Building refurbishment of community emergency relief centre

Mission House provides critical emergency relief to the inner suburb communities of Melbourne. A number of local volunteers drawn from the elderly community supported by teenage children (Yr 10-12) assist Mission House with food donations by making up food hampers and sorting through donations from the general public and parishes to stock the charity mini market.

Mission House assists a large volume of vulnerable people including single men and women, families, asylum seekers and refugees. To support the charitable work, the building is in need of modernisation to make it a warm, safe place for all members of the community.

Mission House lacks a welcoming environment for people waiting to be assisted. The volume of people seeking assistance has increased and Mission House depends on partial funding from DSS and donations from parishes. As Government funding cannot be used to update the facilities of the community house, the kitchen and service areas remain in need of modernisation. The volunteers will benefit from a safe, secure and modernised kitchen area with adequate work surfaces to sort through donations and make up food parcels hygienically with ample space. The vulnerable will benefit from an interview room to openly discuss problems.