St Andrew’s Church – HOPE 25 Address
Address by Melissa Jones, Mayor of Town of Walkerville on Sunday, 30 March, 2025.
Good morning,
It is an honour to be here today, gathered with members of our community who share a vision for a hopeful and thriving Walkerville. I extend my thanks to Reverend Tracey Gracey for the invitation to speak and to each of you for your commitment to shaping our community’s future.
Hope, for me, begins with people. Like all of us, I hope for the health and happiness of my family. But as the Mayor of Walkerville, that hope extends to every resident, every volunteer, every neighbour who contributes to the life and heart of our community. I also hope for their health and happiness.
Hope is more than a feeling – it is an action. We can choose hope. It is a choice to believe in possibilities and to take steps towards making them real. It is through action that hope becomes tangible, shaping not only our present, but the legacy we leave for future generations.
The most compelling story of hope I have heard recently was at our Harmony Week citizenship ceremony. Conferring citizenship on people who choose to call Australia home is one of the great privileges of being Mayor. On Harmony Day, I conferred citizenship on fourteen people. The last person was a young woman born in Iran who gave a short personal passage at the end.
She told how her family had been persecuted in Iran for three generations and her dreams of study were crushed. She received a humanitarian visa to Australia and she said that when she arrived here, she felt hope for the first time! She has gone onto study and settled in Gilberton with her family. It was heart-wrenching and heart-warming, all at the same time.
I see hope in everyday acts of kindness and resilience. I’ve witnessed neighbours supporting one another through challenging times – whether it’s through community groups, informal gatherings or simply checking in on each other. These small gestures build strong foundations that sustain us in difficult moments. Whether it’s preparing meals for a neighbour in need, offering transport to someone without it or simply taking the time to listen, these are the quiet acts of hope that ripple through our community.
We’ve seen local businesses struggle through COVID-19 and disasters like fire. The way our community rallies together to pull them up, to support them and shop local, or donate funds to get them back on their feet, is truly uplifting.
When people in our community show that support, it gives the recipient of that support, hope. Hope for better days, hope for the future.
I think Council has a part to play in building hope in our community. One of the ways I do this as the Mayor, is to connect groups and people together. By talking to different people and groups, I learn about their hopes. Sometimes they need a little help along the way, to turn that hope into a reality. By connecting people and groups, I, and the Council, have a part to play in providing encouragement within our Township.
Council also does this on a larger scale, by looking strategically at our vision for the future. We recently did this by adopting a 10-year plan, which sets out the actions Council will take to create the type of Township our residents hope to see in 10 years’ time.
In building that 10-year Strategy, I turned my mind to “Blue Zones”, which are areas across the world where residents are claimed to have exceptionally long lives beyond the age of 80 due to their healthy lifestyles and their local environment. These communities share common habits, including strong social connections, regular physical activity and healthy diets. My hope was that through our 10-year strategic plan, the Town of Walkerville could become a Blue Zone!
Council’s 10-year roadmap is about creating safe environments, promoting social connection and ensuring our Town remains a vibrant place to live, work and gather. We’re committed to activating our new Council-owned facilities as places of connection, where residents can come together, share skills and participate in community life. This is about making Walkerville a place where people feel they belong.
One of the ways we can continue to grow a healthy community is by encouraging volunteering. Council aims to attract and retain local volunteers to help deliver community initiatives and programs to help build the compassionate, hopeful community we aspire to be. Volunteers are the backbone of our community, and each act of service, no matter how small, adds to the collective wellbeing of Walkerville.
A great example of how volunteers contribute is our Social Prescribing Project, which connects individuals with social and community activities that enhance wellbeing. With around 20% of GP consultations linked to social issues like loneliness, the project aims to reduce reliance on health services, improve outcomes and empower healthy ageing through developing community connections for those feeling isolated, lonely, anxious or depressed.
From group exercise programs to creative workshops and social meetups, this project is a first-of-its-kind in the State that will help residents engage in activities tailored to their interests and needs – and I am so excited that Council is involved.
The project is about to commence, with initial GP referrals expected in early April. The project will also include initiatives like a Pop-up Café at Enfield Community Centre, providing a welcoming space for clients to meet with their connectors. We are also developing workshops focused on self-care, creating opportunities for both clients and volunteers to connect, reflect and support one another. A team of senior volunteer champions will lead the initial rollout, with more volunteers joining as momentum builds.
Building on this idea, the Walkerville Community Committee, which is made up of Council Members and members of our community, has been considering the establishment of a Chatty Café. Similar cafes run in other council areas. The Chatty Café would offer a welcoming space – based in Walkerville – for people of all ages to gather, have conversations and combat social isolation and loneliness. This initiative is about building friendly, social connections through simple interactions that may brighten someone’s day.
Imagine the way the St Andrew’s Parish might be involved in the Social Prescribing Project or the Chatty Café (or both!), helping to enhance wellbeing in older members of our community. Imagine the hope that could be generated by these projects being successful!
To encourage regular physical activity to help build a Blue Zone, Council is investing in new spaces like the 39 Smith Street recreation centre and the Walkerville Bowling & Community Club. These facilities are being designed to be more than just venues – they will be hubs of activity, offering a wide variety of opportunities for social gatherings, community events and skill-sharing for people of all ages.
And how can Council encourage healthy diets? We run programs like “Grow it Local Awards” and providing free seeds to residents. But what more can be done? There are examples around the world of volunteers coming together to create community gardens on verges and pieces of land which are unused. Through productive planting, fresh fruit and vegetables are available for free! Imagine the hope that can be generated in a community where some of our residents are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Or even improving our verges through landscaping and plantings to help create a cooler and wilder environment.
I recognise this sort of thing costs money, but grants are available from Green Adelaide, and could be used for verge plantings, community gardens, or sustainability projects that enhance our Town.
I encourage St Andrew’s and others in our community to explore how they might take advantage of this funding opportunity as a means to create hope in our community.
Walkerville is home to part of the River Torrens. Green Adelaide is also leading a rewilding project to reintroduce the platypus to the River. This iconic Australian animal is what is known to ecologists as an umbrella species – meaning that conserving them and their habitat will result in many other species also being conserved.
So, if platypuses can be successfully reintroduced to the River Torrens, this will mean a healthier ecosystem for other native species like long-necked turtles and native water rats. And a healthier ecosystem for animals means a healthier environment for us too. My hope is that Walkerville’s part of the Torrens becomes the perfect environment for the reintroduction of the platypus. But hope is not enough. By actions we can make hope a reality!
Of course, there are challenges. I would love Council to do more than we currently do, but we must operate within our means. Like all Governments, Council relies on volunteers to help provide programs and services that benefit our community and beyond.
Walkerville also faces issues such as social isolation, affordable housing and sustainable growth.
Our community centre, library and recreational spaces are open to all, providing accessible programming that invites everyone to participate, regardless of age or background. But there are many other community spaces within our Township that might be underutilised and could be used to address our challenges.
Faith communities also play a significant role in our vision for a hopeful Walkerville. They foster a sense of belonging, offer support during difficult times and remind us of the values of compassion, kindness and generosity. These communities provide spaces where people can find comfort, share in collective hope and seek strength.
By continuing to open their doors, build partnerships and provide safe spaces, faith communities help create a more hopeful and inclusive Walkerville. Their values mirror the ideals we strive for as a community.
I have provided some ideas about how the St Andrew’s Parish could collaborate with the community to provide more hope and support, whether through verge planting, the Social Prescribing Project, spearheading an action group to help bring the platypus back to the Torrens, utilising your community spaces to serve the community or volunteering in existing community groups or for the Council.
I can imagine, and hope, how actioning some of these initiatives might bring hope to those in our community who are struggling or seeking a place of belonging. Beyond that, they help to create better lives for all and can create connections for both young and old.
In 2025, as our Social Prescribing Project launches to the community, my big dream is that Walkerville is able to have enough community connectors and connections to make real and tangible change to those elderly people in our community who suffer from loneliness and isolation.
As we look to the future, let us remember that hope is a shared endeavour. It is built in the moments we choose to connect, to act and to believe in better possibilities.
Together, we have the opportunity to turn hope into action. By encouraging connection, volunteering and sustainable practices, we can shape a Walkerville that is not only healthy but thriving.
Thank you for your commitment to this vision and for being part of a community that believes in a hopeful future.
I encourage each of us to take that next step in fostering hope, whether it’s through a small act of kindness, volunteering or simply reaching out to a neighbour.
Thank you.