Having a safe, dependable home is fundamental to individuals and families finding a way out of poverty and disadvantage. Improved health, independence and stability are things we are all fortunate enough to take for granted most of the time.
Baptist Care SA currently supports a range of clients in more than 100 residential properties which is pivotal to their opportunity to thrive and move from adversity to opportunity.
Last month, the Baptist Care SA Board signed off on our Housing Pathway Strategy (HPS). This is one of the key investments we are making to advance our Mission and to align with our Strategic Horizons Plan.
This strategy supports
- The development of a ‘mix and multiply’ approach designed to foster healthy inclusive communities
- Partnerships and collaborations to address our clients housing needs and aspirations
- Initiatives that reduce living costs and contribute to environmental sustainability
- The growth and quality improvement of services
- Organisational investment into service-related housing projects.
Our priority client groups include
- Vulnerable children
- Marginalised young people
- Families at risk
- Aboriginal people experiencing social and economic disadvantage
- People living with disabilities.
Over the next few years, it is our intention to grow the number of properties under management through both ownership and leasing arrangements. These homes will provide safe, secure residences for individuals and families in our care.
While we anticipate that this strategy and the associated investment will dynamically evolve in line with the political and societal funding environment and the changing needs of our clients, our current aim is to deliver a balanced and sustainable residential housing portfolio of approximately 238 dwellings by 2025.
Matching the needs of families and individuals with appropriate housing options is challenging and requires a special blend of availability, financial management and a highly skilled approach to balancing the interface between tenancy management and support services. This work provides a social not a financial return.
In setting this course, we recognise that Baptist Care SA’s resources are finite and we are already facing competing demands from our various missional activities. We are always stretched.
Noting the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Baptist Care SA seeks to be a faithful steward of its resources and maximise outcomes for the benefit of others.
As we embark on the fulfilment of this strategy, we are excited by the prospect of working in Missional Housing Partnerships with local Baptist churches and faithful individuals. We will provide additional information on these possibilities in further editions of Together in Mission and across the variety of communication channels available to us. In the interim, if you’d like to know more about this life-giving work, please contact me by email ceoea@baptistcaresa.org.au or call Rebecca Carter on 8273 7100.
Thank you for your prayerful consideration and support.
Michael Hynes
Acting CEO
Baptist Care SA
