woomera into the community without the settlement supports that other refugees in Australia have and need. Be part of the push for a humanitarian response to a humanitarian issue!

Learning is a two-way streetTeachers learn from students, parents learn from children, and those with experience can still learn a thing or two from those just setting out in the world.

Just ask Bill Rosevear, a Brotherhood volunteer. Last year he closed down his cabinet-making business but after being busy and productive for so long did not want to sit around idly filling in time.

He decided to look into volunteering, hoping to find an opportunity which would allow him to both give to the community and share the skills acquired over a lifetime of industry. So when he heard there was a vacancy at the Brotherhood’s Frankston Furniture Works (FFW) he was delighted.

The FFW is an employment and training program run by the Brotherhood which provides long-term unemployed people with vocational-based training and work experience in furniture making and restoration.

Bill has been a volunteer at FFW since February this year. He teaches young people who are on work-place training, trade skills that are becoming rarer and rarer in manufacturing.

“I approach my work at FFW in the same way as if I were running my own business or were in paid employment,” Bill ex­plained.

“I would like to think I am a role model for work place ethics, as well as teaching some of the skills of cabinet making.

“I maintain very high standards which can be a bit of challenge. But about half way through the traineeship, we have a good understanding of each other.”

And he is learning too.Bill said the joy of sharing his skills was matched by the chance to connect and under­stand a younger genera­tion. Before joining the FFW he was unaware of the difficulties experi­enced by young people who face some of the highest unemployment levels in Australia.

Like many other people with little access to the young, he was also

unaware how determined, if not desperate, many of them were to work.

“It’s been about 50 years since I was in their shoes and things are very different now,” he said.

“I thought they were pretty content collecting their social security benefits but I was wrong.

“Unless you’ve got the basics of any trade or profession these days, you just haven’t got a chance.”

the wayLong-time running enthusiast Roy Barrett who is 68 years old, proudly took up his place in history recently when he carried the Olympic torch through the streets of Clifton Hill. Roy runs in eight local marathons a year and is a client of the BSL’s Coolibah Centre.

Bill Rosevear, Brotherhood volunteer

5

better lives

Beyond a life timeJoan Broadfoot has been a loyal sup­porter of the Brotherhood of St Laurence for over fifty years; a commitment driven by her concern for people in the commu­nity who are less fortunate and “don’t always have the right opportunities” .

Joan’s long association with the Brother­hood began through her father’s friend­ship with the founder of the BSL, Fr Gerard Tucker. Her father and Fr Tucker attended St John’s Theological College in St Kilda early last century.

Throughout the Depression and the years that followed, Joan’s family grew to admire the work of Fr Tucker, and the Brotherhood of St Laurence was to become a household name in the Broadfoot home.

Joan has vivid recollections of the depression years. “So many people were short of food and unable to find work,” she said. “They were very difficult times.”

Today, Joan is deeply concerned about homelessness and the influence of drugs and alcohol on young people.

“There are many negative influences, such as drugs and crime, and the

community support just isn't there anymore,” she said.

“ I believe the Brotherhood is a voice for people in need and can influence changes on their behalf.”

So great is Joan’s concern she has bequeathed her estate to the Brother­hood to ensure her commitment and care can be continued beyond her lifetime.If you’d like to share your memories of BSL’s early days or discuss your wishes for the future you can ring Margaret Greenway on 9483 1109.

Important EventsThursday 5 October Sambell OrationAt Mary Aikenhead Conference Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital, Fitzroy.Speaker - Evelyn Scott, Chairperson for the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. 6.30 pm. Cost $15 ($10 concession). RSVP by 20 September on94831122 f DeuVes<^G £Y

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Tuesday 21 November Annual General MeetingAt Mercy Lecture Theatre, Australian Catholic University, 115 Victoria Parade, (Cnr Young St) Fitzroy. 6.00 pm.RSVP by 7 November on 94831383

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Act now for the future“Because I care aboutpeople, I have includeda gift to the Brotherhoodof St Laurence in my Hazel HawkeWill Patron~

Friends of St Laurence

Have you? Please join me in making this very important gift.”Our new brochure tells you how to become a Friend of St Laurence. For a copy call Peter Hannan on 94831399

*BROTHERHOOD

o f S! LAURENCE

Helping people build better lives

HOME PICK UP SERVICE

Prompt pick up of Clothing and Furniture Donations from your home in metropolitan Melbourne.Good quality summer or winter clothing, children’s and women’s shoes, well-looked after furniture and small electrical goods in working order needed.Call 1300 donate or (1300 366 283)Alternatively take your donation to the nearest Brotherhood bin or shop.

Y e s , I w a n t t o h e lp b u ild b e t t e r liv e s□ Send me more information about becoming a volunteer□ I would like to join a “come and see” tour of the Brotherhood□ Send me information on how to remember the Brotherhood in my will□ Send me details about how I can be involved in the Brotherhood’s advocacy and policy work

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Helping people build better lives

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Telephone (H)_ _(W)_ E-mail AddressFor credit card donations by telephone - ring 9483 1301 or Fax 9483 1336

Return to: Brotherhood of St Laurence, 67 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065

6 www.bsl.org.au