THE BEGINNINGS:

Stepping Stone Community was established in 1982 in the suburb of Ruse. The Church had noted the need for a refuge for homeless boys and put in a submission to provide such a program. Homelessness was a big issue at the time and in a very short period the government approved the funding. The Department of Housing had a house in Ruse that they had purchased to build the Georges River Parkway and that was made available. To begin with we had just one worker and men from the congregation slept over and women from the congregation delivered casseroles and other nourishing meals.

The double storey house didn’t have the space for the program and it was moved to Leumeah Heights. Moving Stepping Stone from Ruse to the upmarket suburb of Leumeah Heights in 1992 created some difficulties. Almost the whole suburb turned out to oppose the opening. Rev David Peters had a hard time pacifying them but in the long run they could not win. It was a case of “ this is a great idea but not in my backyard”. Over the years the House proved not to be a problem to the locals – apart from the odd police visit – it looked like a normal house and neighbours were happy it did not lower their property values.

By 2000 Stepping Stone had been running for 20 years and all those involved were running out of steam. Only our minister Alan Biglow and his wife were left on the committee. In 2002 with the establishment of Campbelltown UnitingCare the new Board appointed Brian Dennis and John Russell to the Management Committee. One of the existing staff, Sandra Redmond was made Manager and was to prove a great asset over the next 12 years. Prior to this we had youth workers, who came and went with monotonous regularity running the program.

WHAT WE DID: The House had a capacity for 5 boys but 3-4 was the usual number of residents. We worked with 14-18 year olds but as time went by the age of residents decreased and their needs became more complex. Although we were supposed to keep them for a limited time we generally tried to get them through till they finished high school – needless to say many left before then. We were lucky to obtain some money from the St George bank so a few boys earned their licence, making it easier when applying for jobs.

The boys went mainly to school at Leumeah High and we got good support from the Principal. We had one 14 year old who had not been to school for 3 years and despite our combined best efforts he did not settle and we had to pass him onto other organisations. Drugs and alcohol were banned but always remained a hidden problem and we operated a 3 strikes and you are out policy.

FUNDING: Of all our services Stepping Stone was the best funded and enabled us to provide a quality service. We brought the house up to date , made it as eco friendly as we could and had a home just like any other in the street.

EFFORTS TO EXPAND SERVICE: Campbelltown UnitingCare in conjunction with Burnside, St Vincent de Paul and Mission Australia we worked out a system in three months for dealing  with youth homelessness in Macarthur   The government decided it needed more work and we met monthly for 10 years, the government organised 3 consultants over that period at a cost of over $200,000. After 10 years work they pigeonholed the project. What a waste of time and money.

WHAT DID WE ACHIEVE:  We called a plumber for some repairs , when he arrived we offered to show him around , but he said” I know all about the place – I used to live here!”. He was now married with 2 young children and running a successful business. Another boy passed his HSC and joined the Army. For all the success there were failures but we felt that we helped hundreds of homeless boys to a better future.