A very special Wednesday

The greatest practical contribution that I believe Emmanuel City Mission can make to the poor of the city of Brisbane is to provide services and sanctuary 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ensuring that there is an end of the road at any given time of the day.

We begin this journey more intentionally from Wednesday 27 April onwards. ECM staff and volunteers will ensure that every Wednesday night in the city of Brisbane there is a free 24 hour service that is open, available and reliable to those in need.

With winter fast approaching, this is an ideal time to begin this service, ensuring that for at least one evening a week there is a warm and secure place off the street whereby visitors experiencing homelessness can get the much needed assistance they require.

A move like this is not only good for our visitors in need, but good for the wider community, as it will be an agent in minimising peoples public nuisance, theft and other complex behaviours that sleeping in public places can produce. A night at ECM is a far more cost effective and compassionate option than a night in custody or at the mercy of the harsh nature of our streets.

The evenings are of course drug and alcohol free, and the team will continue to ensure that the highest levels of behaviour and interactions between visitors is upheld and the sanctuary experience continued throughout the night. This will be a massive effort for our team and our resources, however there is a real need amongst our people, and we exist to meet those real needs in love and bold service.

As an organisation and ministry, our strategic goals are 24/7 operations, multiple locations and partnerships. As we pursue the dream for our South Brisbane centre, we thank the supporters, donors and prayer warriors for making this a reality.

There is no ideal time to expand and grow as there is always lots of barriers and limitations opposed, however we are given only this day with what is in our hands, and we know that with one of the most exciting and bold mission teams, this is possible.

God Is With Us,

Roby Curtis