Annual Review 2010

Transforming Lives

Contents

“Seek the welfare of the city where

I have sent you...

and pray to the lord

on its half,

for in its welfare

you willf find your welfare”

(Jeremaih 29:7)

The Year in Review 3

Congregations’ Summary 4

Family and Youth Services 5

Homeless Services 6

UnitingCare Mental Health 7

Property & UnitingCare Community Housing 8

Wesley Apartments 8

Wesley Lodge 9

Human Resources 9

Financial Summary 10

Thank You 11

Committee, Council & Board Members 11

The Church Council of Parramatta Mission is established in accordance with the regulations of the Uniting Church in Australia and provides leadership and oversight of Parramatta Mission. The Church Council is charged with the responsibility of building up the community of Parramatta Mission in faith, hope and love. The Council meets monthly except for January. All members of the Council and its committees volunteer their time to support Parramatta Mission.

The Church Council incorporates elected representatives from each of its congregations. The Council has also established various committees and boards to support the activities of Parramatta Mission, including the Community Care Network Board, Commercial Committee, Audit and Compliance Committee and the Quality Improvement Committee.

Parramatta Mission is a remarkable dynamic place that is experiencing a period of great energy and hope. The people of Parramatta Mission are its heart and soul. A big thanks to the volunteers who go about their tasks with a cheerful smile and a passion for life, our highly trained professional staff that give so generously to those

they serve and to the members of our congregations who stand as the rock of Parramatta Mission. Thank you also to our donors and supporters whose contributions allow many of our key services to be delivered to people in our community.

Some of the significant events during the past year include:

The opening of Wesley •Apartments to provide accommodation for the families of sick children at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.The commencement of •construction of the new Hope Hostel.Registration of UnitingCare •Community Housing as a Community Housing Provider.The celebrations of the 125th •anniversary of the opening of Leigh Memorial Church.

The coming year will see the emergence of the Food Recovery Program in partnership with The GPT Group. Woolworths is also working with Parramatta Mission to reduce the waste of fresh food and to support the redirection of this food to those that need it.

I would like to express appreciation to Chris Bertinshaw, General Manager, who is highly valued by all those associated with Parramatta Mission, our pastoral team led by Rev Keith Hamilton, and to Rev Veitinia Waqabaca, minister of the Westmead and Fijian congregations.

In the past year Parramatta Mission has continued its proud tradition of facing challenges and transforming lives. Hospitality has been extended to more people than ever before and our values have been expressed through inclusion, dignity, faith and hope.

To God be the Glory.

Regards and best wishes,

Ian GrayChairperson Parramatta Mission Church CouncilChairperson Commercial CommitteeChairperson Quality Improvement Committee

The Year in Review

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Congregations’ SummaryParramatta Mission is a Uniting Church that comprises congregations who worship God, evangelise through word and action, and serve Christ through multi-dimensional community service programs. Everything at Parramatta Mission is an expression of the congregations’ worship, evangelism and multidimensional community service programs.

The congregations assemble on Sundays to worship at Westmead, Ermington Fijian, and at Parramatta for the Leigh Fijian, Leigh Memorial morning and evening congregations and the Korean Faith Community.

Revs Veitinia Waqabaca and Keith Hamilton provide leadership to the congregations, work with the congregation leaders’ meetings, Church Council and its committees, and staff in this great work. Pastoral Team meetings are held weekly.

Trish Rooney continues to lead the Tuesday lunchtime communion service. This year, Trish’s hours have increased to six, with her leading a Tuesday morning group after the Meals Plus breakfast, and conducting a short church service in the courtyard, immediately prior to the Meals Plus lunch. This is challenging and rewarding work.

The pastoral team share with staff in leading a new men’s group called Men’s Have-a-Chat, on Thursday mornings. They chat about issues of the week and reflect on God’s involvement in human affairs.

Festival 2010 celebrated the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Leigh Memorial Church building on 21st June 1885. The theme was ‘valuing the past, claiming the present, seeking

a future,’ inspired by the Denham Grierson book, Transforming a People of God. The festival included historical displays, tours, a book launch, special combined church services and events including a concert by the Sydney Welsh Choir, a Youth Event and a Women’s High Tea. The culmination was an all-congregations service at Leigh on 4th July, followed by lunch. The festival’s purpose was to: invigorate and inspire, build stronger relationships between congregations, with staff, and the general public. These goals were achieved.

The Westmead congregation continues to provide the hospitality of Jesus to staff and visitors to Wesley Lodge, and now to the families and staff at the new Wesley Apartments, directly opposite The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Open Door, on Wednesdays offers a place for people to drop in, receive a welcome and enjoy an afternoon in good company with a good cup of tea and cake.

The Fijian congregations at Parramatta and Ermington continue to develop the resourcing of leadership to the wider church, and to focus on evangelism, not en masse, but on the individual or the family. They regularly have combined services and also meet with other Fijian congregations for fellowship, support and encouragement.

The Leigh evening congregation continues to experiment with location and style. Currently meeting in the coffee shop, worship happens over coffee, cake and discussion.

The Leigh congregation plans a number of gatherings for early 2011 for members to gather, talk, listen and reflect on current issues and ways

forward. A similar exercise in 2008 led to the establishment of three women’s groups, a youth group, and a 20-60 years age group. It is anticipated the next gatherings will be equally fruitful.

The congregations continue several task forces, developing ways of expanding our ministry and mission to the Westmead hospital precinct, to the east of Parramatta and with seniors.

It is with hopeful confidence and sure trust in the risen Jesus Christ, the congregations look ahead to 2011 in the certain knowledge that no matter how big the challenges, God is faithful and has more than enough grace to sustain and lead us onwards.

Blessings,

Keith HamiltonSenior Minister

Everything at Parramatta Mission is an expression of the congregations’ worship, evangelism and multidimensional community service programs.

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Koompartoo semi-independent accommodation program provides supported accommodation to 23 young people for up to two years who are between the ages of 17 and 25. It consists of three services which are located over the Parramatta Local Government Area.

1. Koompartoo Merrylands is for six young people who require more intensive intervention. Staff works closely with local service providers to ensure these needs are met. This service is staffed Monday to Friday, from 8am – 8pm, with a 24 hour on-call manager.

2. Koompartoo Northmead provides independent accommodation for four young women whose goal is to complete their higher education. The women are provided with minimum support and are very independent.

3. Koompartoo Mays Hill is semi-supported accommodation which provides a self-contained apartment to young people who are completing their education. This program provides 24 hours of support per week and assists young people to develop their social and living skills to support them into independent living.

Parrahouse provides accommodation to six young people per night who are aged between 16 and 18 years, who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The aim of Parrahouse’s work is to provide support and case management to provide young people with the opportunity to address their issues and move their lives forward in a positive way. Parrahouse is funded by the Department of Human Services NSW - Community Services.

Supervised Afterhours Crisis Accommodation operates out of Parrahouse in partnership with the Crisis Response Team from the Community Services Helpline. The service provides four crisis beds for young people aged 10 to 17 years who are identified by the Crisis Response Team as in need of immediate supervised accommodation. We provided overnight accommodation for 334 young people in the 2010 year.

The Residential Induction Unit is a vital component of the NSW Youth Drug and Alcohol Court Program (YDAC) and is funded by the Department of Human Services – Justice Health. This is a transitional accommodation program for young people aged between 14 and 18, who are entering the YDAC program and are unable to return home from custody whilst waiting for a placement in a rehabilitation program. Approximately 170 young people were accommodated in 2010.

Thelma Brown Cottage is a domestic violence refuge which provides crisis accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence. Thelma Brown Cottage has seven, two bedroom units, with the capacity to accommodate women with up to six children. During 2010, accommodation and support was provided to 55 women and 67 children.

Kelly’s Cottages comprises 12 bedsits which are dedicated to providing medium term accommodation and case management support for single homeless women.

The end of this financial year saw the closure of the Single Women’s Project, which was a three year Department of Human Services - Community Services, funded project. The Project aimed to break the cycle of homelessness for single women in western Sydney.

Brighter Futures is a voluntary program designed for families encountering problems that impact on their ability to care for their children. The program has the capacity to provide support to up to 22 families at any one time. Brighter Futures provides support to prevent an escalation of the problems the families are facing.

The Ermington Family Learning Centre is the newest addition to Family and Youth Services, and has just reached its first anniversary under the auspice of Parramatta Mission. The Centre provides services to enhance the lives of families with a low socioeconomic status, living in and around the Ermington area.

The programs vary between school terms, however, the Centre aims to consistently deliver programs that have valuable social and living skills content. The Centre has developed a partnership with Anglicare, which provides counselling for families and individuals over 18 years. Thanks to the support of five volunteer school teachers, a Homework Help service is also provided after school.

Nicky ZaoukDirectorFamily and Youth Services

Family and Youth Services

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The past twelve months have seen a significant increase in men and women seeking support and accommodation across all our services. The global financial crisis, coupled to a shortage of rental properties (public and private) has seen many clients marking time in both our crisis and transitional properties.

Men’s Crisis Service – Hope HostelHope Hostel’s temporary site has proved critical for Western Sydney, with occupancy levels at 95% for the past twelve months. With a 20% increase in people seeking accommodation and an exceptionally high turnover rate, we still have achieved better than 50% of people staying over one month at Hope. Over 1,100 requests were filled for overnight emergency accommodation, and over 350 men stayed at the Hostel for between one to thirteen weeks.

Long overdue, the new Hope Hostel will provide a level of accommodation that is unsurpassed in Sydney. Giving people much needed dignity in accommodation, the high standards that Housing NSW has applied will give all involved a location to be proud of.

Leigh Transitional Rehabilitation ServiceOver 80 men entered Leigh’s Transitional Rehabilitation Program over the past twelve months, with 82% completing at least one rehabilitation series, and 38 attending a second series.

The therapeutic nature of the program and the creation of a community that supports each other is one of the major developments over the past three years. This therapeutic community approach provides peer

support and devolves responsibility to the participants, under the guidance of a team leader.

Meals Plus Community Outreach ProgramWork with people who are homeless and disadvantaged in our community continues, with Meals Plus developing as a community day centre, engaging with men and women through a variety of programs.

A Recreational Group and a Discussion Group have commenced, both of which involve our Pastoral Team as active participants. The establishment of a Mental Health Clinic at Meals Plus by Sydney West Area Health also compliments our client support strategy.

Meals Plus received unbelievable support during the year. This included Community Development & Support Expenditure grants from both Parramatta and Holroyd Councils, financial support from Eli Lilly, Parramatta Mission’s congregations and donors.

The Transitional Accommodation ProgramDue to a lack of housing, transitioning the people we support from supported accommodation to independent living remained a problem this year.

Changes to rental agreements and the need to comply with new regulatory requirements in the Community Housing sector will require further review with our property group in the next year.

Food ServicesIn late October 2009 Meals Plus commenced a collection service under the Woolworths Fresh Food

Rescue Program. A refrigerated truck commenced service in June 2010, which enabled the collection of fresh produce, staples and frozen food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, seafood and dairy products. An extension of this program will commence in September 2010, as a result of a partnership with The GPT Group and their Food Recovery Program.

In many ways this has been the most challenging year the Homeless sector has faced. In meeting these challenges I have been supported by a strong team, both on the front line and in Parramatta Mission’s head office. I am grateful for the support of both groups and look forward with optimism to the coming twelve months.

Michael Wright DirectorHomeless Services

Homeless Services

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This year has been very busy for UCMH, as it continues to provide recovery focused mental health services in the community across Western and Northern Sydney, across the Hawkesbury, and out to the Blue Mountains and Lithgow.

In 2009-2010, the Day 2 Day Living in the Community program and Parramatta Leisure Club (PLC) provided participants with a range of recreational, social and prevocational skills development activities. Funded through the Department of Health and Aging, the Day2Day program serviced 183 participants who enjoyed over 25,000 hours of support, whilst 181 PLC participants, funded by the Sydney West Area Health Service (AHS), enjoyed over 80,000 hours of support.

Funded by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), the Personal Helpers and Mentors (PHaMs) program aims to increase the opportunities for recovery for people whose lives are severely affected by mental illness.

In Parramatta, PHaMs has, over the last 12 months, supported 69 clients with a total of 4,920 hours of support. In 2009-2010, UCMH commenced a second PHaMs program in the Hawkesbury region. The service implementation is now complete, with over 40 people receiving an excellent service from the team.

The Family and Carers Mental Health Program (FCMHP) is funded through NSW Health and offers support, education, advocacy and assistance to family members and carers who support a person with mental health issues. This year, FCMHP provided individual support to 131 clients,

and a total of 40 training events/courses were conducted (up 67% from the previous year), while course participant numbers totalled 712 during this period (up 283% from the previous year).The Mental Health and Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) is a joint initiative between the NSW Department of Housing, NSW Health and UCMH Housing NSW. The HASI program is based on the recognition that secure, safe and stable housing is a fundamental requirement for health and well-being and that many people with mental health problems have difficulty accessing or maintaining housing because of their illness. UCMH manages five HASI programs that range from low to very high support needs. This year, over 120 consumers have benefitted from the assistance of the teams, with over 48,500 hours of care provided.

headspace Mt Druitt provides a youth friendly health service to young people aged 12-25 years and their families, targeting mental health and substance abuse issues.headspace Mt Druitt currently services 588 active clients, with over 490 registrations received in the last year. Over this period of time there have been 3,341 occasions of service. Of these, 2,174 have been face-to-face at the headspace site, with the remaining 1,167 via the telephone or held off-site. headspace Mt Druitt has also initiated or hosted several key events throughout the year.

Irene Luth Mental Health Supported Accommodation Program provides a high quality, recovery orientated service to 27 residents with mental illness. The service takes referrals from within the Sydney West AHS and focuses on holistic care. This year, the total number of occasions of service

(occupied beds) equated to 9,034 for the year. Attendance at the Men’s Shed increased through the year, hospital admissions were reduced and several residents have moved on to independent living.

Throughout this period of time, as well as providing training and professional development in-services to the volunteer telephone counsellors, UCMH Education and Training Unit delivered 23 courses to 382 attendees in the wider community.

Lifeline Western Sydney (LLWS) provides a number of services to people who are in crisis, including: a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, suicide prevention and crisis support telephone service, and face-to-face counselling and support for people affected by problem gambling, financial issues, peri-natal depression and other challenges. For the period 2009-2010:• 107LLWSvolunteersanswered 17,400 calls from distressed persons. •The Responsible Gambling Fund gambling counsellors provided over 460 sessions to 56 new clients, whilst the financial counsellors supported 86 clients through 686 sessions.• Counsellors funded by Commonwealth Financial Counselling provided 196 sessions to 67 clients, as well as offering community education throughout Western Sydney. • The NSW Fair Trading funded counsellors provided 225 financial counselling sessions to 74 clients.

Karen Burns Director UnitingCare Mental Health

UnitingCare Mental Health (UCMH)

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It was yet another busy year in the life of Parramatta Mission in property terms.

This year saw Parramatta Mission achieve community housing registration, meaning it could continue to provide community housing to people in need. This year, over 250 individuals and households, many at risk of homelessness, were housed by Parramatta Mission.

One of the more notable developments was the refurbishment of Wesley Apartments at Westmead. The monumental success of the Apartments has presented a sobering reality of the pressures on families struggling with supporting their loved ones and balancing the demands of daily life.

This year also saw the strengthening of the relationship Parramatta Mission enjoys with the Parramatta Nepean Presbytery. This was achieved principally through comprehensive property management support for a growing list of Uniting Churches in Sydney’s west.

It all bodes well for 2011 in the property arena, and with a driven and dedicated team we can only go from strength to strength.

Mikel AydinDirector Property & UnitingCare Community Housing

Wesley Apartments, which opened for occupancy in April 2010, is an accommodation option for families of seriously ill or injured children who are undergoing treatment at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Wesley Apartments offers further support by providing an on-site carer whose primary role is to make the family’s lives outside of the hospital as easy as possible - by doing their washing, grocery shopping and to be a friendly face when they leave for the hospital each morning.

We have already seen over 24 families stay at Wesley Apartments, with a waiting list of five to 20 families at any time, highlighting the need for accommodation of this type in the area.

There is a cost associated with staying at Wesley Apartments, and due to this expense some families cannot afford to stay there.

Hopefully with increased donations to this cause Parramatta Mission can one day offer this service for FREE.

Nicole CampagnaSupervisorWesley Apartments

Property & UnitingCare Community Housing

Wesley Apartments

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Wesley Lodge is a commercial activity of Parramatta Mission. A 3 ½ star motel located in the growing commercial area of Westmead, the motel has 59 rooms featuring modern guest amenities and services, including 24 hour reception, AJ’s Café and the Gloster Udy Conference Centre. Wesley Lodge is the only accommodation provider in its location that offers a complete serviced package of accommodation and food and beverage amenities.

The daily operation and financials are managed by the motel’s General Manager, reporting directly to the

General Manager of Parramatta Mission, and currently employs a team of 28 staff.

2009/10 saw the motel finish with a yearly average occupancy of 68% and an average room rate of $125. Although this was a tough year in the hospitality industry, cost control in all departments resulted in net profit inline with budget at $468,000 (23% of revenue).

Dianne HartGeneral Manager Wesley Lodge

The Human Resources (HR) function operates to support both the current and future needs of the various services of Parramatta Mission. The function is responsible for employee relations, HR policy development, leadership development, management of occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation and payroll.

Over the last year the priority for Human Resources has been on building a strong platform of HR policies and procedures, increasing the capabilities of the payroll function and increasing the focus on Occupational Health and Safety.

In 2009/2010, the major activities and achievements included:

Improving the integration of •Human Resource activities with service activities and priorities.Implementation of HR policies •and procedures.

Implementation of an OH&S •Management framework.Introduction of standard •HR and payroll reporting for management.

In the year ahead the emphasis will be on continuing to develop HR related policies and practices, coupled with creating and delivering programs that will enhance the effectiveness of the organisation.

Helen AttiaHuman Resources Manager

Wesley Lodge

Wesley Apartments

Human Resources

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Operating ResultParramatta Mission achieved an operating surplus of $178,002 for the financial year ended 30th June 2010.

Income

Income increased by 24% to $15,073,823 during the year, reflecting additional fundraising income and government funding - primarily for mental health and family services.

Expenditure

Expenditure increased by 24% in the 2009/10 financial year, due to the provision of additional services in mental health, family services and Wesley Apartments.

Lyall WeaverBusiness Manager

Financial Summary

Balance Sheet Overview

BalanceSheetOverview

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Church GroupsCongrgations of Parramatta MissonCoonamble Uniting ChuchGilgandra Uniting ChurchMacquarie Darling PresbyteryNorthmead Uniting ChurchUnitingCare NSW.ACTWestmead Uniting Church

Clubs > $1,000Guildford Leagues ClubLions Club of Parramatta IncMerrylands RSL ClubParramatta Leagues ClubRotary Club of Parramatta City Inc

Companies > $1,000AGLBetter Building

ManagementCash McInnes ProjectsC K Building Pty LtdDr David Moffet’s Active DentalEli Lilly Australia Pty LtdLegalities Pty LtdMatthews Folbigg LawyersQBE Insurance GroupResMed LtdShell Clyde RefinerySlade Manwaring SolicitorsSnap Printing Phillip StreetSydney Turf ClubThe GPT GroupThomson AutomotiveUnitingCare NSW.ACT

Gifts-In-Kind DonorsAir-Conditioning Warehouse BlacktownAnna Zhu PhotographyFujitsu GeneralStanton Dahl Architects

GovernmentHousing NSWNSW State GovernmentParramatta City Council

Individuals > $1,000Angela PetersonBruce CoreChris BertinshawColin GrayColin SweeneyDavid NorrisEric RodeFaith CheungGeoffrey & Anne KellyGeorge Western FoodsIan & Margie GrayJuliette Bower-WilliamsJune BarrettKen & Nell TanswellLillian BensleyLinda McClureLyall WeaverM HagMargaret OswaldMichael Appleby

Neal ConliffePaul BarberPaul ByleveldPaul GarrardPaul & Julie ElliottPaul PetrusmaPeter ThorntonRobert & Helen KeyRon BurwoodRon GraceStewart BatesStewart KellieTerry DoustThe Estate of Mrs Gwen PikeWilliam Charles Agee

SchoolsPennant Hills Public SchoolSt Michael’s SchoolTara Anglican School for Girls

Parramatta Mission says ‘Thank You’Parramatta Mission experienced strong support during the year ended 2010, despite the prevailing difficult economic climate. Thanks to our long term donors, Corporate Citizens and the NSW State Government, fundraising revenue totalled $712,339; up by 46% on the 2009 year.

We would like to thank all of our supporters during 2009/2010, including our volunteers, donors of items such as food, clothing, services and Christmas presents, donations from our Corporate Citizens, regular monthly donors, once-off and new donors, as well as members of the Gloster Udy Society, who have included a gift to Parramatta Mission in their wills.

Many of Parramatta Mission’s services receive little or no government funding; services such as Wesley Apartments, the Ermington Family Learning Centre, Meals Plus and Lifeline Western Sydney, all rely heavily on donations to keep operating.

Parramatta Mission received donations from 747 individuals and companies during 2010, which does not include the hundreds of people who donated goods and services. While we cannot list all of you on this page, we would again like to say:

“THANK YOU”

Deborah CarrDirector of Development

Committee, Council & Board MembersParramatta Mission greatly appreciates the contributions from the following people who were voluntary members of the Church Council, Community Care Network Board and/or Commercial Committee during the 2009/2010 financial year:

Bruce Bennetts, Chris Bertinshaw, Charles Bonnici, Ruth Cameron, Rob Eagleson, Colin Gray, Ian Gray, Geoff Hinds, Richard Hale, Keith Hamilton, Delini Jayatilaka, Robert Key, Peter McDonald, David Norris, Robert Redfern, Emosi Rogumuri, Andrew Thornley, Sosiceni Toa, Lyall Weaver and Veitinia Waqabaca.

Corporate Citizens

THOMSON FORD

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Parramatta Mission119 Maquarie Street, Parramatta NSW 2150

Locked Bag 5360, Parramatta NSW 2124wecare@parramattamission.org.au

www.parramattamission.org.auPh: 02 9891 2277

Fax: 02 9891 4577