Hope Newsletter Summer 2020

A war on waste to feed those in need More than one in five Australians (21%) experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months1, yet food waste in our landfills could fill 9,000 Olympic swimming pools each year2. Craig Budden, affordable food expert and Manager at HopeStreet Wallsend explains why HopeStreet is so passionate about rescued food.

Thanks to Oz Harvest and SecondBite, we redistribute on average - 104 tonnes of reclaimed fresh fruit, vegetables and bread, annually, across our Newcastle-based HopeStreet locations. So many people, young and old, are able to eat simply because they have access to rescued food. The produce is nutritional and edible, yet if not rescued it goes to landfill or the local pig farmer.

Food distress is on the rise dramatically. We see it everyday.

People are in desperate need of low cost food, a free meal, or emergency relief to ensure hopestreet.org.au

they do eat. Almost all of our clients are low to middle income earners on Centrelink payments. With the expense of rentals and utilities, many go without essential food items.

Here, we’re seeing parents who can’t afford to feed their children – so nutrition is a secondary concern.

A typical shop with HopeStreet can save from 50% to 70% off the cost of produce at a regular supermarket. I say ‘save’ but realistically they didn’t have the money to spend in the first place.

To put this into context, imagine a family is able to spend $30 at our low cost grocery store.

This equates to around $60 to $70 at the supermarket. If this family also received a hamper of rescued fruit and vegetables, they leave the store with up to $120 value of food for just $30.

- Craig Budden Perfectly good and essential foods don’t need to be thrown into landfill or the pigpen.

Hunger is very real for people who struggle to afford food, and your support will help individuals and families to put food on the table. Donate today at hopestreet.org.au

AFFORDABLE FOOD

5

million Australians have

experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months

3 in 10 food-insecure people go a whole day without eating at least once a week 22% of foodinsecure Australians are children Unexpected bill or expense is the top immediate cause of food insecurity3

www.foodbank.org.au/?state=nsw-act www.environment.gov.au/topics/ environment-protection/nwp/reporting/ organic-waste 3 Foodbank Hunger Report 2019 1 2

Summer 2019

SEX INDUSTRY

New research uncovers stigma for women in sex industry “I was assaulted once. It wasn’t while I was working, though. But when I went to the police they didn’t believe me, and I think that’s because they knew I did sex work…” said Claire*.

Sitting in BaptistCare HopeStreet Women’s Services office in Darlinghurst, Claire was sharing her experience and insights for HopeStreet’s upcoming research into women from migrant backgrounds working in Sydney’s lower-end brothels.

Sadly, Claire’s painful experience is not unusual.

Many migrant women working in Sydney’s sex industry experience significant social stigmatisation that leads to them feeling isolated, and at times in danger, as they navigate systems and services with minimal English and under high stress.

“We know migrant women make up 76 percent of the sex industry in Sydney, with 50 percent identifying they either have no or poor English skills1. As a result, they often have limited choices, face greater risk of being taken advantage of or being confined to their working environment,” said Jess Davidson, BaptistCare hopestreet.org.au

HopeStreet Women’s Services Manager.

“When your choices are limited, or you’re vulnerable and living on the margins of our society, experiencing stigma is not only stifling, but dangerous. Our research told us how stigma has a very real impact on real lives, and sits at the heart of many of the challenges these women face,” she said.

“Encounters with every day support services become incredibly difficult, including accessing legal services, police, housing, healthcare providers, immigration services, or even just maintaining a circle of close friends and family.”

“The women we come alongside shared with us how they are judged for the nature of their work, so when they find themselves in dangerous situations, such as experiencing a violent workplace or domestic violence, the responses they receive can be anything from unhelpful, through to victimblaming. Stigma works to prevent women from accessing basic help. It’s why we’re committed to being a safe space for women to ask for support,

in an environment where they are truly welcomed.”

“Even when the attitude is not malicious or intended to be hurtful; it tends to reflect unconscious thinking like, ‘They chose this work.’ When it comes to migrant women, attitudes can be even less understanding, due to the idea that women have freely chosen to leave the safety and comfort of their home country to work in this industry.”

“Our Women’s Services team provide a safe place where women can access the support they need - regardless of choices they have or haven’t made. We want to walk alongside women, increasing their choices and opportunities, so they can live safer, healthier and happier lives. This is why we’ve ensured our case workers speak Mandarin and Thai, and we work hard to provide practical support and services to women who seek our assistance.”

More detail from the upcoming Working with Migrant Sex Workers in Sydney’s Lowerend Brothels research report will be featured in our next Hope Newsletter.

The sex industry in New South Wales: a report to the NSW Ministry of Health.

Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, (2012) 1

Summer 2019

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APPEAL FEATURE

Fighting for survival - from the frontlines of our rural communities Farming families across our state continue to face the ‘most severe drought conditions in 120 years of records^’ on top of everything else they encounter in the human experience.

As BaptistCare HopeStreet works on the frontlines in our Dubbo and Wagga Wagga communities, we witness the immense strength, resilience and grace of those fighting for survival - none more so than Julie*. Mum of three, Julie was stretched between homeschooling her youngest son, being her husband’s carer, and helping tend their droughtravaged property, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“My little boy didn’t know about the cancer - we didn’t want to scare him. He heard someone mention it and asked, ‘Mum, do you have cancer? That lady on TV had it and now she’s gunna die.’ He cried, ‘I don’t want you to die, Mum,’” said Julie.

“I mustered my strongest voice, ‘Mama’s not going to die’. It’s

the broken times that make you stronger. And it’s times like these that wake you up; yes, life is bad, but there’s other people worse off.”

“My husband was at the yards the other day. He saw an elderly couple from out west bring the last of their cattle in. So undernourished, one of their girls went down in the lot. The husband and wife just sat beside her in the dirt, patting her, crying.

They were broken,” said Julie.

Like so many others, current conditions make forging a living difficult for Julie and her husband, Michael, who permanently damaged his leg in a farming accident. They buy livestock and feed them up for resale. “The drought has hit us pretty bad. The bore is dried up. We cart water in. It’s dust outside. Everything’s gone. It breaks your heart.”

“We’re on a disability pension, it doesn’t go far. You pay bills or you put money away for feed. Week to week, that’s what it’s like.”

Since June last year, BaptistCare HopeStreet has been supporting families with food and fuel vouchers, food parcels, breakfasts, utility payment relief, rent assistance, no interest loans, counselling and support from our local chaplains.

“BaptistCare HopeStreet has been a big help financially. They even give us leftover bread for our sheep,” said Julie.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts no end in sight with below average rainfall and elevated temperatures expected right through summer. Will you help BaptistCare HopeStreet to continue to walk beside our rural communities to give practical support, a listening ear, and hope? Please donate now at hopestreet.org.au * Names changed. Images for illustration only. ^www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-19/ most-severe-recorded-drought-across-themurraydarling/11325216? pfmredir=sm

“I mustered my strongest voice, ‘Mama’s not going to die’. It’s the broken times that make stronger.” you stronger

FAIR FINANCE

How fair finance helped secure a mother’s freedom When Joanie* and her young daughter, Mia* fled a violent relationship perpetuated by mental illness, they navigated women’s shelters while searching for a place to call home over the sweltering Sydney summer.

It was during those six months of homelessness that Joanie had a car accident, and her trusted transport was no longer.

At BaptistCare HopeStreet, Joanie discovered housing support and accessed an affordable and safe loan to purchase another vehicle.

“Access to fair finance has allowed my daughter and I to move forward what seems like a trillion years from where we were,” said Joanie.

“My number one priority, after securing my daughter’s and my own safety, was trying to get a car. Those were my big stresses, not having a car, and not knowing where I’d get money from to get one,” she said.

“I’d look at my little girl and just want to cry, thinking Mummy can’t help us. We endured hours of public transport in the hopestreet.org.au

heat. You’re exposed to the weather every day relying on public transport and it’s a lot for a little person.”

StepUP low interest loans are a fair and affordable option for families and individuals on low incomes who require funds for personal and household expenses up to the value of $3000. For Joanie, it meant so much more than a loan, it meant freedom.

“I’ve got a car now, it’s like my second baby. It gives us the freedom of time and saves me so much stress. I’m so grateful. The car means I can take Mia to the day care she has settled into. She has a good connection there.”

Joanie and Mia have more opportunity and stability moving forward. “It really helps me with the budget, I can budget wisely.

And knowing that it’s there to use again once I’ve paid it off, it gives me more options to get the material things we need to re-establish our lives.” * Names changed. Images for illustration only.

PAYDAY LOANS Payday lending (highcost, short-term loans) is growing, and the predatory practice leaves people with spiralling debt. A report released in November 2019 shows how women are especially vulnerable1.

1.77

million

Australian households took out $3.09 billion worth of payday loans in the last three and a half years The number of women using payday loans increased from 177,000 in 2016 to 287,000 in 2019

41% of female borrowers are single mothers

Our no and low interest loans are a safe and affordable alternative to payday lenders and loan sharks. Find out more at hopestreet.org.au/ financial-inclusion

The Debt Trap: How payday lending is costing Australians report, Stop the Debt Trap Alliance, November 2019, https://consumeraction.org.au/20191112-debt-trap-report/ 1

Summer 2019

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Overcoming the fear from domestic violence When Amie’s* ex-partner and his new girlfriend got together, things became complicated for Amie and her two-year-old son, Tommy.

Mental illness had crept its way into Amie’s former relationship with her ex-partner and it continued to be an ongoing issue for him.

“Our relationship got really nasty, really quickly. Tommy’s dad saw me as the bad guy, trying to break them up. He was really embarrassed that mental illness was attached to him and his family,” said Amie.

“He was very, very upset and became really aggressive to the point I feared for our lives. He knew where we lived. I knew we had to leave.”

Amie packed the car, bundled up her young son and fled.

“My number one priority has always been Tommy’s safety.

I was so fearful, then, and even in women’s shelters, I’d make sure I’d locked the door ten times a night.”

When Amie first arrived at BaptistCare HopeStreet’s medium-term supported accommodation she was highly stressed. “I was depressed, down-trodden, and anxious.

Talking with the team at BaptistCare empowered me every day. They made such a positive difference to me emotionally and psychologically.”

BaptistCare HopeStreet supports women and children escaping domestic violence with secure accommodation, access to individual counselling as well as ongoing supportive,

educational, financial and parenting programs.

Amie attended selfdevelopment courses and women’s groups that explored domestic violence. “I gained more confidence. The fear was still there, but I could manage it, deal with it. Some days, just chatting to my caseworker would ground me.”

A few months later, Amie and Tommy moved into their new two-bedroom home in secure community housing.

“I feel like I’ve won the lotto.

Every day I wake up and it’s such a blessing. Some days, I can’t believe we have a home, I wake up and for ten minutes I have to sit and think of the journey that we have been through – Bubba and I,” said Amie.

“I’m so thankful for BaptistCare, with their heart, wisdom, and years of experience. They helped me get to where I am now, I’m in such a better place, thank God.” * Names changed. Images for illustration only.

SAVE THE DATE

You can be part of creating change and responding to Austraila’s domestic and family violence crisis.

Tickets are on sale now for our annual Halo Ball, Friday 8 May 2020 in Sydney. haloball.org.au

hopestreet.org.au

Summer 2019

5

“It’s dust outside the kitchen window.

Everything’s gone.

It breaks your heart.”

Your generous support will help us provide food relief and vital services to farming families like Julie’s. Please give hope and walk beside our farming families and communities this Christmas.

PLEASE DONATE TODAY

hopestreet.org.au/donate