“My role is to care for the spiritual, emotional side of people doing it tough. There is already great help for physical needs like meals, showers, healthcare, material aid – and so I’m here as a listening ear.”
Jacko has a unique role at Hutt St Centre, supporting people on their journey out of homelessness as the Pastoral Care Coordinator.
“In our Pastoral Care team there’s myself and three volunteers. One of them, Chris, has been volunteering since 2013. Another of our volunteers is really interested football and sports, so he’s got a natural connection point with many of our visitors.”
For people experiencing homelessness, relationship breakdowns can mean they don’t have family or friends to speak with for support. This can be particularly painful when times are tough. That’s where the pastoral care team make an impact.
“Homelessness can be a really lonely experience, so we’re here to listen, help people reflect, and hopefully offer a bit of hope.”
“A typical morning for me is to come into the Centre and scan for familiar faces to say hello to, but also looking out for people who are new or on their own. I don’t force myself on people, but I’ll introduce myself and see if a chat starts up.”
“Some days I might have three long conversations, other days I’ll have fifteen short conversations. Then every Wednesday we have a spiritual reflection group called Common Grace where we sing together, read part of the Bible, pray, and just chat. It gives people a chance to share pretty deeply about their life in a quiet space when maybe life has been pretty noisy for them lately.”
Since Hutt St Centre’s founding in 1954, emotional and pastoral care has always been an important part of the work started by the Daughters of Charity.
“One week someone can come in and they seem fairly settled and optimistic about life. The next week they come in feeling like their life has been turned upside down. And that reflects Hutt St Centre, people’s circumstances are changing all the time.”
"What we desire for pastoral care is to have a team with a variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and worldviews - so that we can be available for and care for people accessing the Centre with different backgrounds. At Common Grace we have people coming who say they're humanist, athiest, agnostic, Muslim, Christian - a whole variety of people who love the time together. It's great, anyone is welcome."
Thanks to your generosity, Jacko and his team of volunteers are here to listen without judgement and support people through their toughest moments.
“If I could see a donor right now I’d say a massive, heartfelt and warm thanks for your support of Hutt St Centre. Thanks for being passionate about the work that is done here and the support that's given to the men and women who come to Hutt St Centre. It holds a really significant place in our city, and it's because of the support of donors that it can continue to be that warm, welcoming space in our city.”
