UNITING CARE ADELAIDE EAST

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (15:18): I am very fortunate to have many wonderful organisations in my electorate which are committed to helping those less fortunate in our community. It is sometimes difficult to pick one out to acknowledge in this place, but that is a curse I am sure every member of parliament is happy to bear.

Today I want to talk about UnitingCare Adelaide East and the tremendous work that they do for people who are homeless or facing hardship. UnitingCare Adelaide East is a local emergency relief, counselling and referral agency which has been responding to the crisis needs of people for over 100 years.

Its work first started in the late 1880s at the Kent Town Methodist Church on Fullarton Road. Shortly afterwards the mission's work was associated with the then newly established Spicer Church in Fourth Avenue, St Peters, and later was supported by the congregation of the church in Richmond Street, Hackney. The mission later relocated to the Richmond Street property, and from that church it took its name—the Hackney Mission.

In 2002 it moved from that site to its home at Clayton Wesley Uniting Church at Beulah Park, where it is currently located. One hundred years later, UnitingCare Adelaide East remains the only UnitingCare emergency relief agency supporting the needs of people in crisis in the City of Adelaide, the eastern and north-eastern suburbs and across the Adelaide foothills. It operates from five branch sites across this large geographic area and its services include counselling and referrals; emergency assistance in the provision of food; limited financial assistance and clothing; financial assistance in the small part-payment of accounts and prescriptions; and the running of an op shop, known as the Rags and Riches Boutique.

Its commitment to helping those in need is impressive, not to mention efficient and expedient. By way of example, just yesterday a gentleman came into my office seeking a small sum of money to assist him to return home to the northern part of the state. He had planned to go into hospital last week and had budgeted accordingly, but his circumstances had changed, in that his surgery was moved to next week and he found himself in financial difficulty and unable to afford the bus fare home. After a quick phone call to the Norwood branch of UnitingCare, an appointment was secured for him three hours later, and I am pleased to report that he came into my office after the appointment and was very glad that he had received a cheque for the bus fare home.

This is just one small example of the many ways in which UnitingCare can help people in trouble on a daily basis—and I say in many ways, because in the last financial year alone UnitingCare Adelaide East responded to over 3,000 calls for help, and this was in addition to the assistance provided to individuals and families last Christmas. This is even more noteworthy due to the fact that UnitingCare Adelaide East remains primarily a volunteer-based operation. Whilst it receives emergency relief funding from the federal government and public support through fundraising and donations, much of its work is undertaken by dedicated and selfless volunteers. I am, therefore, delighted that the Rann government continues to acknowledge the outstanding work that UnitingCare volunteers are doing within our community.

I had the pleasure of presenting a cheque to UnitingCare Adelaide East last month from the Volunteer Support Fund and, as always, I was impressed by the commitment that everyone showed towards the ethos of assisting the most marginalised and disadvantaged in our community. To all of you who give up your time to make a contribution to the work of UnitingCare Adelaide East, I extend my heartfelt thanks. As members are all aware, South Australia has a fantastic record with respect to volunteering. I am sure that the Minister for Volunteers, who is in the house at the moment, would attest to that. We have the highest volunteer participation rate in the country. In 1995, these rates were at 28 per cent and, in 2006, they were at 51 per cent. In practical terms, this represents more than 610,000 South Australians putting in an average of 1.4 million volunteer hours per week and, to those more interested in the nuts and bolts, this also represents a contribution of $5 billion towards South Australia's economy.

However, despite these statistics, as wonderful as they are, we should not rest on our laurels and pass the buck to others in the belief that someone else will do it. UnitingCare Adelaide East still very much relies on and needs public help and volunteer hours to be able to complete its much-needed work in our community. While today is a day for acknowledging and applauding the work done by the executive officer, Kym Whittington, and all the staff and volunteers, I also take this opportunity to encourage anyone who has a few hours or a few dollars to spare to contact UnitingCare and become a link in the chain of support that it provides to those in our community who need it.