|PIC1|As the crisis deepened during the past year, Wesley Creditline Financial Counselling Service provided counsel and support to 4826 people but turned away 2424. The number of women seeking crisis accommodation grew from 148 to 227 – a jump of 53 per cent on the previous year.
Wesley Mission's Annual Review shows that while 243 children could be placed in foster care a further 873 children could not be found a caring family due to a lack of carers and resources.
"The demands on Wesley Mission will continue to grow as the economic and housing situation worsens," said Wesley Mission's CEO the Rev Keith Garner. "While Australia has undergone unbridled prosperity during the past decade there are many people in the community who have not shared in this growth and will continue to struggle in the foreseeable future. These are people with real needs, aspirations and hopes.
"And while we celebrate the fact that we have been able to meet more need, we also acknowledge that we have not been able to help others due to the ever-increasing demands on our resources. We are grateful to governments, our donors and corporate supporters for their support but we know the year ahead will be tough for those who can least afford it."
The number of families in supported accommodation grew from 56 to 72 and the number of young people supported in short term accommodation almost doubled – from 36 in 2006-07 to 70 in 2007-08.
Wesley Mission staff counselled more than 3220 families and supported 2229 young people through a range of innovative programs and services in Sydney and Newcastle. Other highlights included:
• Total number of people assisted by Wesley Uniting Employment - 34,157
• Total number of people placed in a job - 14,534
• The number of people assisted through Wesley Uniting Employment's Personal Support Program grew from 1165 to 4462
• People participating in Work for the Dole programs rose from 5604 to 9330.
• Some 3400 people with disabilities were assisted with pre-employment support, training and employment placement.
Mr Garner said the significant growth in the number of people assisted in employment pre-employment programs reflected the attractiveness and strength of the programs. "Many people are requesting to be placed in our Work for the Dole programs and Centrelink has increased its referrals to our 17 Personal Support Programs across Sydney and NSW," he said.
Significant growth also occurred among congregations ministering to specific cultural groups. On average almost 2220 people worshipped each week across 10 congregations and in five languages: English, Mandarin, Japanese, Samoan and Rotuman. Over 500 people attended weekly Bible study groups, 62 people were baptised and 72 entered church membership.
Around 30 Praise, Prayer and Preaching episodes were broadcast by the Australian Christian Channel while the Easter Sunrise Service was watched by a national audience of 74,000, The Rise and Shine Easter Special (82,000, Channel 9) and Wesley Mission's Christmas Documentary (171,000, Channel 7).