Image: A previous Christmas Day Street Party, hosted yearly by Wayside Chapel. Image: Wayside Chapel, Facebook
by GRACE JOHNSON
On Christmas Day, Hughes Street in Kings Cross will once again be turned into a one-day street party, with long tables, live music, and pop-up events, including a Santa appearance for the kids.
This year’s Christmas Day Street Party, which Wayside Chapel has hosted for over forty years, will serve up to 20 hams, 80 kilograms of prawns, and 800 puddings for an anticipated 1,000 visitors, especially those people with nowhere to go this Christmas.
Pastor and CEO of Wayside Chapel, Reverand Jon Owen, says Christmas is a particularly lonely and difficult time for many people, but especially for those living on our streets.
“With an alarming 35,011 people experiencing homelessness in NSW, alleviating loneliness and disadvantage is more important at this time of year than ever,” he said.
Amid rising homelessness and food insecurity, demand for food at Wayside’s low-cost community cafes almost doubled compared to last year to nearly 1700 meals per week. The cafe, which provides hot meals for people who would not be able to have one any other way, has now had to put per-person limits on orders to avoid running out of food.
Growing food insecurity is, however, across the board. According to the Foodbank Hunger Report 2023 more than 3 million households in Australia experienced severe food insecurity in the last 12 months, with 23 per cent of households reporting they are sometimes skipping meals or going whole days without eating because there’s no money for food.
Rev. Jon Owen said, “We are going to show people that they are loved and not forgotten, because no one should go hungry or be alone at Christmas.”
“But we need the public’s help – we need to raise $1,100,000 by 25 December to feed and support people living on our streets.”
Ahead of the community event on Christmas Day, Wayside Chapel is asking Australians to ‘Donate a Plate‘ to feed and support a person experiencing homelessness and social isolation this festive season.
Run mostly by volunteers, Wayside Chapel has provided essential support for people who are homeless for years. In the 2022/2023 financial year, Wayside provided 10,122 hot showers and toiletries, 70,853 low-cost meals, and 37,917 items of clothing for vulnerable people in our community.
Event Details
Wayside Chapel Christmas Day Street Party 2023
When: Monday December 25, 9:30am – 2:30pm
Where: Wayside Chapel Kings Cross. 29 Hughes St, Potts Point, NSW 2011
On Christmas Day, Wayside Chapel Kings Cross will host a morning service, light breakfast and then a free, seated Christmas Lunch for the community followed by the ultimate Street Christmas Party – with live music, DJ, a fake tattoo parlour, face-painting, and Santa for the kids.
