Once a month, no matter the weather, food charity HelpingACT holds a night-time barbecue for homeless people and vulnerable Canberrans outside the Early Morning Centre on Northbourne Avenue, a community hub for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and social isolation.

But last Friday evening was a notable occasion: the one-year anniversary of the program.

“We are a city where people are living a great life – but here is a section of Canberra, unfortunately, whereby whenever you see one of the members, you feel sad and want to assist them to come out of that vicious cycle,” Mohammed Ali, the charity’s chair and founder, said.

So far, the charity has held 12 monthly barbecues, and a baker’s dozen of ‘feel-good’ lunches at the Early Morning Centre. The guests come from low-income housing at Ainslie Village or Havelock Housing, or from the streets.

While HelpingACT provides tasty food (mostly curries and biryanis), the meals are as much a social outreach program – an opportunity for the ‘vulnerable guests’ to “feel that someone is here to listen to them, and share a table with them”, Mr Ali said.

The ‘eye-opener’, he said, was taking part for three years in Vinnies’ CEO sleepout.

“I experienced personally how difficult it is for someone to have no roof over their head. That was the turning point. We have to make sure that these people are assisted. The minimum we can do is sit with them, and if they want to share their story, then just listen patiently and try to understand what they went through to find themselves in this unfortunate position.”

Homelessness, those stories reveal, could happen to anyone who makes a mistake, or suffers bad luck, Mr Ali said.

From the lunches, the idea came of a barbecue at the same place on a Friday night. “We want these barbecues to be considered a social event for all,” he said, “celebrated as a solidarity event with our vulnerable – a fun-filled evening.”

On one occasion, one attendee brought his guitar and sang songs – “That was a fantastic evening,” Mr Ali said. “I’m looking forward to hearing that guitar again.”

VIP support

Prominent Canberrans volunteer at the barbecues; on Friday, Canberra Liberals MLA Mark Parton and Canberra Royals rugby club president Jim Taylor were among those cooking meals.

“You don’t have to spend much time with the Helping ACT crew to understand that not all heroes wear capes,” Mr Parton said.

Homelessness minister Rebecca Vassarotti is a regular, while on other occasions, there have been Dr Sue Packer AO, 2019 Senior Australian of the Year, Hands Across Canberra’s Peter Gordon, and Mainul Haque OAM, or MLAs Yvette Berry, Elizabeth Lee, Emma Davidson, and Johnathan Davis.

“Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of being actively involved in HelpingACT’s mission to provide support to people doing it tough through monthly barbecues for the homeless,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“Through these events, HelpingACT strives to offer more than just a meal; they create an environment of compassion and connection, aiming to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those facing homelessness. Every barbecue is a testament to the strength of solidarity and the potential for change when we come together with a shared purpose.

“HelpingACT’s monthly barbecues demonstrate the remarkable outcomes that grassroots efforts can achieve. It is my belief that through collective action, we can build a more inclusive and supportive society for everyone.”

For the past eight months, Christine Murray, a public servant by day, has had a small table with dental and female hygiene products, beanies, and gloves – items homeless people need. She also stocks street pantries in Weston Creek, and holds fundraising barbecues at Bunnings for struggling rural people.

“HelpingACT makes a massive difference,” Early Morning Centre director Nicole Wiggins told Canberra Daily in June.

“They make a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, so that people can feel comfortable to come along. When people are queued up in front of a soup kitchen, they feel like they’re being classified as disadvantaged, but if you’re having a barbecue out the front, or a lunch, it’s more of a community atmosphere.”

More barbecues planned

But Mr Ali is not one to rest on his laurels when there is work to be done. He intends to make the barbecues weekly, holding them in different parts of Canberra where there are pockets of people in need: south Canberra (Woden and Tuggeranong), Belconnen and Gungahlin, and in Dickson and Hackett.

HelpingACT is close to buying the food trailer they need to expand, secretary Manar Ahmad says. When short of money, the charity could also hold a fundraising barbecue or sausage sizzle at markets.

“We struggle most of the time, but it is paralleled by and wonderfully helped by all Canberrans,” Mr Ali said.

At the moment, 50 families fund the charity – but Mr Ali would like to increase this number enormously. His goal is that at least 3,000 families will contribute $10 a month or $120 a year. That would also enable HelpingACT to run its school breakfast program and to address domestic violence.

Helping ACT provides free breakfasts at Namadgi School, Kambah; Richardson Primary School; Mt Stromlo High School; Braidwood Central School; and occasionally Melba Copland Secondary School. The ACT Government has committed $1.5 million to a pilot breakfast program for five schools (including Richardson) three days a week; HelpingACT wants to take care of the fourth day.

Domestic violence

Domestic violence is one of the biggest factors contributing to women’s homelessness, Mr Ali said. “I fail to understand why we target our female counterparts; I don’t know why we leave our own children desolated, disrupted, and depressed.”

On Friday, two of the three food hampers HelpingACT delivered went to families affected by domestic violence; on the weekend, the charity took a fridge from a donor in Hackett to a family in Tuggeranong who had escaped violence, but had no white goods.

Mr Ali believes charities need to start a program to raise awareness “right from school days for boys and men, so that this incidence is reduced to nil, so that their own children and partners don’t find themselves on the street”.

We will never say ‘no’

In the meantime, HelpingACT continues its mission to make sure that nobody in Canberra goes to sleep hungry. They now offer $25 grocery gift cards that can be redeemed at IGA East Row, Civic, and are arranging that ready-to-eat food will be kept at the Multicultural Hub Canberra in the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre on days when their office is closed.

“For any food need or requirement identified by anyone in Canberra, be it refugee, homeless, or any other person, we will never say ‘no’,” Mr Ali said.

“Food is the basic need of every living being, and to say ‘no’ will cut and bleed yourself to death. There is no word ‘no’. Whatever we have to do, we will make sure that the food will be made available.”

If you need help from HelpingACT, or want to support their good work, visit www.helpingact.org.