“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:14
A two-day social services symposium will this year aim to raise awareness around supporting and assisting disadvantaged people in Western Australia.
Scheduled for 9 July and 25 November 2021, the state-wide symposium is organised by Catholic Social Services WA (CSSWA) and will be held at Newman Siena Centre in Doubleview.
The full-day programme catered to more than 30 Catholic welfare agencies – themed “Walking with his People” – will cover the issues of poverty, homelessness, and migrants in WA.
CSSWA Director Steve McDermott said the July symposium will also focus on Modern Day Slavery and how we, as one body in Christ, can eradicate this pernicious evil from Catholic supply chains.
The 9 July speakers include UNDA Politics and International Relations Senior Lecturer Dr Martin Drum, who will present on the issue of “Poverty, Homelessness & Migrants in WA”, and Centacare Kimberley Chief Executive Michael King will give a talk on rural prisoner outreach programmes.
“We will also be focussing on the successful programs that are delivered to Aboriginal people in the Kimberley and the regions,” Mr McDermott added.
There will be a Q&A discussion on welfare delivery in times of pandemic, and opportunities to explore how the Catholic agencies coped with the onset of COVID-19 and how it shaped their service delivery.
The conference was initially planned as a national event to be held at The University of Notre Dame’s Broome campus; however, the Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) Board decided to postpone the national conference.
As the political landscape will change dramatically in the coming months, the board believes the organisation will have a stronger sense of the future of community services after the next Federal election and after the Plenary Council sessions.
“We will convene a National Conference Planning Committee before the end of 2021 to prepare for a conference in the second half of 2022,” CSSA Chief Executive Ursula Stephens confirmed.
Registration: https://walking-with-his-people.heysummit.com/