Who We Are
Bidwill Uniting has been in Bidwill for over 20 years in different shapes and forms
We are part of the Uniting Church in Australia and value inclusion and diversity.
We consider ourselves a church-without-walls and aim to express church as something that is embedded in local community in a way that is contextually relevant.
We are not a congregation, but a small team of staff, volunteers and residents, who work together on a variety of community development activities and programs to empower and support the residents of Bidwill in all areas of their lives.
We are a group of people who are committed to each other and the community we all work in.
Governance Structure
Bidwill Uniting is an agency of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), which was created with an act of NSW Government Act of Parliament in 1977.
The governance of Bidwill Uniting rests with the Bidwill Uniting Board, a group of volunteers who are appointed by the Parramatta Nepean Presbytery, the regional UCA body for Western Sydney. The Board is guided by our Constitution.
For more information about the overall structure of the Uniting Church, check out: The About Us page of the NSWACT Synod or the National Assembly.
Funding
Bidwill Uniting receives the bulk of its funding from internal and external benefactors including:
- Parramatta Nepean Presbytery
- Lane Cove Uniting Church
- Various government and non-government grants
Why Bidwill?
The Uniting Church chose to develop a ministry in Bidwill because it is a place that experiences a disproportionate amount of disadvantage across a range of indicators. Despite the many services that exist in Mt Druitt central, Bidwill and other suburbs across the 2770 postcode continue to experience a cycle of generational poverty that is hard to break without outside assistance.
Bidwill and the broader Mt Druitt area (2770 postcode) are located about 40 km West of Sydney. Mt Druitt was once a semi-rural community before the 1960s when the state government built one of the largest public housing estates in NSW. Since that time, Mt Druitt has struggled with many of the problems associated with a large concentration of disadvantage in one locality and often continues to be marginalised by mainstream media, such as in the controversial documentary, Struggle Street. Currently 55.2% of Bidwill homes are social housing (Profile.id, 2024), and Housing NSW is managing 4,500 households across the 2770 postcode.
Despite the issues across Mt Druitt, the people of Bidwill demonstrate amazing strengths on a daily basis. We aim to support the Bidwill community to build on their incredible courage as a community to overcome the many challenges that they face. We hold great respect and high hopes for the residents that we work with and the community as a whole.
Some Indicators of Strength and Hope
We believe that living in the postcode of 2770 should not define or limit the individuals working and living in this community. Bidwill Uniting works with residents to help them break free of stereotypes and stigma, encouraging and supporting people to lead examined and fulfilling lives.
Strong local leaders from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups
A diversity of cultures, including strong Pacific Islander communities
Inspirational individuals who contradict negative stereotypes, speak out and work for the good of the community
Resourceful and resilient individuals and groups
Families who are committed to ensuring their children have access to all that they need to thrive and flourish
What We Aim To Achieve
Our Theory of Change
Context:
We believe that the entrenched disadvantage demonstrated in areas such as Bidwill and the other suburbs of Mt Druitt are the result of historically poor design and planning and lack of investment from the whole of society, particularly governments. In our experience, people living in entrenched poverty have learned a sense of powerlessness that often leads them to protect themselves from further disappointment by giving up. As Westoby et al point out, “poverty – or what is more accurately thought of as poverties – are often manifest in a form of stuckness (Max-Neef, 1991).”
People living in poverties find ways to survive, without aiming for more out of life. This in turn, leads others to blame them for being poor because they are “not trying hard enough”. This judgement further cements the hopelessness that people living in poverties feel, perpetuating an unhelpful downward spiral.
Intervention:
We believe that entrenched poverty and disadvantage is an issue of social justice that the whole of society is responsible for. We believe that cultural and attitudinal shifts are necessary at all levels of society to bring justice, hope and change.
The complexity and layered nature of the challenges that people living in poverties face, means that a multi-layered, holistic, place-based approach is needed to address entrenched poverty in particular localities.
The upwards work hinges on advocacy through collective work, and the work on the ground hinges on building positive relationships with people so their needs for wellbeing are met- giving them the foundation for confidence in their own decision making, purpose and positive future story.
Reference: Max-Neef, 1991, Not read, cited in Westoby, Peter; Palmer, David; Lathouras, Athena. 40 Critical Thinkers for Community Development
(p. 23). Practical Action Publishing Ltd. Kindle Edition.
Addressing entrenched place-based disadvantage
Two Way Model
