Back to the Future: A Story about Community Care in Victoria and Tasmania

As a chapter of the story of Community Care closes and a new one begins to be written, as Community Care is reshaped for a new century, it is helpful to reflect on the past a bit. The story of Community Care is the story of God’s people reaching out to care for people who for one reason or another were (and are) in need of support and assistance. The story also includes the stories of visionary leaders who were (and are) committed to discovering relevant ways in their context to love God and to love people, and so to announce the Kingdom.

In 1921 the “Churches of Christ Anti Liquor Temperance and Social Questions Committee” was elected at that year’s Annual Conference. It held its first meeting on April 29. By 1923 the committee had been re-named the “Social Services Committee”, the new group holding its first meeting on April 13 that year.

The Social Services Committee was established to provide material help to needy persons and families, and to give assistance to those with personal family problems. In June 1925, with the great Depression beginning, the Committee resolved to appoint a part-time worker, for the work had expanded enormously, particularly in the following areas:
1. Meeting immigrants and arranging hospitality etc
2. Investigating cases of charity, and responding to their needs
3. Finding employment for the unemployed
4. Participation in numerous daytime meetings

By 1935 a benevolent fund known as the Christian Fellowship Association was established by the Committee. The purpose of the CFA was to provide interest free loans to people experiencing financial difficulty.

Also during the 1930s a Fund to provide a ‘Home for the Aged’ was established with donations totaling £500. By 1936 a Victorian style house in Oakleigh, a former Cobb and Co. staging house, was purchased for £2250. The house became known as the Christian Guest Home (now known as Oak Towers). The building was made into a home for sixteen women. Additional buildings were erected for married couples and men, with further substantial additions made to the property over ensuing years.

In the 1940s Community Care’s work of ministry and mission included care for the aged, chaplaincy to migrants following World War 2, industrial and hospital chaplaincy, and support for local church welfare programs.

In 1951 another large property in Murrumbeena was purchased and opened as a 25 bed nursing home. It was named in honour of former Social Services Director, Will H Clay MBE, with the addition later of further accommodation named after another former Director, William T Atkin MBE. Still later the home was expanded to 60 high care beds and subsequently renamed Betheden.

By 1979 the Social Services Department (formerly Committee) had changed its name to the Department of Community Care. During the same year, Fred Combridge House, a 30 bed Nursing Home was built in Northcote. It was named in honour of yet another former Director, Fred Combridge.

From the 1990s Community Care took steps to reconnect with churches and to partner them in community mission through CareWorks. This was a strengthening of an aspect of Community Care’s charter to be actively involved in public benevolence activities.

In 2005 Oak Towers was redeveloped from 69 low care beds to 134 beds caring for low care, high care (extra service) and dementia specific residents. Also in 2005, Arcadia was built in Essendon to accommodate 103 residents requiring low care, high care or dementia specific services.

By the time of these developments the aged care ‘industry’ had changed dramatically. There was an increasing reliance on government funding, compliance and reporting were being ramped up significantly, and government policies began to shift in the light of an ageing population. The viability of aged care providers became increasingly dependent on the size of their operations (i.e. the number of beds).

It was around this time that Community Care, led by successive board chairs Max Gowty and Dean Phelan, and CEO Jillian Carson, commenced conversations around the notion of a national aged care entity for Churches of Christ. These conversations were in clear recognition that for Community Care in Vic/Tas to continue it needed to be part of a much larger entity. It must be acknowledged that for a range of reasons these national conversations were not easy. Community Care was nowhere near a significant ‘player’ in aged care based on bed numbers. There’s no doubt however that Community Care was ‘batting way above its weight’ in its thinking about and imagining the best way forward as it described the immense possibilities of a single, national Churches of Christ aged care entity.

Community Care strived for these years to keep its four aged care facilities viable. The provision of aged care services is always a team effort and the contribution of the Community Care board’s directors and all staff helped it to achieve a high standard of care, well recognised in the industry during this entire period. This wasn’t easy as on a financial basis the small size of our operations and the increasing demand for capital expenditure placed significant stress on directors and staff.

In the end there was no other choice: if Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas was going to continue the ministry of Jesus through aged care, it needed to find a partner. Then, in 2009, by the grace of God, Churches of Christ in Queensland and its Care department, in a display of true Christian values, expressed an openness to begin meaningful merger conversations. Thus began a long conversation, helped in part by the appointment of Dean Phelan as Executive Director of Churches of Christ in Queensland, that culminated on February 20, 2011 with the signing of a merger document. During this period Terry McCredden was Community Care board chair. The merger was formally implemented on July 1, 2011, when Churches of Christ in Queensland took over management of three of Community Care’s aged care facilities (Arcadia, Betheden and Oak Towers).

As the Fred Combridge House facility was not seen as financially viable a decision was made by Community Care to sell the property. The proceeds of the sale will be invested, with the income distributed for Christian care and benevolent activities (including CareWorks) as determined by a reshaped Community Care, and in accordance with guidelines for public benevolent institutions.

A committee of Conference Council, facilitated by past Conference President Robyn Millership, is currently working on a new Mission and Purpose Statement and Charter for Community Care. Monique ten Hoopen has been seconded to Community Care from Mission and Ministry as its Interim Executive Director in this period of transition.

We pay tribute to the many people who have provided leadership—as staff and board members—to Community Care up to this point. Some of these people have been named in this story, and others who are also part of the story are un-named. We give thanks to God for the willingness of the many who have much, to provide care for the many, who have little, or less.

And, as we are prayerful about God’s future for a reshaped Community Care, we discover that as happens so often, there is nothing new under the sun…