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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-06-13 Daily Xml
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HUTT STREET CENTRE

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:50): Recently I had the great pleasure of attending the launch of Angel for a Day at the Hutt Street Centre on behalf of the Premier Jay Weatherill and minister Ian Hunter. It was an opportunity for me to meet with the staff, volunteers and supporters and discuss fundraising that provides meals and snacks for the Hutt Street Centre clients.

Well-known media personality Bruce McAvaney was the MC for the event and interviewed Rachael Sporn, who represented Australia in basketball at three Olympic Games, winning two silver medals and one bronze medal, and Gillian Rolton, who won gold at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic Games in the three-day equestrian event. Both Rachael and Gillian talked about the highlights of their Olympic experience and pointed out the absolute commitment required to compete at the Olympic level.

The Hutt Street Centre is a highly regarded, non-government, front-line service that provides a safe and welcoming place for those who are homeless and vulnerable in and around the south-east corner of the city of Adelaide. Services provided include the provision of meals, showers, laundry and bathroom facilities, social work services, an aged city living program, home support services, legal and medical clinics and recreational facilities.

The Hutt Street Centre also administers the Eastern Adelaide Generic Homelessness Service in partnership with the Red Cross Society and the community transition worker program, which responds to the needs of homeless people through the provision of early intervention at the centre. The program provides outreach support, case management, accommodation and crisis support.

The Hutt Street Centre has over 190 active volunteers working in all areas of the centre. Some of these include providing approximately 58,000 meals a year, running Dulcie's op shop and teaching literacy, computer skills, art and photography. They also assist in the running of legal and health clinics that operate at the centre. There are approximately five volunteers for every paid member of staff, and their support in assisting with many of the administrative duties ensures that the centre is able to provide a range of services that they have available.

The centre deals with about 1,500 clients each year. The Hutt Street Centre provides breakfast and lunch for approximately 200 homeless people per day. The cost to the Hutt Street Centre is about $350 per day, which is about $1.75 per meal. Angel for a Day is an initiative that started in 2005 to help raise funds to provide meals and snacks for the Hutt Street Centre's clients by seeking sponsors for every day of the year. Each $350 donated covers the cost of providing daily meals for those who need them.

I had the pleasure of being an Angel for a Day and was privileged to meet Brenda, who runs the kitchen at the centre. Brenda, with the assistance of volunteers and centre staff, as I said earlier, provides 200 meals a day at the cost of $1.75 per meal. I point out that the centre's clients pay a nominal fee for the meal. You might think that to provide a nutritious meal for $1.75 would be impossible, but Brenda, who is a frugal Scottish woman, prepares the meals using only high quality produce, and they are very nutritious indeed.

Brenda has been at the Hutt Street Centre for 18 years, and I also wish to make special mention of Alan, one of the volunteers at the centre. Alan was a former client of the centre who now volunteers two days a week and has been at the centre for over 20 years. Finally, I thank Chris Lemmer, the chair of the board of the Hutt Street Centre and Ian Cox, its CEO, for their hospitality at the Angel for a Day launch. It gave me the opportunity to meet many representatives of the community and business world, who are only too willing to support the Angel for a Day campaign.

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