Blankets provided much-appreciated warmth and comfort during the cold winter months.
Bags, blankets and kindness bring hope
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Queensland are working together to bring hope, dignity and practical support to people facing some of the hardest moments of their lives.
Women escaping domestic violence, elderly community members struggling through winter and people sleeping rough are receiving the help they desperately need.
One example of this partnership is the “Go Bag” initiative. Adventists across the region have filled new backpacks with essential items for women fleeing domestic violence. The bags contain toiletries, hygiene products and small personal comforts. They are ready the moment a woman needs one.
Recently, a woman arrived with her support worker. She had just fled a violent situation and escaped with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. Her support worker, desperate to find immediate help, searched online and came across ADRA. She was relieved to discover support available right when it was needed. When handed the Go Bag, the woman unpacked each item slowly, a gentle smile forming as she realised these belongings were now hers.
In another initiative, ADRA and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Queensland partnered with Adventist churches to provide new blankets and warm socks to people struggling through the cold this past winter. These donations were given to elderly individuals who can’t afford heating, families facing hardship and people sleeping rough in freezing conditions.
While delivering blanket-and-sock packs to an ADRA project, ADRA regional manager for South Queensland, Lisa Booth, saw volunteers assisting a man who had been sleeping rough.
“They had given him some food and as I walked past, I quietly asked if he might also need a blanket and some socks. He looked up, surprised, and said, ‘Well . . . yes.’
“When I handed him the blanket and three pairs of thick socks, his eyes filled with tears. He walked away with food, warmth and a renewed sense of strength and standing a little taller than when he arrived.”
Ms Booth said these activities would not be possible without the partnership between ADRA, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Queensland, local Adventist churches and the many individuals who give so generously.
“Together, we are bringing comfort and dignity to people in their most vulnerable moments—and that is something truly powerful.”
