HOMES FOR HOPE
Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES: In June I had the wonderful opportunity to officially open two new houses built through a volunteer program known as the Homes for Hope program. It was the culmination of the efforts of a coalition of community-minded corporations which has made over $175,000 for disadvantaged children and young people in some of the poorest areas of Western Sydney. Their combined forces produced fantastic results. The project saw the building of two contemporary two-storey homes at Nelson’s Ridge Estate at Greystanes by drawing upon the donated resources, skills and efforts of more than 60 businesses and corporations and some 40 volunteers.
I was joined by Channel Ten’s Leah McLeod, the State member for Wentworthville, Pam Allan, and Parramatta rugby league players Mark Riddell and Ian Henderson to cut the ribbons in front of lots 91 and 92 Driftway Drive, Nelson’s Ridge. It is a wonderful testimony to the volunteering spirit of those in Western Sydney who worked so faithfully for a project that would help to fund the development and growth of Wesley Mission’s suite of children’s, youth and disability services in some of the most underprivileged Western Sydney suburbs. In particular, Wesley Mission Disability Respite Services stands to benefit as it provided pre-planned and emergency respite for both children and adults at Northmead and Minto Heights.
Wesley Dalmar Child and Family Care, a department that has been caring for children for over 107 years, is also benefiting from the funds that have been raised. This Homes for Hope project began with two blocks of land which were purchased at Nelson’s Ridge, a new residential development by Delfin Lend Lease. Wincrest Homes then co-ordinated the building of two standalone two-storey homes over a period of nine months. They are the first of their kind to be constructed in the new residential development. Both houses are currently on the market. All honourable members would appreciate that it is encouraging to know that Sydney Water certified the new homes to be water efficient as well as incorporating drought-resistant landscaping, underground tanks and recycling processes.
Homes for Hope has now completed nine residential projects and has built a total of 21 family homes. Other communities have pitched in to build homes at Kellyville, the Central Coast, east Maitland, Warnervale, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and, most recently, Newcastle. Time and again Homes for Hope has shown itself to be a tangible and profitable community-based initiative that will only grow stronger in the future. It also reminds us as legislators that community building often works best from the grass roots up when citizens band together to support civic-minded or philanthropic projects as opposed to some of the bureaucratic and paternalistic top-down attempts that are often proposed by parliamentarians and public servants.
Radio station WS FM was kind enough to provide valuable on-air time to attract Sydney businesses into putting something back into their communities. It was a fabulously successful exercise because it engaged government, business and the community in producing good outcomes for all. Unfortunately, time does not permit me to commend all those who made a contribution and all those volunteers who worked on the sites. Suffice it to say that this Homes for Hope project could not have been possible without the assistance of WS FM 102.7, Wincrest Homes, Delfin Lend Lease and Boral Ltd. I anticipate that within the next 30 to 60 days we will have raised half a million dollars from this successful project. As this House is primarily concerned about creating positive outcomes in New South Wales communities, I commend the efforts of those local volunteers and the companies that made this initiative possible. 12 October 2005.
