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Laughter, chatter and joyful shrieks from excited children echo through Kew Uniting Church’s hall before anyone has had a chance to have a single bite of turkey.
Young families, pensioners, rough sleepers, asylum seekers and other locals looking for company have gathered for a Christmas lunch where no one asks if anyone is a guest, volunteer, worker or someone who has just dropped by to check it out.
Luwayne Carries and his daughters, Skyla, 14, Sierr, 13, Amariah, 5, Zahlia, 4, Mikayah, 2, and Eliora, 1, enjoyed Christmas lunch at Kew Uniting Church.Credit: Eddie Jim
The Carries family opened their presents early before father Luwayne and his six eldest daughters came down for a feast as his wife rested with their newborn.
“I was really excited to take my kids to bring them here and have an amazing time,” Carries says.
“They’ve treated us like family. I’m just so grateful.”
The lunch in the church hall.Credit: Eddie Jim
Reverend Natalie Dixon-Monu and more than a dozen volunteers spent days preparing food for up to 80 people, a mammoth effort made possible by a generous donation from a local.
It’s a bigger crowd than usual and speaks to a growing demand for charity assistance.
Dixon-Monu points to a 60 per cent increase in families seeking help this year from the Uniting Church’s Boroondara Community Outreach charity.
Lunch guest Sean Morrow has been looking forward to singing Christmas carols and eating delicious food in a place he says helps people feel human again.
Sean Morrow said the atmosphere at the lunch allowed anyone to feel human again.Credit: Eddie Jim
“It just feels so wonderful, so warm and inclusive for those of us who have not necessarily experienced the best in life to be welcomed with open arms and included as integral members of the community,” he says.
“It’s never easy when you’re on your own, surviving basically hand to mouth.”
This Christmas lunch is a fraction of the 20,000 meals a year provided by the charity, with more than 700 people coming forward for help this year.
Volunteers also put together more than 600 Christmas hampers for local people struggling with the rising cost of living, admitted to psychiatric wards, living in rooming houses or experiencing any form of social isolation.
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Dixon-Monu says the charity receives no state or federal financial help. Instead, it’s funded by the church with support from the Boroondara local council and generous philanthropic donations.
Running between the kitchen and the front door to welcome guests, she is frequently stopped by dozens of people who thank her and ask how they can help make the day run even smoother.
She knows many people don’t often associate Boroondara, which includes the wealthy suburbs of Hawthorn, Balwyn and Kew, with disadvantage, but she says there are pockets where people are doing it tough.
“You pay more for things like services, amenities and also food,” Dixon-Monu says.
Reverend Natalie Dixon-Monu (right) and volunteers serve Christmas lunch.Credit: Eddie Jim
“Food costs more in this place, so you’re kind of doubly disadvantaged in that it costs more to live here.”
She has helped put on this lunch for more than 20 years and says she simply can’t do any other type of Christmas day filled with stress or spending lots of money – although her children always have plenty of presents.
“God with us on Christmas Day is being present with people who often have very, very little, but then the irony is they have so much because they understand the importance of community,” she says.
“I mean, these guys would give you their last cigarette, their jumper off their back, their last coin in their pocket because they know what it’s like to have nothing.”
YaYa Abdul was among the volunteers.Credit: Eddie Jim
YaYa Abdul volunteered his time on Thursday but also works for the Richmond Churches Food Centre and his local Uniting Church.
He, too, has noticed more people from all walks of life asking for help to put food on the table lately and wishes there were places with the same feeling as Boroondara Community Outreach.
He started off volunteering when he was in between jobs, but it quickly became a huge part of his life.
“Nat is like family to me,” Abdul says. “I want to be with my family during Christmas.”
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