With a downturn in the WA economy impacting on homelessness and other social issues, the work of agencies such as Daydawn in advocating for and supporting society’s most vulnerable is more important than ever, according to its Director, Mark Reidy. Photo: Caroline Smith.
With multiple factors currently contributing to an increase in homelessness, among other social issues, the work of agencies such as Daydawn Advocacy Centre in advocating for, and supporting, society’s most vulnerable, is more important than ever, according to its Director, Mark Reidy.
The Archdiocesan agency provides support services to Indigenous people, around issues such as housing and welfare, from its office in the Perth city centre.
In this way, it follows a mandate of promoting ‘the rights of the individual and the full participation of the Indigenous population in society’, recognising that, for many Indigenous people, their ‘rights and legitimate aspirations are often difficult to attain’.
Mr Reidy said the agency’s work often meant acting as a ‘buffer’ between individuals and government departments, providing the latter with knowledge about cultural issues and individual circumstances.
He provided the example of people often living in big family groups in public housing, because of cultural obligations to care for family members.
“There’s a cultural pattern of family looking after family, so if you get thrown out with your four kids, your aunty or so-on will say, come and stay with us. So people will pack in together, and that causes more problems,” he said.
“There’s a real compulsion to help your family out – it’s a good thing in one way, but it can have a negative impact as well.”
Sometimes, their work meant talking to people about their circumstances and helping them make contact with relevant departments and social service agencies such as shelters, he added.
“Our role is to assist and advocate for those who are often in very difficult circumstances,” Mr Reidy said.
“So we have people come into the office sometimes who are looking for (public) housing. They could have spent hours on the phone with Centrelink, but they’d get frustrated and hungry.
“Instead, we said, look, have a cup of coffee or tea and we’ll do this for you. I guess we try to be the last hope for people who don’t have many other options.”
Volunteers who work at Daydawn – many of them lawyers and social work students – also help Indigenous people with referrals to financial management and issues of trauma and abuse.
“One of the big things Daydawn Advocacy Centre has been involved in this and last year is the Royal Commission: we’ve probably written up about 500 submissions, mostly through one of our lawyers, Raya,” he said.
“Our main volunteer, Betsy, is the heartbeat of Daydawn: she has been working with people in the Noongar community for so long that she has their trust.”
Prior to taking on the role of Director at Daydawn 18 months ago, Mr Reidy had worked both in the media and as a social and youth worker, helping people on the streets.
“My role includes a bit of everything: from balancing budgets to overseeing the work of volunteers,” he said.
*Statistics courtesy Homelessness Australia
From page 10 of Issue 10: ‘Social Outreach’ of The Record Magazine