New ideas

Now that 2010 is underway, it's worth letting everyone know about some new projects that are underway and will be coming to our centre this year:

1. New Dawn is a partnership between Marion CSS and BP. Essentially the project houses people and provides them with a service station traineeship. We are at the stage of finding a house (at BP's expense) and finalising the paperwork necessary for the tenancies.
2. SalvoPsyche is a partnership statewide between CSS and the Australian Psychological Association. This will provide free psychological consulations at our centre.
3. Mental Health Community Access program. This is in the embryonic stage, but essentially is the result of the FaCHSIA (Dept of Families, Communities, Housing, Social Services and Indigenous Affairs) funding us to work through our CSS/ER program specifically with people that have mental health concerns. This will be in connection with the local mental health professionals.
4. St Josephs Community Centre partnership - This is a partnership with the St Josephs Community Care in Mitchell Park. While the funding for the original tenancy support program fell over, we are continuing to pursue mutually beneficial client services.
5. Community meals program. The Sundays@4 congregation are going to resurrect the community meals program in the evenings, probably after church on a Sunday.
6. Recovery Cafe. This is another project in its embryonic stage. Our youth team are partnering with other Corps in the area and hope to run a recovery cafe some weekends around the bayside suburbs.
7. Hallett Cove. This outpost has been on the cards for so long, and we continue to hope and pray that the zoning problems around our proposed property are resolved. At this stage we are still on track for a June launch in the Cove.
8. Doorways. This is a rejuvenated model of offering support through our Community Services team. It is a comprehensive approach that is client centred and strengths focussed and will enable our team to use their limited resources to extend the services offered to visitors to our centre. (By the way, did you know that Marion CSS is the 9th largest in our territory, and no. 4 in our state?)
9. Service podcasting. We are hoping in the near future to open up our services, via the internet, to those that are shut in or those that live a more 'virtual' experience. It may be that we can extend this to vodcasting as well.
10. "PSA". While a 'pleasant Sunday afternoon' is not anything new, these will return in 2010 as a further means of the band's outreach program. Look out for the first one, planned for Sunday March 28.

These and other ideas are always on the table. Please pray for the team leaders and the Corps as a whole as we advance the work of the Kingdom through all sorts of means this year. It is going to be an exciting year to be around Marion Salvation Army.