Coast Shelter: 30 years of service
It’s a wrap: this Central Coast charity celebrated a major milestone in 2022
Founded as a community response to the need for food, clothing, housing, and personal support for people experiencing homelessness and domestic and family violence, 2022 was a big year for Coast Shelter as they celebrated 30 years of service to the local community with record-breaking fundraising activities.
“The Central Coast has changed a lot in the past 30 years, but one thing has stayed the same – the generous financial and other support we receive from community volunteers, donors, corporate partners, and governments,” said Michael Starr, CEO of Coast Shelter.
“The spirit of helping others runs through Coast Shelter and despite all the challenges of the past years, our services have remained open and ready to help the most vulnerable people in our community.”
“In the 2021/2022 financial year, 3,191 people in crisis contacted Coast Shelter to help them access a safe place to live, a meal, personal support and/or healthy relationship programs,” said operations manager Mark Trevaskis.
Central Coast businesses and community members got behind the organisation and helped to fundraise for several initiatives, including the annual Coast Shelter Sleepout, where the community raised over $180,000, and a first fundraising luncheon. The year ended with the annual Christmas Appeal where everyone engaged in their services received a thoughtful gift and much needed food hamper.
As a result, Coast Shelter was able to expand their clinical services team and introduce alcohol and other drug counseling for women, commence specialist social work services at the community centre and start dedicated crisis counselling for women and children experiencing domestic violence.
Some key statistics from 2022:
– 1028 people experiencing homelessness and domestic violence were supported in crisis accommodation;
– 76% of people needing assistance report they have experienced domestic and family violence;
– 180 people a day visited the Community Centre at North Gosford for a meal, shower, free access to health specialists, housing support and counselling services.
Volunteer support from the Central Coast Community thankfully continues to be strong with over 4,000 hours donated in 2022 alone.
Coast Shelter is also proud of their Social Enterprise projects, CSEspresso coffee cart and Coasties on the Move, a household removalist service. These two programs provide paid traineeships, accredited training and mentoring for unemployed young people to help them develop the skills to find and keep a job.
If you would like to know more about how you can become involved with fundraising or volunteering at Coast Shelter in 2023, visit www.coastshelter.org.au or contact the marketing and communications team via Erin Maxwell at erin-m@coastshelter.org.au.
