I AM continually reminded of how privileged I am to do this job.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Meeting James Morrow, Martina Freundl and Hope Place manager Tommy Skou, was one such occasion.
James and Martina were both lovely, caring and open people, who were willing to share their very personal stories with the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner, as success stories of Batemans Bay’s Hope Place.
I was honoured and thankful for the opportunity to listen.
They are just two of the 211 people who were down on their luck but given a leg-up by Hope Place in a period of just nine months.
This figure included 59 children and totalled 3600 nights for people doing it tough.
Manager Tommy Skou is the first to admit Hope Place attracted bad publicity in the past.
It has since undergone a transformation, but Mr Skou is open and honest about its history, recognising that if you don’t acknowledge your mistakes, you are doomed to repeat them.
He put out the challenge this week to one and all to visit Hope Place see it for themselves.
On the day the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner visited, there was a friendly, jovial atmosphere where new and lasting friendships were evident.
At least 40 homeless people are given a bed between Community Life’s two facilities, Hope Place and Hope House, at any one time.
The $50,000 needed to keep the doors open - or the $100,000 to run it comfortably – seems like a paltry sum when you look at the help it is giving people like James and Martina.
Let’s hope the Minister recognises this too, when she meets with board members next month.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
An another note, dear readers, I am off on holidays to go and get hitched by Elvis in Las Vegas. I will be back in November. In the meantime, Kerrie O’Connor will sit in the editor’s chair.