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Rawson Centre

We at the Rawson Centre would be, you may say, one step up from the street, in the delivery of services to a very marginalised client group.

This group consists of homeless men who may be from 18 to 80 years of age and all numbers in between. They have, in general, low socio economic, minimal schooling, generational family issues which impact on the rest of their lives. They bring substance abuse and mental health issues to this package which leads to homelessness in all its forms.

They may be 'primary homeless', literally on the street with a blanket and a bag of belongings. They may, at another time be 'marginally homeless ', living in a boarding house, paying $150 or so a week for a room with ten other people doing the same. These people have no tenure, no lease, share toilets and kitchen facilities and are happy to be off the street with 'a place of their own'.

This client group are on a wavelength over time of being on the street, going into homeless services and health facilities, with some time as well in some form of marginal or secondary accommodation .If they are younger ,they may 'couch surf' from friend to friend. This situation has a relatively short timeline, with the client ending up on the street again.

In all this struggle, a stay at a homeless shelter (if I may use an old term) can give a client space to revaluate their situation. A plan of action can be instigated, with the client as the driver of that plan. The client may exit this level (call it street level) and exit out of homelessness altogether.
A client may also keep cycling through, due to issues which are unresolved.

We, as a welfare organisation take the work on and our value statement bears that out.
We would not, though, be able to do this without the support of the community and through them, our partners who facilitate that support.

Food is as we all know very expensive. Even the energy cost and wages that go into the preparation of food is huge. Apart from the economic imperative for profit, some food providers have given their time and even more energy (which they don't need to do) in giving to us.

They do this through the insight and work of OZ Harvest.
OZ Harvest have stepped up and made the impossible, possible.

Who would have thought that a homeless person could have the high end food that they provide to us? One client asked one night (when the meal went on the table) 'why is that fish a pink colour?
I have never seen a pink fish!' Of course, he had never had a proper slice of salmon before.
The clients are staggered at the quality of food that they receive. This suits us as well as it is one way to engage with people.

If they trust us and get respect, then a light may be shone into the fog of their lives.
Thank you OZ Harvest and all those who are involved in the process. You have helped many people in ways you are really not aware of.

Rendu Youth Service

Rendu Youth Service is a residential drug and alcohol program for guys, eighteen to twenty five years old, that provides a stepping stone between a rehabilitation service or a possible detention experience to independent living.

Our program is designed to help the guys decide where they want to be and how they want to be living whilst providing them with a comfortable, safe, supportive environment. Our staff offer practical support to help the guys achieve their goals. Part of our program looks at learning skills that have been missed due to long term drug and alcohol misuse.

We believe that food and nutrition play a very significant part in recovery. Eating well improves physical health and preparing and sharing meals has always been an important activity for helping people relate to others. We promote the ideas of eating fresh food, the cooking experience, eating together and how eating fresh food does not cost more. As part of this process we offer the guys two home cooked lunches each week.

Our partnership with Ozharvest has supported this concept. They provide us with fresh meat, fruit and vegetables, bread (and sometimes yummy cakes) that we use for our Wednesday lunch. It also allows us to have bowls of fruit available and regularly offer the guys a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables to take home.

In strengthening our relationship with OzHarvest we like to take each driver and volunteer around our service so they can better understand our client base and see what supplies we can use and what we would use them for.

It was on one of these tours of our centre that I was explained to our lovely Ozharvest driver Bruce that when the guys are low on money we help them out by putting 3 ingredients, which will make up a meal, together in a pack for them. This also gives us the opportunity to demonstrate how simple meal preparation can be and how you don't need much to make a health, tasty meal.

These meals could be a tin of tomatoes, tuna and pasta, baked beans and potato in its jacket etc. Bruce has been keeping an eye out for these kind of supplies for us to keep in our pantry along with our usual fare. Likewise a pack of frozen meat comes in very handy on an off- Centerlink payment week when the guys are often low on funds. Choosing their meat from the freezer with them is a good opportunity to discuss recipe options.

Needing and enjoying food is something all human being have in common and at Rendu we use it as a path to help the guys to experience caring for themselves and others, at the same time assisting them to become physically healthy.

All of us a Rendu would like to say a big 'thank you' to the organisations and suppliers to OzHarvest, your contribution really does make a difference.

If you know someone who you think may benefit from the Rendu Youth Service then please call 02 9550 9610 or go to our web page www.rendu.org.au

Our Place

One of our biggest costs is food and we have come to rely on OzHarvest's weekly visits to help us 'keep a lid' on these costs with regular deliveries of good quality food, often including meat, fruit and vegetables – all foods that we believe help us to help our clients maintain healthy eating habits, which obviously contributes to better physical health. The kitchen is the heart of Our Place and our visitors say they can smell our breakfast bacon & egg sandwiches from up the street. One client Jason said, 'It's what gets me out of bed in the mornings'. Mollie Striglioni, a founding partner and Operations Manager of Our Place says it always gives her a lift when she sees that yellow van pull up outside. 'When you're juggling big numbers to feed at each meal and money is tight, it's really wonderful to know that we can rely on OzHarvest for a helping hand'. It's always a wonder to us how Mollie knows how many she is going to be feeding on any given day, considering the nature of our service, but somehow, there's always enough to go around and no-one leaves hungry.

We believe that access to decent food is a fundamental right of every citizen, particularly in an affluent country such as Australia. All of our clients live in poverty, some literally 'on the streets' and we know that food is often expensive and some foods, such as fruit and vegetables are low on their list of affordable items. It is very gratifying to know that under the auspices of OzHarvest, a culture of sharing is able to be tapped into for the benefit of needy people such as those that use our service. Through this co-operative approach, we are all sharing in the responsibility for caring for those who can't afford to care for themselves.

Our picture shows regular visitor and great friend of Our Place, Network Ten Sports Presenter Brad McEwan helping to serve lunch to clients with Mollie looking on.

Inspire Community Services

In the local area we supply several elderly and disabled clients, some of these clients have difficulty leaving their residence to shop or do other tasks. We have a service that helps some of these clients it is called 'Food Care'. We supply these clients with a hamper which has a cost of $30 however the value of the hamper is well over $50 and with the help of Oz Harvest we often can increase this value with items that our clients would not be able to afford nor have the ability to shop for. The fresh fruit and vegetables are of a great benefit to those who are in need.

I would like to refer to a special client who never fails to send a special hello and thankyou to our team. This client is well over 70 and is isolated in her small bedsit (a one room apartment). The comments are of gratitude and of her enjoyment in the light banter supplied by our delivery person. We do pick her up and bring her to our Morning Teas which gives her an outing but while she is there she will often comment on the quality of the fresh food she receives.

Wayback

The opportunity to offer our sincere gratitude for the continued support of OzHarvest at this time is appreciated

The food delivered to our service often arrives at lunchtime or just after. Our clients are given the opportunity to partake of different foods which they would not be not ordinarily have access to .Our staff have noted an improvement in the overall presentation of our clientele we consider this is in part due to the nutritional support of the products offered by OzHarvest.

Thanks is a small word for such an important service with excellent staff.