Spread warmth this winter

By Meg Hocking

For over 30 years, Hartley’s Community Meals has provided community, connection and a hearty meal to the people of Prahran and surrounds.

Run by Uniting VicTas, Hartley’s was named after its founder, Methodist Minister Rev Frank Hartley who, in 1955, took over as Superintendent of Prahran Mission.

Frank was known for his efforts promoting community-based services, establishing Meals on Wheels, opportunity shops and homes for the aged.

Today, in his memory, Hartley’s Community Meals has become a vital service which provides nutritious low-cost lunches and, during winter, free breakfast to those in need.

Patrons can also collect free takeaway meals, fruit, vegetables, bread and non-perishable foods to take home.

While everyone’s welcome at Hartley’s, most of its patrons are rough sleepers, social housing residents, or those who can’t cook for themselves or can’t afford food due to issues including loss of employment, low income, family violence, increased cost-of-living, and struggles with mental health.

For many in the community the service is much more than just a meal and a chat, it’s also a gateway to other Uniting support services.

Uniting support and mental health duty workers are available at the service to help with referral forms, provide information, and advocate for community members to get the assistance they need.

“We’re doing outreach more than we’ve ever done before,” says Hartley’s team leader, Bryce.

“Many people who come to the service present as homeless. They could be rough sleeping on the streets, they could be staying in their cars, or they might be in between different accommodations.

“We’re also seeing many who are escaping family violence.”
Hartley’s has long offered vital support to the community but the team is now seeing an exponential growth in need.

“We’re seeing a lot of new faces come into the service,” Bryce says.

“Last year we had over 2000 people come through the doors to have a meal with us.”

A service like Hartley’s can’t operate without dedicated volunteers.

One of those wonderful volunteers is Glennie, 81, who has been supporting Hartley’s for over two years, her colourful hair and larger-than-life smile hard to miss.

Volunteering for the service has given Glennie a new appreciation for what she has.

“When I get home, I open my door and I think how lucky I am, how fortunate,” she says.

“Hardship can happen to any of us really. It’s just the way life deals it out to you.

“But nothing gives me more pleasure than to see a smile on their face and hear their laughter, and to know that I’ve brightened their day.”

Another wonderful volunteer is Jim, who in April reached a milestone of 11 years with Hartley’s.

Over the past decade, Jim has seen first-hand the devastating need for the service.

“We probably average about 70 people coming in a day, sometimes even up to 100,” he says.

“People’s situations are getting more and more dire.

“You can see it in the way they carry themselves. They’re hunched over, exhausted.

“You hear people come in and say they haven’t eaten for two or three days.”

To combat the worry winter brings to those living on the margins, Hartley’s offers free, hot breakfasts during June, July and August.

For some, this may be the only meal of the day.

Uniting and its volunteers have long been committed to running the meals program, especially as the need continues to grow.

The generous donations of Uniting supporters will mean Hartley’s can offer free breakfasts all year and extend the service’s opening hours so more and more people can get the support they deserve.

“This one lady I met, her rent would take all her money,” Jim says.

“She used to come into Hartley’s wearing the same clothes every day.

“Another gentleman, I don’t know how he’s survived, because for the last five or six years he’s been living on the street.

“If it wasn’t for Hartley’s I don’t know what a lot of these people would do.”

These people are in need of warmth.

Not just the warmth of a hot meal or woolly jumper, but also the warm embrace of their community.

Glennie and Jim understand that a hot meal and chat can be a lifeline for someone in crisis.

“People out there are suffering,” says Glennie.

“But Hartley’s is just such a magic place and I’m so proud to be a small part of such a great organisation.

“Every little bit we can give them just makes their day, and then they know there’s people who care about them,” adds Jim.

Hartley’s is just one of the hundreds of programs Uniting operates across Victoria and Tasmania.

From emergency relief to mental health and homelessness to family violence, their services provide carefully curated, practical assistance to individuals and families in their time of need.

Please help to share the warmth this winter.

Click here to donate today.