The group from A Reasonable Christianity holds a soup kitchen on Thursdays and Sundays and pastor Samuel Tshisekedi said it filled a need.

“We pick up people from the streets – those for whom life has given a tough serve for whatever reason,” he said.

“Then for those who have found it hard to get back into the housing market and stuff like that, we try to the best of our ability to ask ourselves what we can do to get them back on track.”

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They ring government agencies and charities to see about temporary housing, before seeing if they secure something more permanent.

“We have helped a number of people like that,” Mr Tshisekedi said.

Mr Tshisekedi said it could be difficult to find people who were living rough.

“When you are homeless you already have a tough start. You’re feeling terrible about your situation, you think people feel terrible about you being around,” he said.

“So when we find them we sit down with them and make them feel comfortable and find ways to get them to our soup kitchen.”

The soup kitchen puts on two course meals every Thursday and Sunday, and Mr Tshisekedi said it was not just homeless people who were welcome.

“Even low-income families find it hard to make ends meet,” he said.

“Sometimes people have food to eat, but it’s the loneliness, so they are having a meal to socialise.”

He encouraged people to contact ARC if they knew someone who was struggling or socially isolated.

With so many people living below the poverty line or struggling to pay the rent Mr Tshisekedi said someone always knew a person who needed help.

“Someone gave us contact details for a gentleman who had just come out of gaol. They had four kids and they had run out of food,” he said.

“So we packed up groceries before our Sunday church service and went and knocked on the door. No strings attached.”

Before volunteers pound the pavement or turn on stove tops they need the funds to buy food. that was one of the reasons ARC Cafe Connexions was launched last month.

The cafe sits in Kennington’s LQ Market, a collection of 80 stalls by local craft people and small businesses showcasing art, craft, handmade clothing, furniture, retro clothing, collectibles, jewellery and gifts.

All cafe profits go towards the soup kitchen as well as a project to ship computers and hospital supplies to students in the Congo.

The cafe is staffed by volunteers, many of whom are there both to donate their time and learn new skills.

Mr Tshisekedi said a number of volunteers had struggled to find work because they were young people looking for their first job. Others had been off work for an extended period of time, perhaps to have a baby.

“We basically do mentoring here and if we know an employer’s looking for someone we can say ‘hey, we’ve got someone, we’ve skilled them up. How about you give them a go? Here’s a good reference and if you are happy with them give them a job’,” Mr Tshisekedi said.

“We’ve actually had two people who’ve come through here who have a prospect of being employed through our recommendation.”

That included one volunteer willing to drive in from from Glenrowan.

Aidan Hommelhoff and Kylie Ruxton both volunteered at the cafe and said they wanted to practice skills that might be useful for jobs in the future.

As well as volunteering both were currently working part-time.

For Ms Ruxton volunteering was a chance to get some experience that could help her gain employment in a cafe, while for Mr Hommelhoff it was about refreshing barista skills.

“I used to manage a bakery so this is more of a refreshing thing for me,” Mr Hommelhoff said.

“I’m currently employed part time and I’m looking for something a little more permanent.”

Both said an important reason they volunteered was because of the causes the cafe’s profits were used for.

Long term the church has plans to find some land to build emergency housing.

“We’ve been knocking on doors for some time now. We intend to get a get a property somewhere where we can get (shipping) containers and built a self-contained little cabin for the homeless,” Mr Tshisekedi said.

“My team and I have been out sometimes very very late at night and we've found someone. It’s been the middle of winter and they’ve have no place to stay. 

“Even if you give them food and a blanket, well, just the idea of leaving them out in the cold is horrible.”

Mr Tshisekedi said he and his assistant had once worked until 2am to find someone accommodation to no avail.

“That night I went home with a broken heart. It’s driven our efforts to build these self-contained cabins,” he said.

“An interesting thing that Christ taught was that when he comes back he will find those who followed him and did his will by how well they took care of the prisoners, the homeless, the hungry and those without clothes,” he said.

“It’s not simply a matter of going around talking about spirituality. It’s absolutely paramount we do these good works.”

The soup kitchen operates on Thursdays from 5pm and Sundays from 3.30pm at 237 High Street, across from the Golden Square Woolworths.

To find out more about volunteering opportunities at the ARC Cafe Connexions or to let the church know about someone who may need assistance contact Mr Tshisekedi on 0404 559 769 or his wife Melissa on 0412 786077.

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