We are committed to providing volunteering opportunities for all people regardless of age, gender, cultural background, disability, or sexual orientation. We recognise the strength and value in diversity, and actively foster an inclusive community. People who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander are strongly encouraged to apply.
Sacred Heart Mission has introduced a policy of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for all staff, volunteers and contractors within our organisation. To keep everyone safe, you must provide evidence of your vaccination if you want to volunteer with us. For more information, visit our COVID-19 FAQs.
Apply to be a volunteer
If you haven’t found a role that suits you, register your interest in volunteering with Sacred Heart Mission by completing an online application form.
Together, we create a better community for everyone
A meal is just the beginning …
We talked to our staff and clients about what makes Sacred Heart Mission unique and how it supports people to live the life they want to live.
Hear from our clients Asma, Cheryl and Graham, and from our team members Stephen (Executive Director), Kirsty (Meals Program Coordinator), Elizabeth (former Manager Women’s Services), Santi (Life Matters Coordinator) and Hala (Case Manager):
Stephen: Homelessness is an absence of home. It’s an absence of safety and security, privacy. It’s also that absence of connection.
Kirsty: Everything starts here in the Dining Hall at Sacred Heart Mission. For a lot of people it’s their first point of contact with our service. It’s a really important place to begin.
Elizabeth: Sacred Heart Mission is a not-for-profit organisation that’s been in existence for over 35 years now.
Stephen: We form a community that cares for community issues to make sure that people can make sustainable change in their lives.
Cheryl: Sacred Heart is part of my life. When I first experienced homelessness, I didn’t know anywhere that could help me in those days.
Graham: I had someone say, ‘I’ve got just the place for you’, and they brought me to Sacred Heart.
Asma: The people here are really good people. Very nice people. They helped me for everything here.
Kirsty: We open at seven o’clock every morning, 365 days a year.
Stephen: There’s no requirement. There’s nothing that you have to do other than just turn up. Easy engagement into the support. We will then wrap services around people, community engagement type services, clinical services, housing support.
Santi: Most of the residents here always say that the number one quality they feel here is safe.
Graham: I think a lot of people who get the opportunity to move in here, are going to feel a million dollars. This is really special.
Asma: I have very, very, very good experience with Sacred Heart. They helped me to find a permanent house.
Elizabeth: All staff are trained to provide a trauma informed approach, a flexible and individualised response.
Hala: We work on five different goal areas. The main one is housing, but we also work in health and wellbeing, social participation, economic participation, and independence.
Elizabeth: Building a relationship that’s based on trust, respect and kindness.
Stephen: Creating connection, creating relationship, and then passing that over to the community.
Graham: We like to think of ourselves as a family
Cheryl: The friendships I’ve made, made me feel loved.
Stephen: With that, people will be able to sustain their housing.
Cheryl: I’m in a block of flats that’s all women living in them. I feel safe, secure; cooking my own meals again.
Asma: It’s my home.
Elizabeth: It’s amazing to watch their belief in themselves and their self-esteem just grow.
Cheryl: A big thanks to the people that have donated.
Asma: They helped me and they helped many people.
Graham: It gives you an opportunity to live life again.
Stephen: We are asking everyone to be part of the solution, not just for those experiencing homelessness, but the reward that we all get when we connect.
Volunteering FAQs
Corporate volunteers contribute significantly to Sacred Heart Mission’s work and are a vital part of our volunteer program. To get involved please email our Corporate Volunteering Officer Nicci Smith at nsmith@sacredheartmission.org.
The minimum age for volunteering is 15. Teenagers can volunteer in our op shops individually (Prahran (Chapel Street), Hawthorn, Fitzroy and Bentleigh) and also at the Meals Program (through school volunteering), where you will be part of a group. To volunteer in other areas, you must be 18 years or above.
There are numerous areas across Sacred Heart Mission where you can volunteer. View our current volunteering opportunities here.
Sacred Heart Mission is sustained by a deep pool of generosity and support from the community. This ensures we can continue to develop and innovate into the future, offering greater choices and integrated services so people can have the benefit of carefully tailored support to addresses their individual needs.
All volunteers need to have a National Police Check that is no older than three months. Sacred Heart Mission covers the cost of your Police Check. We just need to sight your original ID or your certified copies.
As one of our highly valued volunteers, you will have received communications from us about when you will need to have had your first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination in order to continue volunteering.
We will ask you to provide evidence of your vaccination by emailing your vaccination certificate to volunteer@sacredheartmission.org. Click here for more information on how to do this.
If you have a medical exemption for a COVID-19 vaccination, we require an exemption letter from an approved medical practitioner. You will be able to keep volunteering, but you will be required to wear a mask at all times.
To keep everyone safe, if you are not vaccinated against COVID-19, you are unable to volunteer with us. If you plan to be vaccinated in future, please let us know and you can return to volunteering with us then.
Don’t miss a beat
Learn more about homelessness and how we can solve it together in our monthly newsletter, Heartbeat 