Foreword to Doorways

 

'Since our formal separation from the Melbourne-based mission of St James and St John (now Anglicare Victoria), St Luke's has sought to critically evaluate how and why it does what it does in the broader context of social policy and advocacy. St Luke's has asked, 'How can this lead to making a positive difference in the lives of those who call on the organisation's assistance?'

 

The stories told in this book demonstrate that St Luke's has always seen its current situation or place in time as a launching pad for further change. Our most formative learning is that preparedness to embrace change needs to be the one constant within our organisation. Without this, we fail to recognise the contemporary requirements of those most in need.

 

Essential to this philosophy is that organisations must look to the 'bigger picture' and seek to influence structural impediments to the social inclusion of all. Otherwise we risk perpetuating the isolation and marginalisation of those we claim to serve.

 

At St Luke's we have learnt that service delivery is not an end but a means. It represents a necessary, compassionate response to the immediate needs of individuals and families. While in no way diminishing the importance of direct service delivery, we do everyone a disservice if we fail to take our learnings into the policy arena as well.

 

This book chronicles a journey which, inevitably, has had it highs and lows. The vision, however, has always been clear: all people are important; a compassionate and inclusive society is the goal.

 

St Luke's (and organisations like St Luke's) are critical to any civil society. The 'greater good' aspirations of such organisations must be nurtured, expressed and celebrated at every opportunity.

 

Twenty-five years has produced amazing, compassionate and dedicated staff and volunteers. They are the heart and soul of St Luke's. These people have had an incredible influence on individuals, families and on broader social policy debates. Society would be the poorer if it were not for the boundless commitment to the needs of others that all who have been a part of St Luke's have expressed. To attempt to 'name names' would be disrespectful to those omitted. Everyone who has walked all, or part, of the St Luke's journey is to be applauded and celebrated. That's what this book is all about.

 

Central to the 'St Luke's story' are those who have called on the organisation's resources over the past 25 years-including those we have failed, those we have assisted, and those who have taught us so much about resilience and achieving through adversity. This book endeavours to capture something of this rich tapestry.

 

The future of St Luke's will continue to be about change and 'tilting at windmills'-tilting at those windmills that fail to acknowledge the intrinsic worth of all individuals, repress the vulnerable or disregard the key elements of social justice.

 

Civil society organisations are not about 'doing themselves out of a job'. They are about providing a vehicle for the aspirations of all in the quest for an inclusive society.'

 

Andrew McCallum, former CEO of St. Luke's Anglicare, Bendigo.

 

A Note from the author, John Holton

 

How do you relate the journey of an organisation that for 25 years has 'assisted people to develop choices in their lives and to contribute to their communities?' An organisation 'committed to practices that promote justice and hope, challenging actions that devalue, disadvantage and discriminate' against people in our communities?

 

This was the challenge put to me in late 2003 when I accepted the great privilege of capturing St Luke's stories.

 

'Respect, Hope, Fairness' is the agency's motto-an ethos that demanded something more than a dry, chronological history. St Luke's is about people, and for aeons people have communicated through stories. Indeed, many of St Luke's innovative approaches to working with people over the past 25 years have developed through reflection and evaluation of stories, those of both workers and clients.

 

It seemed right that Doorways should be a collection of human stories-workers' stories, carers' stories, volunteers' stories- stories of those in the community whose paths have crossed St Luke's over its 25 year journey.

 

The book attempts to capture the essence of the work St Luke's has undertaken with the community; the courage that has allowed workers and clients to step over thresholds and through doorways, both painful and exultant. Doorways open and close. The doorways in this book represent moments of change-stepping into a different place in one's life-opening doors that once might have seemed shut tight.

 

That's why 25 years of St Luke's is worth celebrating; because trying to step through such doorways is heroic-even if we can never seem to fully cross the threshold.

 

The stories in Doorways are a result of more than 50 interviews conducted over a period of six months. In as many instances as possible I've tried to feature the voice of the storyteller, arranging and editing the thousands of words on offer into something reader-friendly (I hope) and meaningful. For some stories, it seemed appropriate to adopt more of a journalistic interview style. Either way, I hope each one captures the essence of the subject and highlights some unique aspect of the St Luke's journey.

 

One of the biggest challenges was deciding which stories to include. More often than not, this was dictated by the availability of people, and time constraints. For every story in Doorways, there are a thousand equally important and meaningful stories left untold. For some connected with the agency, there may be names that don't appear, or pieces they feel are missing from the St Luke's puzzle. My hope is that through the stories in Doorways we can all celebrate the distinctiveness of St Luke's and the spirit of the community in which it has evolved.

 

My thanks go to all those who gave so generously of their time in the making of this book-the 50+ interviewees who responded to my 'interrogations'; the initial Doorways focus group of Ron Stone, Russell Deal, Di O'Neil, Dave Pugh and Karen Masman; the team at Innovative Resources-particularly Karen for her editing skills and constant affirmation; Rosa Anderson who I regularly hassled for information; Maree McLachlan for lending her photographic skills to the project; and Brad Welsh who designed this book with such generosity of spirit. The result is a credit to his creativity as a graphic artist.

 

May the stories in Doorways remind you of the importance of your own.