WAYSIDE CHAPEL TO CLOSE HEART CAFE AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PATHWAYS PROGRAM
For almost 60 years, Wayside Chapel has operated on the frontline of humanity, paying attention to the emerging needs of the community and implementing a range of programs and support services that place dignity, respect and love at the heart of what we do.
In 2018, Wayside Chapel launched the Wingspan Project in conjunction with the opening of Heart Cafe, Bondi’s first social enterprise cafe, to create meaningful employment experiences for young adults who have experienced disadvantage.
What the Wingspan Project and the Heart Cafe teams have achieved in the lives of participants over the past five years is tremendous. We have witnessed important and life-changing work. But during those five years we have also come to the increasing realisation that employment pathways are a fundamentally different way of interacting with the community than the rest of Wayside. And with that, comes significant complexity, particularly in these undeniably tough economic times.
While we have been attempting to make it work, including looking at partners and other models of operation, Wayside has decided to wind down the Wingspan Project and to close the Heart Cafe by June 2023.
As hard as it is, we know in our hearts and heads it is the right decision.
Wayside will continue to pursue and invest in areas where we’ve seen we can create a community with no ‘us and them’ and address underlying issues of inequality, disadvantage, and loneliness. The recent expansion of our core programs to include a healthcare service and dedicated women’s space means we are now providing access to free, equitable healthcare and a safe place for women impacted by family violence. Looking forward, we will continue to focus on what we do best, drawing people out of social isolation and inviting them into the healing place of community where they can access essential support and connection at our centres in Kings Cross and Bondi Beach.
We are grateful to the Bondi community for embracing Heart Cafe as their own, and to the young adults who entrusted us to help them spread their wings. To assist the young adults who are part of the Wingspan Project with this transition, care coordination and employment support will continue to be offered until the end of December 2023, including traineeship opportunities in our op shops and community cafes. Once Wingspan closes, graduates will be encouraged to engage with Wayside’s other programs and services. Wayside will honour the commitment we made to the current 28 participants and see them through to the completion of the program but will no longer be accepting any new intakes.
People are at the heart of Wayside and ensuring that impacted staff are treated with dignity and respect is of utmost importance as we navigate our way through this period of change. We are working with impacted staff and are offering opportunities of redeployment, additional leave, career workshops and external employee assistance support.
Our long-term commitment to our community remains the same — we know that disconnection is not our destiny, and we are more focused than ever on providing opportunities for people from all walks of life to find love, support and connection.
