Renewed Hope
The Revd Julie Baker, Chaplaincy Manager
As we come to the end of lent and experience the emotional challenges of Holy Week, we do so with our eyes firmly fixed on the hope of Easter. The additional focus on hope this year as we embrace the Hope25 initiative has meant that the concept of hope and what that means at St Bart’s has been front of mind for me.
Hope is such a powerful tool in healing for those who have experienced trauma, and hope will look different for all of us. For the people we serve at St Bart’s, particularly those in transitional or short-term housing, their hope is for a permanent place to call home. Coming to St Bart’s fixes the immediate problem of being homeless on the streets, couch surfing, sleeping in a car or similar. However, our services are part of a much bigger story, we play our part, but transitional housing cannot be the end goal. The Western Australian Alliance to End Homelessness keeps track of data across the state and lists supported temporarily sheltered individuals, such as those in the St Bart’s programs, as homeless in their figures.
So, if many of our clients are still technically homeless, where is their hope? Well, primarily it is in the partnerships we have with government, other providers and chartable supporters. Social housing is the end goal for many of our clients, we work with government, other social housing providers and through our own stock of social housing units to move some of those people on. We are grateful that we are part of a sector which works together to prioritise outcomes for those in need and have recently started working with a new partner to assist consumers to take the next steps into independence and secure housing.
We Are Mobilise, is a charity which works across Australia in partnership with other homeless support services to enable individuals who are ready to move to independent tenancies. Mobilise offers grants to pay the necessary security deposits and up front costs which can often be a barrier to taking the next step.
St Bart’s is the Western Australian partner, and you can read more about this partnership at wearemobilise.org.au
Our clients rely on a network of support to help them to heal their trauma, regroup their lives and move on to a more stable and joyful future.
St Bart’s doesn’t do this work alone, we are grateful for the many networks, partners and supporters who enable us to transform the lives of the most vulnerable in our society.
The message of Easter resonates as we remember what Jesus did for us all and how we become our best selves through the transforming power of the Holy Spirt by the grace of God.
May your Easter be a time of renewed hope as we, once again, gaze upon the glory of the risen Christ.
