News in brief
Wayside’s 50 years
The Wayside Chapel will mark its 50th birthday with a street party and a special church service from its CEO and pastor, Graham Long.
A jumping castle, petting zoo, cooking demonstrations and 1960s dress-up booth will adorn Hughes Street, Potts Point from 10am this Sunday, April 13.
The Wayside Chapel provides services for the community’s most disadvantaged members, including homelessness and addiction support.
“It’s been 50 years since Ted Noffs first walked into what was just an apartment building and started the Wayside Chapel,” Rev. Long said.
“Half a century later, the Wayside Chapel is needed more than ever with homelessness and mental health issues on the rise along with an increasing sense of loneliness being felt by people from all walks of life.”
After struggling in the late 2000s, the service raised more than $8 million and reopened in Hughes Street in 2012. Its new areas of focus include responding to loneliness and fighting for Indigenous recognition in the constitution.
Greater support for inner west
A specialised support service for the community’s most vulnerable will expand into the inner west including Leichhardt, Ashfield and Annandale.
Canterbury Multicultural Aged and Disability Support Services Inc announced it will extend its footprint to cover neighbouring areas, officially launching under a new name this week.
Labor member for Watson, Tony Burke, attended the ceremony along with newly-elected Liberal member for Banks, David Coleman, and Canterbury Mayor Brian Robson.
The organisation specialises in “linguistically appropriate” care for the frail and disabled, operating in an area that contains some of Sydney’s most culturally-diverse communities.
Chief executive Dr Rosy Walia said she looks forward to meeting relevant stakeholders, building relationships and encouraging referrals from within the inner west.
