Collaboration brings coffee, hope for Perth families
- kirranicolle
- May 1
- 2 min read
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
In a movement renewal collaboration, three Salvation Army mission expressions and an alternative education pathway provider have recently joined forces to serve the community as a hub in Western Australia.
The Salvation Army Armadale, Community Garden of Hope and the wider Armadale Gosnells Hub have partnered with Alta-1, a holistic education service started in Western Australia.
Alta-1 provides disengaged young people and their families support and pathways to self-transformation through Vocational Education Training (VET) courses, the Targeted Engagement Program (TEP) and ConnectEd programs for young people with severe anxiety and depression.
The Hub was officially launched on 4 April with an event attended by Chief Secretary Colonel Winsome Merrett.
With the phrase “changing lives one at a time” appearing in Alta-1’s vision statement and “one life at a time with the love of Jesus” appearing in The Salvation Army’s vision statement, Area Officer Major Andrew Jarvey said there was a “very close affinity” between what The Salvation Army and Alta-1 were trying to achieve.
“Very simply, we’re better together,” he said. “You have the expertise of a schooling company, [who] have been doing it for 35 years. You’ve got the Salvos who’ve obviously been doing their stuff for a very long time as well, so we’re not trying to start new things by ourselves. We’re recognising that the way forward is through collaborative partnerships.”
Through the efforts of both Major Nikki Curtis and Auxiliary-Lieutenant Mark Curtis, who run the Garden of Hope at Gosnells, Alta-1 has already been partnering with The Salvation Army through training micro-credentials in horticulture and through the coffee van operating in the garden. Students have been developing key skills as baristas, in hospitality and customer service.
In addition, the team will partner with The Salvation Army’s Seaforth Gardens Aged Care facility, the Harry Hunter Rehabilitation Centre, which are on the same property, and Salvos Stores to provide opportunities for Alta-1 youth to engage in the local community. The team also hopes that residents from the Harry Hunter Rehabilitation Centre will be able to access training through the partnership.
Nikki said the area, in the southeast of Perth, had one of the highest crime rates in the suburbs and a high rate of domestic violence. She said, despite there being many social services, the key was a more systemic approach.
“There’s a lot of material aid available in the area,” Nikki said. “[But] how can we make a significant difference to families? Maybe it's one family at a time, but that will actually be systemic change. It will be a generational change. And the only way we’re going to be able to do that, I think, is to work with families.”
