After 19 years of service, Downs & West Community Support says farewell
After 19 years of serving farming families and rural communities across southern Queensland, Downs & West Community Support has officially closed its doors.
Since 2007, the organisation has provided encouragement, practical support and hope to people facing hardship. From distributing food hampers, grocery and fuel vouchers, furniture, clothing and farm supplies, to assisting with household bills and creating opportunities for connection through hundreds of community wellbeing events, every act of support was delivered with dignity, compassion and care.
Downs & West Community Support was established during what was described as the "worst drought in living history". Looking back on nearly two decades of service, Sister Christine reflected:
"What I witnessed in those early days, and in every year since, has been the extraordinary strength, resilience, kindness and compassion of rural communities across Southern Queensland.
"While the decision to wind down this important work has not been easy, I am forever grateful for every connection made, every conversation shared, and every life touched along the way."
Advisory Committee Chair and Treasurer Chris Garnier said the organisation's legacy will live on through the lives it has touched.
"Nineteen years of human kindness cannot be erased from the soil of Queensland. Thank you to our donors, our volunteers, our resilient farming families, and most of all, to Sister Christine for her 19 years of selfless service."
To every donor, volunteer, community partner and supporter who made this work possible – thank you. Your generosity enabled thousands of people to receive practical assistance, compassion and hope when they needed it most.
While Downs & West Community Support's chapter has come to an end, the spirit of kindness, resilience and community that defined its work will continue to inspire those whose lives were touched over the past 19 years.
Thank you for being part of our journey.
About Us
Our Mission
Downs & West Community Support (DWCS), a ministry of Sisters of Charity Community Care Ltd (SCCC), offers encouragement, discreet and personalised assistance to farming families and their communities in Southern Queensland who are severely affected by climatic conditions or family matters beyond their control.
We are motivated by a sense of responsibility to provide compassionate care and to share our resources as far as possible.
SCCC Ltd is a not-for-profit Registered Charity and DWCS is dedicated to supporting our farming families and their rural communities. DWCS is funded by the people for the people!
Our Service
drought - flood - fire - storms - COVID
Farmers and their communities experience financial and emotional hardships. A loss of income and farming infrastructure, culling of quality stud breeders and the prospect of needing to leave their home and farm has a direct impact on family, social interaction, their health, and agricultural production.
Support DWCS offers focuses on individual and family needs. These may include:
Practical support may include providing food and household hampers, toiletry care packs, Christmas hampers and gifts.
Financial support may involve providing cash assistance, prepaid grocery and petrol vouchers, essential home appliances, paying domestic and farm bills, purchasing stock feed, replacing water tanks, fencing, gates and repairing machinery.
Emotional support is achieved by visiting farmers – unlimited face to face interactions, writing letters, phone contact, visiting people in hospitals and utilising appropriate referral systems as required.
Social Events involves hosting Wellness Days and the unique Dragonfly Health and Wellness Retreats for country women, which may include health checks and relaxation therapies, self-care presentations, motivational speakers, companionship, and times for personal reflection.
We work, in collaboration with other rural service providers, to organise rural events and will assist, where possible, families needing immediate care.
Our Objectives
to support farmers and their local rural communities by offering a listening ear, pastoral care, practical assistance, and organising events,
to work in collaboration with, and to utilise the appropriate referral systems of other rural organizations who offer professional counselling, financial advice, and local community updates,
to raise funds for purchasing essential provisions for those suffering the impact of drought, floods, fire, and other matters beyond their control, and
to raise awareness of the impact Natural Disasters are having on farmers, their families, and rural towns and to seek practical support and concrete action from those in a position to share resources.
BEING EXTENSIVELY USEFUL............in the service of the poor
Read more about us here.
