This year there’ll be a place at the Christmas table for everyone in the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale.
Our society makes a big fuss over Christmas. But there are many of us who struggle to feel festive, for one reason or another.
For the first time, anyone who feels left out at Christmas is welcome to break bread at a special event put on by Homelessness We Care SJ and the Byford Baptist Church.
“This will be the first time that we have had a sit-down dinner for the homeless in the shire,” Homelessness We Care SJ’s Stuart McLellan said.
“In my experience as a nurse, Christmas and Easter are two very sad times for some people, and we want to bring a little bit of joy into their life.
“So, we are inviting anyone who is homeless, doing it tough, people who couch surf, people who are lonely at Christmas time, or simply those needing some Christmas cheer.”
There’ll be roast dinners with all the trimmings, and pudding and custard for dessert, while musicians serenade the gathering.
There’ll also be real coffee courtesy of the Keysbrook Community Centre which has generously loaned their coffee van for the event.
The Armadale Reptile Park will be bringing along a petting zoo, and there’ll be popcorn, fairy floss and a kids’ corner.
But the piece de resistance will be a giant sled carrying none other than the big man in red himself, and a giant pile of pressies.
“We’ll have a present for every single person who turns up – not just the children,” Stuart said.
The focus will be on fun, but there’ll also be essential services on hand including vet nurses, a dog wash, Orange Sky, and St John paramedics will be performing blood pressure and general health checks for anyone who wants one.
The Christmas party is being sponsored by the shire, Doral, and the Jarrahdale Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.
The Examiner asked why there hadn’t been an event like this in the shire before this year, and Stuart explained that homelessness hadn’t been as visible in the shire as it is right now. He said there were two reasons for this: the shire has taken a compassionate approach and decided not to move anyone on unless it was strictly necessary, and more and more people are at risk of homelessness due to the unrelenting housing crisis.
“A Mission Australia study came up with 9700 people sleeping rough in the greater metropolitan area of Perth,” Stuart said.
“Just this week I’ve been made aware of an elderly couple in their 80s whose house was sold and now they can’t afford rent – they’ll be homeless by the end of the week.
“There are a couple of young families who will be homeless by Christmas because the rent’s gone up. It’s happening all the time.
“We think we’ll get between 200 and 300 people at our dinner.”
Stuart said the invitation is being extended to all, not just SJ residents.
The party will be on from 4 to 8pm on Friday, December 20, at the Byford Baptist Church grounds at 155 Warrington Road in Byford. Dinner starts from 5.15pm.
The event is strictly an alcohol and smoke-free one.
Anyone wishing to attend is asked to please RSVP to Homelessness We Care SJ on 0499 417 831, or by emailing homelessnesswecaresjs@gmail.com
Read more about Homelessness We Care and the impact of the housing crisis here:
- The fight for SJ’s homeless
- “We’re the bits of dirt shuffled out of sight” homeless couple’s desperate plight
