Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese RELEASE
21 Dec 2012
The holly, balloons, streamers and Christmas lights are up while behind the scenes, massive bags of potatoes and pumpkins are stacked, ready for peeling. In the large walk-in cold room 40 large hams and 40 plucked plump turkeys are set for cooking. The Christmas puddings, Christmas cakes and bags of chocolates are in the pantry cupboard and the huge deep freeze is filled to overflowing with large tubs of ice cream and packet after packet of frozen peas.
St Vincent de Paul Society's catering team at Matthew Talbot Hostel in Woolloomooloo are in countdown to Christmas Day when in addition to the 400 meals they serve daily to the city's homeless men, they are hard at work preparing for Christmas Day when those at the Hostel can sit down to a festive breakfast of bacon, eggs, tomatoes, toast and all the trimmings followed by a traditional Christmas dinner, an evening meal of cold roast beef and salads as well as morning and afternoon tea with Christmas cake and treats.
"We used to serve other green vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts or spinach. But the men won't eat them. So on Christmas Day it's always beans or peas," says Gerry Geevy, the big-hearted Irish-born Catering Manager at the Hostel and the man who for the past seven years, along with his staff of five and a team of 20 volunteers, has pulled out all the stops to bring Sydney's homeless hope on Christmas Day.
For those who have become homeless and are either staying at the hostel, in shelters, at Vinnies' Vincentian House in Surry Hills or trying to survive on Sydney's streets, Christmas can be a difficult time and trigger memories of happier times when they were loved and with families and life was okay.
Gerry and his staff and team of volunteers understand for many of those who are at the Hostel on Christmas Day that amid the celebrations, the festive period can also be filled with sadness and regret.
"We try to be sensitive to everyone's individual needs, and to understand how some of them may be feeling, and while we help them enjoy the celebration of Christmas, we let them set the pace," he explains.
At the moment, in addition to serving a healthy nourishing breakfast, lunch and dinner together with morning and afternoon teas at the Hostel each day, Gerry and his staff have preparations for Christmas Day well underway.
By the evening of December 24, the hams will be carved, the turkeys are rubbed with spices, sealed and ready to go in the oven, the stuffing made and the medium-rare beef for the evening meal, sliced and kept moist and ready for serving.
Christmas Day for the team of staff and volunteers at Matthew Talbot Hostel begins at 6.30 am and continues in shifts throughout the day. But for the first time since 2005, Gerry will not be on hand at the Hostel on Christmas Day but instead with his meticulous planning and the experience of the previous six Christmases at the Hostel, finally able hand over the reins and share Christmas Day with his sister, and her family.
"I'll only be a mobile phone call away if there's a hitch," he says and admits although he is looking forward to having a family Christmas, he will also miss sharing Christmas Day at the Hostel with many of the regulars who eat there each day.
"What I do is so much more than just a job. It's a privilege. I am not sure how to explain it, but the spiritual rewards of working somewhere like this is the only way I can put it. You really feel great when you do this sort of work and know you are helping someone," he says. "I always tell people 'food talks.' Food is how you welcome people to your house and tell them you are glad they came and that you care about them and that you respect them as a human being and a friend. And at Matthew Talbot that's how I feel about each and every one of the men I meet."
While the reasons for homelessness are complex and involve many different factors, the past year has not only seen a rise in the number of the homeless in Australia, but an increase in the number of under men and women under 30 who are homeless. Women escaping domestic violence also make up a significant proportion of the homeless. These women often have children and on latest data of the 105,000 homeless across the country, as many as 20,000-30,000 are under 18.
The Matthew Talbot Hostel caters only for men but at Christmas and on other special occasions, Gerry and his team also serve dinners and festive meals for the women and children and single parent families staying at Vinnies' Vincentian House in Surry Hills.
"At Christmas along with delivering Christmas dinners and meals we make sure there are lots of ice creams and chocolates for the children," he says.
At Matthew Talbot there is never a shortage of volunteer servers or donations of food to make Christmas Day special for the men who live at the Hostel. But Gerry hopes people realise that Vinnies and those the Society helps not only needs support at Christmas but on every other day throughout the year.
"We are always looking for volunteers to help out with serving food at the Hostel and there are also great ways for individuals as well as families or groups of friends to pitch in and sponsor meals for the men at different times during the year," he says. "All they have to do is call me up on the phone and ask me what I'd like to cook. Once the meal is sponsored I can go ahead and organise 45 kgs of lamb or beef or lamb chops or 70 chickens for the guys along with the vegetables and other bits and pieces."
Gerry says the cost of a meal to serve the Hostel's 350 to 400 men is around $400.
"But when this is spread between 10 or more people this is only $40 each and it is not only affordable but a great way to help."
To find out more about Vinnies work and the Matthew Talbot Hostel click on to www.vinnies.org.au
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
21 Dec 2012
Matthew Talbot Kitchen and Outreach offers compassion, hope and friendship
St Vincent de Paul Society's catering team at Matthew Talbot Hostel in Woolloomooloo are in countdown to Christmas Day when in addition to the 400 meals they serve daily to the city's homeless men, they are hard at work preparing for Christmas Day when those at the Hostel can sit down to a festive breakfast of bacon, eggs, tomatoes, toast and all the trimmings followed by a traditional Christmas dinner, an evening meal of cold roast beef and salads as well as morning and afternoon tea with Christmas cake and treats.
"We used to serve other green vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts or spinach. But the men won't eat them. So on Christmas Day it's always beans or peas," says Gerry Geevy, the big-hearted Irish-born Catering Manager at the Hostel and the man who for the past seven years, along with his staff of five and a team of 20 volunteers, has pulled out all the stops to bring Sydney's homeless hope on Christmas Day.
The Matthew Talbot Hostel in Woolloomooloo cares for more than 400 homeless men each day
Gerry and his staff and team of volunteers understand for many of those who are at the Hostel on Christmas Day that amid the celebrations, the festive period can also be filled with sadness and regret.
"We try to be sensitive to everyone's individual needs, and to understand how some of them may be feeling, and while we help them enjoy the celebration of Christmas, we let them set the pace," he explains.
At the moment, in addition to serving a healthy nourishing breakfast, lunch and dinner together with morning and afternoon teas at the Hostel each day, Gerry and his staff have preparations for Christmas Day well underway.
By the evening of December 24, the hams will be carved, the turkeys are rubbed with spices, sealed and ready to go in the oven, the stuffing made and the medium-rare beef for the evening meal, sliced and kept moist and ready for serving.
Matthew Talbot Hostel offers hope and shelter to Sydney's homeless men
"I'll only be a mobile phone call away if there's a hitch," he says and admits although he is looking forward to having a family Christmas, he will also miss sharing Christmas Day at the Hostel with many of the regulars who eat there each day.
"What I do is so much more than just a job. It's a privilege. I am not sure how to explain it, but the spiritual rewards of working somewhere like this is the only way I can put it. You really feel great when you do this sort of work and know you are helping someone," he says. "I always tell people 'food talks.' Food is how you welcome people to your house and tell them you are glad they came and that you care about them and that you respect them as a human being and a friend. And at Matthew Talbot that's how I feel about each and every one of the men I meet."
While the reasons for homelessness are complex and involve many different factors, the past year has not only seen a rise in the number of the homeless in Australia, but an increase in the number of under men and women under 30 who are homeless. Women escaping domestic violence also make up a significant proportion of the homeless. These women often have children and on latest data of the 105,000 homeless across the country, as many as 20,000-30,000 are under 18.
The Matthew Talbot Hostel caters only for men but at Christmas and on other special occasions, Gerry and his team also serve dinners and festive meals for the women and children and single parent families staying at Vinnies' Vincentian House in Surry Hills.
Gerry Deevy with one of the 40 hams donated to feed the city's homeless
At Matthew Talbot there is never a shortage of volunteer servers or donations of food to make Christmas Day special for the men who live at the Hostel. But Gerry hopes people realise that Vinnies and those the Society helps not only needs support at Christmas but on every other day throughout the year.
"We are always looking for volunteers to help out with serving food at the Hostel and there are also great ways for individuals as well as families or groups of friends to pitch in and sponsor meals for the men at different times during the year," he says. "All they have to do is call me up on the phone and ask me what I'd like to cook. Once the meal is sponsored I can go ahead and organise 45 kgs of lamb or beef or lamb chops or 70 chickens for the guys along with the vegetables and other bits and pieces."
Gerry says the cost of a meal to serve the Hostel's 350 to 400 men is around $400.
"But when this is spread between 10 or more people this is only $40 each and it is not only affordable but a great way to help."
To find out more about Vinnies work and the Matthew Talbot Hostel click on to www.vinnies.org.au
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
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