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Henri Nouwen House is a highly regarded community outreach facility, nestled in a quiet hillside street in picturesque Bridgetown, south west of WA.
To outward appearances, the unassuming Hester Street cottage is just another asbestos and iron residence. Beyond an unobtrusive sign, there is nothing to indicate the uniqueness of the house, or give suggestion of the extraordinary people with who, through love and passion, serve to give Henri Nouwen House its respected place, not only in Bridgetown but in the greater south west community. Henri Nouwen (1932-1966) was a Dutch-born Jesuit priest whose spiritual journey began in his native Holland, and took him to America where he became a writer, academic and theologian, and a campaigner for social justice. Henri Nouwen’s ultimate home and ministry as pastor was within L’Arche Daybreak. L’Arche is an international network of faith-based communities creating homes and day programs for people who have developmental or learning disabilities. Henri Nouwen is known as the “Wounded Healer”, turning his own wounds and sadness into compassion and care for others. Similarly, many clients who experience recovery through the program of Henri Nouwen House train as facilitors to support others. The notion of the wounded healer is a philosophical core of the organisation. Identifying a need and seizing an opportunityIn 1991 Elizabeth Walsh was working in Perth as a facilitator for Holyoake, the Australian Institute on Alcohol and Drug Addiction Resolutions. The Holyoake approach is based on a psychosocial understanding of drug use, and works with people with drug and alcohol dependencies as well as educating and supporting their families. Elizabeth had a personal connection with the Bridgetown region and was aware of the strong need within the south west community for a Holyoake-type facility. In 1991 the Hester Street residence operated as a boarding house, although not at full capacity. Elizabeth identified the potential of the property and siezed an opportunity to approach the Uniting Church’s Tabitha Trust, which owned the residence, requesting use of the verandah to establish an embryionic Holyoake program. When the boarding house ceased its operations, Elizabeth was convinced of the value to the community of the new program, and sought use of the whole house for this purpose. The proposal fell within the scope of social justice criteria for allocation of Tabitha Trust grants, and upon the Trust’s approval, Elizabeth moved to Bridgetown in 1992 and Henri Nouwen House became the first Holyoake program in the south west. Under new government funding arrangements in 1998, Holyoake closed all its country branches. Extremely aware of the crucial need within the community for the continuation of the program, Elizabeth and the management committee sought to become an independent community care facility. Holyoake agreed to Henri Nouwen House utilising the 12 Step program and the facility continued its operations. The 12 Step principles are based on the tenet of a belief in God, or a higher power. It is a didactic, inspirational, self-help program which teaches each person they are responsible for their own life and must find their own answers, with the help of a “higher power”. The retention of the spiritual component of the program is recognised as important by the committee and co-ordinator; however, Henri Nouwen House does not advocate or demand any religious affiliations. The house has expanded its program and now promotes itself as a unique not-for-profit volunteer community service organisation, offering caring support to people whose lives have been affected by relationship breakdown, domestic violence, sexual abuse, depression or bereavement. Henri Nouwen House is often the first and only outreach point for those in despair in Bridgetown and surrounding towns. The team at Henri Nouwen House are commited to providing a warm, welcoming, serene environment and the interior of the house has been designed to reflects this; clean, cosy, restful spaces have been created to allow visitors to feel immediately at ease. An inspirational model for community outreach – on a shoestringThe operation of Henri Nouwen House relies almost solely on voluteer support. All activities and services are overseen by a volunteer management committee of ten members. Trained volunteer facilitors run group sessions and a faithful band of volunteers maintain the building, grounds and fundraising input. These efforts are overseen by the house co-ordinator, Judy Fletcher, on a part-time basis — and only recently has the position been a paid one. The annual operating budget of around $24,000 is sourced from donations and grants from local shires and, where they are able to, the small fees paid by clients. Beyond this, Henri Nouwen House relies largely on community support. The depth of this support could be seen in a recent community fundraising campaign, involving the compilation of a local recipe book, Four Towns: Sweet Memories. The glossy book, containing photographs and sweets recipes from around the Blackwood Valley triangle, is a surprising way of not only much needed funds but also of educating visitors to the area about the House and the needs of the local community. This innovative fundraising project proved hugely successful. Henri Nouwen House has also won the admiration and support of the Shire of Bridgetown/Greenbushes, which has set aside a yearly contribution to ensure the continuation of what they perceive is an essential community service in the region. It is a testament to what determination, dedication, faith, vision and imagination is able to achieve in establishing a such significant and much-needed outreach program in a rural (or metropolitan) community — on a tiny budget.
For further detailis on Henri Nouwen House, or to obtain a copy of Sweet Memories, please contact Bella at the Uniting Church WA Office on (08) 9486 1577.
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