MOVES are underway to establish a soup kitchen in Ulladulla for the region’s needy.
Carolyn McDermott and 14-year-old daughter Katelyn came up with the idea after reading the Times’ ‘Poverty in Paradise’ series.
They are also keen to give something back to the community after losing their Burrill Lake home to fire in June and experiencing local residents’ generosity first-hand.
“The community has been very good to us,” they said last week. Mrs McDermott said the soup kitchen would hopefully be operational within the next couple of weeks. She said it would provide somewhere safe and warm for the region’s homeless to get a hot meal and to have a chat.
She said it would also cater for any of the region’s elderly residents who may be living at home and doing it tough. It will also provide them with an opportunity to catch up with other people for a chat over tea and coffee and will help combat feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Mrs McDermott said the soup kitchen idea was first touted on Facebook at Ulladulla Noticeboard and “loads” of people had already indicated they were willing to help out with everything from cooking to cleaning.
She is now looking for a suitable location and has approached one of the local churches for use of its hall. Mrs McDermott is hoping local businesses will throw their support behind the initiative by donating goods.
Even without donations she believes there is enough support to get the initiative off the ground but fears such an on-going arrangement might put a strain on everyday families.
Mrs McDermott said the soup kitchen would hopefully kick off in the first week of September and will operate at least one night a week. If need be, it will open on two or three nights a week.
Mrs McDermott said it would complement some of the programs already in place such as the free breakfasts being offered for students through Ulladulla Youth Centre. However not all young homeless people, she said, were students – or for that matter, young people.