About us
Our Vision
Bringing our community together to support the most vulnerable people in our local area by assisting to meet their immediate needs, build hope and improve their future wellbeing.
Our Purpose
Safe Waters Community Care Inc. addresses the impact of social disadvantage by providing safe spaces. Through expressions of love, compassion and hope, we provide practical relief from homelessness, social isolation and poverty. We are motivated by our love of God and for all people.
Due to a lack of supported crisis accommodation to those experiencing homelessness and many people falling through the gaps, Safe Waters Community Care Inc. (SWCC) was established in August 2019. Our Board consists of like-minded people with expertise relative to the field who care about their local community in Ulladulla NSW.
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SWCC is supported by the local community and churches and is an initiative aimed at providing supported, emergency accommodation. Through the generosity of local churches, businesses and the community, a rental property was secured (through MUM real estate) in November 2020 in the heart of Ulladulla and our first shelter was opened. Operating on a nightly basis, purely volunteer based, with financial assistance provided by Milton Ulladulla Baptist Church paying our rent. Due to a lack of resources (funding, staff and enough volunteers) we had to close during the days.
Groundswell Christian Church then offered their little white house on their property (rent-free) which was in need of much love. Our local community came together to renovate this house through in-kind and material donations and is now our Hwy Shelter. We received funding through different grants which meant we could employ staff and open our doors during the day and now operate 24/7. This has made a huge difference to our guests wellbeing.
We have kept our first rental, which is now being used as one of our transitional houses (please see our 'services' page to read about our transitional housing program).
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Our model is structured around the ‘Shelter for the Homeless’ programs operating in some Sydney and Canberra churches based on the Cana Communities model (www.cana.org.au).
Cana Communities was founded in 1975 and is inspired by Mother Teresa’s mission of wholehearted service in serving the poor, with motivations being celebration and forgiveness.
The first principle of the Shelter is the acceptance of every Guest ‘where they are at’, which in turn provides a foundation for their own self-respect.
The second principle is to give preference to the person with the fewest options.
The third principle is fidelity to the task we do, which communicates to our Guests that they are loved and believed in.
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We are excited about our upcoming shelter, also in the heart of Ulladulla, soon to open. This shelter will enable us to provide separate shelters for women and men where possible with more privacy for our guests, offering individual rooms. The new shelter will include a drop-in centre for people to have a shower, use our laundry facilities, have a nutritious meal and most importantly will provide support and connection with other people and services to reduce social isolation.
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​OUR SOCIAL IMPACT
By bringing community members together to support people experiencing difficulties, we envision that our organisation and the services we offer will benefit our local community on a number levels:
- reduced homelessness - people feeling safe - improved quality of life - increased sense of dignity - reduced demand on govt services - increased financial stability - increase in employment - reduced crime and incarceration rates - reduced gaps between services - reduced substance abuse - improved physical and mental health.​​​​​​​
