St Kilda is known for its social conscience as well as its pleasant beachside ambience. Residents do their bit to help, accepting the eclectic mix of inhabitants - from prominent architects, musicians and artists to addicts, prostitutes and the homeless - as part of the suburb's seedy charm.
But like many established inner-city areas, St Kilda is changing. Developers have moved in, hoping to capitalise on the urban-chic desires of the young and affluent. Rundown streets are being transformed into yuppy precincts with no place for outsiders.
How
this creeping gentrification has affected one of St Kilda's best-known welfare
organisations, the Catholic Church's Sacred Heart Mission, is a question that
has occupied Monash University researchers Mr Jim Ross and Mr Doug Truter for
the best part of two years.
The researchers, from Monash's Human Services section, carried out a review of the mission's programs and services during 1997-98. Their research was aimed at helping the mission's board of management refine its operations in light of changing social, political and economic circumstances.
"The mission's particular style is unusual - highly informal and community-based," explains Mr Ross. "It caters for those at the absolute edge of society - people brain-damaged by alcohol, addicts, the de-institutionalised, the mentally ill. The door is always open to those in need. This informality and openness has achieved great results, but it also makes it difficult for the mission to conform to conventional political requirements for funding."
With about 60 staff and more than 250 regular volunteers, Sacred Heart runs a staggering range of programs and services, from accommodation and crisis support to health care, education and recreation. Its free meal service feeds up to 400 people every day. Unlike most Welfare groups, it relies heavily on non-government funds to run its programs.
The Monash team carried out extensive interviews with Sacred Heart Mission's management committee, staff and volunteers, and surveyed more than 30 other agencies which had dealings with the mission. The goal, the researchers say, was to pin down philosophy as much as facts and figures.
They noted several major trends which were having an impact on the mission's role, a major one being the loss of cheap accommodation such as rooming houses, in a suburb traditionally known for offering a cheap bed.
"We also noted an increase in the number of people living in poverty in St Kilda, as well as a general reduction in services provided by other agencies," Mr Ross says. "Another trend is the changing attitude towards the poor in St Kilda, with people less inclined to be tolerant or lend a helping hand."
The larger backdrop, of course, has been the rise of economic rationalism. According to Mr Truter, it's not simply a matter of funding cutbacks, but fundamental changes to welfare policy and practice which are forcing welfare organisations across Australia to take a hard look at what they do and how they do it.
The project has left a deep impression on the Monash team. As part of the review, five Monash Human Services students worked in various programs and reported on their observations. The exercise had such an impact that most stayed on to do voluntary work when their placements ended.
Mr Ross and Mr Truter presented their final report to the board of management in August. As a result of the Monash team's recommendations, some changes have already been made at Sacred Heart Mission.
According to the board chair, Ms Marion Webster (BA 1972), the Monash research vital in helping the mission map out a strategy for the future. Says the mission's chief executive officer, Mr Mark Nicklen (BSocWk 1981, BA 1985): "Some of the things the report told us were staring us in the face - the need for staff training, for example. It was action research - it was never going to be put on a shelf somewhere."
Monash researchers Mr Jim Ross and Mr Doug Truter
identified several major trends.