Welcome Relief
St Mary's House of Welcome Delivers When it Needs to - providing 'Welcome Relief' to the State's Most Vulnerable Community Members**
Due to the Covid-19 social distancing restrictions many rough sleepers and people experiencing homelessness have recently been placed into temporary motel accommodation as part of the State Government's response.
The House of Welcome is working hard to ensure that no one goes without meals or other food supports while they are in this accommodation.
That's why we've started 'Welcome Relief'.
Each day, St Mary's House of Welcome is delivering over 500 'Welcome Relief' meal packs to people in crisis accommodation, and to small, community grass-roots organisations across Melbourne. And the number is growing...
We are proud to be able to support wonderful organisations such as Launch Housing, which has been tasked by Government to place community members into crisis accommodation. Once in this accommodation, St Mary's House of Welcome steps in to deliver nutritious, tasty, and substantive meal packs to their doors.
Of course, we are also continuing to distribute up to 120 'Welcome Relief' meal packs from our Brunswick Street premises each day - as well as providing showers, food hampers, laundry vouchers, emergency relief, material aid and other supports. This service is crucial to those who are still sleeping rough, living in cars, accommodated in sub-adequate rooming houses, or are otherwise vulnerable. As always, all this is done while maintaining safe social distancing and conforming with all public health requirements.
As the 'Welcome Relief' program is not funded, we are fortunate to have the support of local groups, restaurants and catering companies - StreetSmart Australia, Ladro Gertrude, Lentil As Anything, The Catering Company - as well as the Parliament of Victoria kitchens, to help supplement our meal packs and hampers. A huge thanks to all of you!
If you would like to contribute to this vital work, please visit www.smhow.org.au/donate
