At the end of Millers Court in Adelaide’s West End, on a rainy Friday night in August, a warm light escapes from an open door. Etching closer, there’s a buzz of activity and noise winding through from the courtyard – a welcome mix of excitement, a busker’s Ed Sheeran cover, excitable conversation and chapel worship.
On this particular Friday, close to 100 youth and leaders from Blackwood Hills, Broadview, Enfield, Richmond, Springpark and Unley Park Baptist, have gathered together at Baptist Care SA’s WestCare Centre for Dare2Care, a youth event to engage with and better understand the causes and impact of homelessness.
Less than 24 hours earlier, the centre was running as overnight accommodation facility when a Code Blue was called due to heavy rain and storms. The reality of sleeping rough suddenly seemed a little closer to home as we made our way in the cold and wet down the courtyard towards the centre’s chapel entrance.
Since 1913, South Australian Baptists have been caring for the needs of those facing homelessness in the city’s West End. Originally established by the West End Baptist Mission as a kindergarten in 1913, that same site is now the home of Baptist Care SA’s WestCare Centre, a safe space to access meals, showers, laundry, medical services and social supports.
At Dare2Care, the dining hall is jam-packed and youth are over-flowing into the chapel, sharing a meal of pasta bake and garlic bread together, lovingly catered by the WestCare team. Next up, the youth divide into teams and tour the facility, interactively engaging with WestCare Centre’s broad range of services through a simulation activity requiring them to make real-life socio-economic decisions like choosing between budgeting for groceries or medication.
The night concludes with stories of lived experience by Don, a Baptist Care SA staff member who once lived rough himself and Cameron, a 17-year-old youth, who has been living out of home since he was 14. The common denominator for both men in turning their lives around has been Jesus – not just meeting Him for themselves but having others love and care for them as Jesus would.
As a steady stream of youth exit the Centre for the night, a sea of red Hope Hampers can be seen alongside them. These red canvas bags have been filled by each youth group’s respective churches with non-perishable groceries (worth an estimated $8,000 to $10,000) – ready to handout to those who may need them. Previously facing low stocks, the youth load these Hope Hampers into WestCare Centre’s shed, filling it up with close to 100 hampers – ready for immediate distribution.
The warm light from WestCare Centre’s chapel door continues to escape into the darkened court as Dare2Care wraps up – a fitting metaphor of Jesus’ love shining out from WestCare Centre into Adelaide’s West End.
Words by Chris Bowman