Meet our Marie
Marie joined the Christ Church Mission community when her son was seeking the opportunity to gain some community services awareness to enhance his schooling.
It was a bonus to have his involvement, as over the years we have been privileged to have his entire family providing support in one way or another and it is greatly appreciated.  When the position of Emergency Support worker became available it was a perfect fit for Marie as she demonstrates great empathy and compassion for the people for whom we provide support.  Marie prioritises the person first and works out solutions for the various challenges that they may be dealing with as they approach the Community Centre for assistance.    Marie is a great listener and responds appropriately when identifying the issues being raised.  It may be as simple as providing the most basic thing – such as a cup of tea or coffee or a few days' provisions when funds are low.  The response always makes the person feel cared for and this will turn their day around.  Often, it is the catalyst for the beginning of meaningful and positive change. 

 

Building upon the strength of existing partnerships and extending connections with
other services, the Community Food Project enables us to provide culturally appropriate meals and emergency support by way of essential items for people and families from the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community in the City of Port Phillip and surrounding neighbourhoods. Through direct interaction with our staff and volunteers those who visit our service for assistance will often be given a referral to other forms of assistance from other local service providers.

As a service which does not place geographical or welfare identification restrictions on those who can access our programs, we assist a high number of people from a broad cross-section

of cultural groups and geographic world regions. Many of the people from CALD communities who we support are unemployed, international students, women, short-term visa holders, asylum seekers, elderly, people with a disability and those for whom English is a second language.
 

 

Operating in a COVID - 19 safe way
COVID-19 is turning into a long stretch but we have certainly built up our expertise on being COVID safe.  We've only missed one day.  Our team - staff and volunteers - are kept up to date with the latest requirements as they are published.  We've changed the way we operate but we're still here for those in need.   September was our record month: 450 people visiting us .   Two years ago we were only seeing 60.