On The Scene - Summer by The Salvation Army

Family experiences Hope House “miracle”

On the Scene

Summer 2015 News AND stories from The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory

Every day we meet new people needing to be freed from their suffering.

Hope in the midst of heartbreak

Some are trapped by violent abuse, others by addiction. We meet families living on the edge and people sleeping on the streets.

“When we first met Anne, nearly a metre of water had gone through her house, kilometres of fencing had been destroyed and the property was extensively damaged. This all came on top of just losing her husband a few weeks earlier. Anne has gone through so much – drought and flood – yet she always thinks of others.” – Captain Mark Bulow

SHAIRON PATERSON

What this means is that the Salvos will be called upon to help more people. Not just the people you would expect, but the everyday people who now find themselves in despair.

“It felt like we were part of a large family … Hope House has been like a miracle in our lives.” – Tim

If you can find $1.20 a day (the cost of a newspaper), your generosity will help: • support a family who are homeless with food and shelter • support an alternative education program for disadvantaged youth • provide crisis accommodation for homeless women Yet that’s only the start. As you are providing the practical care, Salvos Staff, officers and volunteers will provide the comfort and care that hurting families also need. As a Salvos Freedom Partner, you make sure no one is left behind, that no one is forgotten. Can you spare $1.20 a day (just $36 a month)? If you can, please become a Salvos Freedom Partner today and give the gift of freedom.

For farm worker Tim and his young family, The Salvation Army’s Hope House in Gunnedah (northern NSW) turned a Christmas filled with potential sadness into a season of joy. When Tim’s wife walked away from their marriage and five children (two with learning difficulties), Tim says he began to seriously struggle financially. “The biggest problem (with a preschooler, plus four at school),” Tim says, “is that the work I do is mostly outlying farm work. There’s a lot of travel and it’s really hard to find work that I can fit within school times. I have just got to take what I can get and at the moment that’s not much.” Struggling to making ends meet Tim, who is now retraining (studying engineering at TAFE), says the increasing cost of everyday living is also making things harder. “Even the cost of clothing and fitting

out my children for school continues to be more expensive, trying to keep up with the school uniforms, school bags, pencils.” In addition to this, Tim’s mother recently suffered a serious stroke, and he says the fuel costs of driving daily to Tamworth Hospital and back meant little money left for Christmas. Tim says making contact with The Salvation Army’s Hope House eventually eased some of the burden. He explains, “The kids were over the moon at attending the Hope House Christmas Day Lunch held at the PCYC. They had so much fun with the story-telling and playing with other children, who were all really excited when they saw all the bags filled with Christmas gifts. It felt like we were part of a large family. “The eldest three also received gift vouchers, which they spent on items for school.” Hope House also gave Tim financial help through the NILS (No Interest Loan Scheme) program, while his children began attending a kids reading and literacy program at the centre.

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Tim, who has gone on to volunteer around the grounds at Hope House says: “Hope House has been like a miracle in our lives.” Bringing hope to many Hope House is a haven in a highly disadvantaged neighbourhood of Gunnedah. The centre truly reflects its name. The services offered include welfare support, general counselling, the Positive Lifestyle Program (PLP) for those referred by solicitors and the courts, PLP for Youth in Gunnedah High School, PLP for Urban Aborigines, court support, opportunities for referred locals to carry out Work Development Orders and youth support in conjunction with Juvenile Justice. Among the many other services on offer are playgroup, craft group, children’s reading (literacy) group, No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS), school breakfasts, drop-in-centre activities, a food drop-off to those in need, Acts of Kindness (AOK) program and a once-a-month barbecue. O

Published Quarterly By: The Salvation Army, Australia Eastern Territory, COMMUNICATIONS AND Public Relations Department, PO Box A229, Sydney South, NSW 1232 Editor: COMMUNICATIONS AND PR Secretary, © The Salvation Army 2014 Ph: (02) 9266 9530

single father Tim says Hope House has offered his family ‘miraculous’ support

You’ll be amazed at what you can do through Salvos Freedom Partners, for people trapped in despair.

Daunting challenge Following the death of her husband in January 2012, Anne, who had been

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Thanks from the bush

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SHAIRON PATERSON

To meet this extra need, the Salvos must call on our kind supporters and the Australian public for further support – because we fear it could be our hardest year since the GFC.

A widowed farmer from St George in Queensland’s south, Anne has experienced enough setbacks in recent years to last a lifetime – but through each ordeal The Salvation Army has been there to help. Floods and droughts are devastating enough for farmers, but when The Salvation Army’s Flying Chaplain, Captain Mark Bulow, heard that Anne had tragically and suddenly lost her husband John through a massive heart attack, he and a counsellor flew in to offer support. Captain Bulow flies hundreds of hours each year, visiting remote stations and communities in Australia’s outback. He covers an area extending west to the Northern Territory and South Australian borders, south to the NSW border and north to Queensland’s central west. He and his team provide services such as counselling, flood funds, food hampers, fencing supplies and drought relief assistance.

Inside THIS ISSUE ▼

The fact is, those already doing it tough will be the ones hardest hit as unemployment is expected to rise in 2015.

Queensland grazier Anne says Salvos’ support is essential for struggling communities

working off-farm as a paediatric nurse, was suddenly faced with the daunting challenge of single-handedly running the family’s 56,000-hectare cattle station, called Begonia, located 500km west of Brisbane. While reeling from the loss of her husband, devastating floods hit the region and her farm suffered massive damage. Since then, a crippling drought has slowly taken over and affected much of the area, and, to add to Anne’s woes, she recently suffered a broken leg after

being attacked by “an angry cow”. Salvos care Anne has received many visits from The Salvation Army, offering emotional and practical support during this time. In turn, she has allowed The Salvation Army to use Begonia as a base to visit some of her struggling neighbours, who have also received assistance, from financial help to fencing repairs and food vouchers. CONTINUED PAGE 2

GUNNEDAH HOPE

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Inspired by an ‘angel’

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‘Friends for Farmers’

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Help in hard times

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