Training workshop helps build bridges out of poverty
BY LAUREN MARTIN
Salvation Army personnel from across three different geographical areas in Western NSW recently gathered to participate in new training designed to educate practitioners on generational poverty.
The Salvation Army’s Community Services Specialists, Narelle Gurney and Marcus Hutchins, presented the training workshop – ‘Bridges out of Poverty’.
Participants came from Cowra, Forbes, Mudgee, Orange, Lithgow, Canowindra, Blacktown and Dubbo. They learned about the importance of including people living in poverty in decision-making and planning and the vital role relationships play in helping people live stable lives.
The Area Officer for The Salvation Army in Central and Far West NSW, Major Louise Walker, said it was great to get more of an insight into what poverty really looked like: “We [as Salvation Army personnel] can become very used to everything when you’re seeing people continuously. The Bridges out of Poverty training gives you a deeper understanding of what people are going through and how they may have arrived in their situation.”
The training addresses poverty at three levels – individual, institutional and community – and aims to help people create communities where everyone can live well.
Louise said she would recommend the training to other Salvos because it helped to have a deeper level of compassion and understanding when supporting community members in need.
“We are journeying with people. We want them to discover what they need to do themselves, and as soon as they grasp the idea, then they start to come up with the solutions,” she said.
To find out more about the Bridges out of Poverty training, contact Marcus Hutchins (Marcus.hutchins@salvationarmy.org.au) or Narelle Gurney (narelle.gurney@salvationarmy.org.au)
