On Wednesday 24 May 2023, we officially celebrated the completion of St Bart’s Lime Street Refurbishment project, which was only made possible through generous funding from the Department of Communities and Lotterywest through the State Government.
It was a pleasure to have Aunty Robyn Collard, with the assistance of her grandson Tryse, attend to guide us through a smoking ceremony in our new yarning circle.
We were also joined by the Honourable John Carey MLA, Minister for Housing, Lands, Homelessness and Local Government, Mr Basil Zempilas, the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of the City of Perth, Bishop Kate Wilmot from the Anglican Diocese, Kath Snell CEO of Shelter WA, Michelle Reynolds CEO of the City of Perth, major supporters in this project Lucy Westcott Manager Grants and Strategic Policy at Lotterywest, Emma Colombera Department of Communities, our partners from MKDC, Dawn Projects, Jason Group and Innerspace, as well as St Bart’s board members and residents, and other invited guests.
They say that good things come to those who wait, and looking around our newly refurbished premises, we couldn’t agree more.
The refurbishment of our Lime Street premises, which is co-located with our Future Homes service, Community Housing units and our Residential Aged Care Centre, has only been possible through generous funding from the Department of Communities and Lotterywest through the State Government.
Throughout the project, significant focus was placed on creating a welcoming, open, light space that creates a sense of community where relationships can be built, the work environment is more functional, where staff are located together to improve communication and support, and communal spaces encourage a sense of community that enables group meetings, activities and opportunities for socialisation. In short, we wanted to create a space that both staff and residents alike can be proud of, and I think we definitely achieved that.
The offices on the second floor have also been refurbished with a more efficient and effective open plan layout, and we are delighted with our first-floor staff hub which provides space for staff to take breaks and gather for staff events.
We have also refurbished each of the communal kitchens on Floors 1 to 6 of our Future Homes service, which is proving to be very popular with many of our consumers using them to cook, gather in and socialise.
One of our residents was so impressed with the completed fit-out on Level 3 that he took it upon himself to dismantle the kitchen on his level over one weekend in the hope it would speed up the refurbishment on Level 2. We politely explained that wasn’t how the project was set up and that we would have to reinstall the dismantled kitchen until its scheduled date for renovation a couple of months later. Needless to say, all kitchen’s are now complete and he is loving it.
Culturally appropriate design was particularly important to this project, and we are very pleased to now have a dedicated yarning circle as well as beautiful art across the entrance to our courtyard. The artwork was commissioned for our RAP, which we launched at the end of 2022, and details of the artist, Teresa Miller, and the story of the artwork will soon be installed on the gate.
Over the next few months, we will be working with an artists group and our consumers to create significantly more art around the building and the courtyard.
St Bart’s acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land that we live and work on, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation. We are privileged to work with, and alongside, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and encourage those who are emerging as leaders.
St Bart’s is committed to diversity and inclusion in all its forms. We welcome and support the health and wellbeing of all people, regardless of background, age, ethnicity, religion and gender identity.