Rudd opens homeless learning centre in Woolloomooloo

BY EMMA KEMP
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says a new learning centre in inner Sydney will help combat the cycle of homelessness.
Mr Rudd officially launched the Ozanam Learning Centre in Woolloomooloo, which utilises learning and recreation programs to equip homeless people to successfully find their way back to independence.
Named after Frederick Ozanam, who founded the Catholic Church’s charity work with the poor in Paris in the 1800s, it operates in addition to the 37 homeless hostels, refuges and outreach services run by the St Vincent de Paul Society throughout NSW and the ACT.
It will be one of the largest facilities of its kind, with a computer laboratory, yoga room, music workshop and vast spaces for classes, counselling and therapy.
“There’s no one single path to homelessness, everyone’s story is different. Collectively it is a story of Australian disadvantage,” Mr Rudd told the audience at the launch.
“Homelessness is a window into Australian disadvantage, and our response is a window into the heart of our community, a window into the heart and soul of our nation.”
In November 2006 the Society amalgamated its 37 hostels and refuges under the banner of Matthew Talbot Homeless Services, which have provided care to homeless men in the inner city for 70 years.
“Even as a loyal son of Brisvegas, I have heard of Matthew Talbot,” Mr Rudd joked. “The mark of any great society is how we treat our weakest members. If we have an aspiration still, as we could and we should, to be such a great society, the continuing test is how we treat our weakest members.”
In her speech, State President of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, Barbara Ryan said: “At a time when there are so many men, women and children falling into the cycle of homelessness, it is critical that we respond the important needs of the affected.
“As the leading provider of homeless services in NSW, the Society understands that services must grow and renew if they are to address the increasing complexity of this ongoing social crisis.”
The St Vincent de Paul Society was awarded the National TAFE Award for the most innovative course provision in 2005.
“This prompted our decision to consolidate this approach with a highly resourced, adaptive and centralised centre for excellence in education and recreation,” Ms Ryan said.
In conjunction with the launch of the Ozanam Learning Centre is the release of a supporting research paper, prepared by the Society’s Senior Researcher, Dr Andy Marks.
The paper, called “Life Lessons”, assesses the viability of learning and recreation programs in the broader context of homeless service delivery both in Australia and internationally
“When correctly planned, implemented and evaluated, learning and recreation programs have proven to be extraordinarily successful ways of empowering homeless persons to make the transition back into the mainstream community,” Dr Marks said.
“No longer is it solely a question of housing, accommodation and care. We are talking about a breakthrough, a way ahead for homeless services in Australia, in which traumatised people are given the resources and support they require to take control of their own lives.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show an estimated 105,000 people in Australia are homeless, an increase of 5,000 over the 2001 Census.
Mr Rudd said he was particularly pleased to launch the new initiative because the Matthew Talbot Centre is consistent with the direction the Federal Government want to take in dealing with the issue of homelessness.
Mr Rudd says the centre “is a recognition that the time for just providing a hot meal and a bed is well and truly over”.
“I’m confident that by taking action on this issue now, we can reduce homelessness over the decade ahead.”