Nourishing hope for those who have little

by Greg Bearup

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday, 20 January, 2000

Every night, just across the road from State Parliament, they gather in their hundreds, the poor, the destitute, the insane and the homeless.

Mr Jeff Gambin and his wife, Alina, have fed Sydney's growing hordes of homeless for almost five years and they say in that time only once has a politician crossed Macquarie Street to see what they wer doing.

Out of their own pockets, the Gambins are trying to change the lot of Sydney's homeless.

"It is much more than just feeding them," Mr Gambin says, as men around him gobble down lasagne, fresh greens and chicken wings. "It's about giving them hope, giving them a leg out. Getting them a job is what counts."

He estimates that 20 per cent of the people he sees are too far gone to help, 40 per cent are mentally ill but for the remaining 40 per cent there is hope.

Mr Gambin was a successful restaurateur and nightclub owner who is now retired and spends his days helping the poor.

Seven nights a wee he and his wife, with the help of friends from the street, feed up to 400 people at Martin Place, the Domain and Central Station.

Their group is called Just Enough Faith - "Faith in yourself, there's no religious bent whatsoever" - and he has had to hunt some "happy-clappies" who came offering with a hidden agenda to push their particular brand of God.

For Mr Gambin it all started about six years ago when he was down on his luck and sitting contemplating his misfortune on a set of steps in Martin Place.

For hours he sat and pondered while a homeless man looked across at him. It was a cold night and the old man walked over and offered him a cigarette and then his coat, saying, "Here, you take it, I am used to this."

"I was just so struck that a man who had nothing would give away his most prized possession - I promised him I would come back to do something, because I had been given so much."

Mr Gambin started feeding seven men. Within weeks it had grown to hundreds. Alina, who worked in advertising, heard about the work and came to give him a hand. Two years ago they married and now, seven days a week, they collect restaurant leftovers. They cook a couple of roasts themselves to make sure there is enough at the end.

Mr Gambin's aim is to give a hand. Last year he found jobs and housing for more than 100 people.

The process is slow: first, they need some form of permanent housing; it is an enormous task to get a bond and then the basics of a fridge and furniture, and "I always make sure they have at least music, or a television".

He and his wife scan the papers for job advertisements, they get their protégés clean clothes, they pick them up and take them for the interview - Mr Gambin goes in first, explaining their situation, vouching for them and pleading they be given a go. They buy them a fortnightly train pass to make sure they get to work in the first two weeks.

"What I could do with a shed or 25 acres out of Sydney," Mr Gambin says. "We could be self-sufficient in vegetables, we could repair washing machines and furniture and television to give to people to make a start. We could give these people meaning, that's all they need."

Photograph by Andrew Meares

Helping Hands...the Gambins dispense food and guidance at Martin Place.
Apart from feeding up to 400 people a night, they have found jobs and housing for more than 100.

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