Centacare Tasmania

Archbishop’s reportArchbishop Adrian Doyle AM DDIn my travels around the State and meetings with people fromall walks of life, I am constantly reminded of the valuable workundertaken daily by the staff of Centacare Tasmania.Centacare has been offering a helping hand to Tasmanians formore than 50 years, and is now spending around $13 million eachyear to make life a little better for some 5,000 Tasmanians.Centacare offers a broad range of assistance reaching communitiesacross Tasmania through its Family Services, Child Care Services,Community Housing, Humanitarian Settlement, and WillsonTraining programs.Many of these services have been developed through productivepartnerships with Commonwealth, State and Local Governments.With more people forced to reach out as they struggle withthe pressures of daily life, these collaborative partnerships areincreasingly the way forward.Centacare is also working with partners like CatholicCare Victoria/Tasmania, Clarendon Children’s Foundation, the TasmanianCommunity Fund, Tasmanian Catholic Education Office, AustralianCommunity Housing Ltd, Marist Youth Care, Relationships Australia,The Salvation Army, Anglicare, Colony 47 and Communities forChildren to ensure help is available where it’s needed.This means that Centacare continues to grow in accordance with itsMission of enhancing human dignity and freedom, and enablingpeople to realise their full potential.But such achievements don’tcome without hard work fromCentacare’s 200 staff – all whomdeserve high recognition – aswell as our volunteers who areso vital to the HumanitarianSettlement Strategy.I want to thank the Chair RonWard and members of theCentacare Advisory Board, the Executive Director, Tim Gourlay,Director Family Services, Georgina McLagan, and their dedicatedstaff for their ongoing service.Centacare staff are from all walks of life, backgrounds and evenbeliefs. But they all come together for one cause – to assist themarginalised, disadvantaged and the vulnerable on a daily basis.The services give many, including children, a voice, a direction andoften much needed assistance.As the welfare arm of the Archdiocese of Hobart, Centacare is theone Catholic agency established under Canon Law – being thewelfare arm of the incumbent Bishop. The core of the CatholicChurch is based around the family, and it is the family that is also atthe centre of Centacare’s services.Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this great effortfor continuing to present the Mission of the Catholic Church inTasmania in such a compassionate and committed manner.“The issues of homelessness and poverty remain ongoing in our society and Centacare sits at the forefrontof this challenge. However, to succeed in the provision of assistance requires a diverse, skilled team ofprofessionals with the knowledge, dedication and compassion to deliver Centacare’s values.” Archbishop Adrian DoyleVolunteer with Archbishop Doyle.L-R: Tim Gourlay, Archbishop Doyle, Ronnie Burns, Appin Hall Children’s Foundation, and Ron Ward – Centacare conference.3