DCC – Vision
The Land, Location and Leverage behind the DCC vision
Please watch this video which describes the heart and vision behind the DCC relocation:
DCC Vision – for the house
After the DCC board had discerned the prompting to relocate the operations of DCC to Mount Evelyn, a great deal of research commenced in July/August 2021 to determine where this could be to. Planning flexibility, sustainability and cost effectiveness were all considered in the decision process, concluding that pragmatically the house was the most viable selection. There was also a strategic alignment to selecting the house, which was most desirable when considering the future of DCC.
DCC’s vision is to walk alongside people in our local community so that they can experience belonging, express their gifts and effect change in their lives and their community. A big part of belonging and connection comes through relationships. So, placing the operations of DCC within a house, with friendlier spaces including couches, a fireplace and open plan kitchen area lends itself to people forming inter-dependent relationships; where people can connect with other people facing similar life circumstances. We’re therefore planning on creating a regular drop-in space within the house, where people can come for hot drinks and meals regularly throughout the week and to reinforce these relationship pathways with one another. This forms a crucial component of the programmatic shift and transformation pathway we’re looking to build upon as part of this move.
From Community Support to Community Building
DCC Community Support has traditionally operated as a food-relief organisation in recent years, particularly in the midst of the pandemic. The desire and hope for the future is that DCC, along with its associated ministries (Foodstop and COACH) will continue towards becoming more of a community-building organisation, whilst still maintaining a component of emergency and food relief.
Many people regularly return to DCC, but as the needs have increased, and more people have come seeking support, so has our inability to engage in meaningful social interactions outside of their primary purpose for coming, which is often for food or emergency relief. We’ve therefore sensed an opportunity to shift our practices at the house by creating new community building spaces, as these will be vital to enable connection and belonging to become more intentional.