2022 Year in Review

Members at the Leadership Retreat at Kurri in March 2022

Assembly for Discernment as part of our Listening Campaign in September 2022 

It was a another big year for Hunter Community Alliance

We made our way out of pandemic restrictions and started to see each other in person more. We continue to be powered by committed Alliance members and their organisations and their commitment to change in the Hunter. We were excited to see some new members this year coming from our training and assembly. This is helping to strengthen our alliance and our leadership. Funding remains a challenge and we know we can do even more with more member organisations and a bigger budget. We were sad to see our organiser, Callan Lawrence, leave but wish him and his family well for the move to Aotearoa/New Zealand. We also thank Helen Fielder-Gill who stepped in for some time as the organiser. 

We made some important achievements in 2022 and plans for 2023 as listed below. See the 2022 Year in Review report below to see how we did.

Themes for action and Research-Action Teams for 2023:

2022 in Pictures

In March 2022 we held a Leadership Retreat with Sydney Alliance where we strengthened HCA leadership and talked about the future of both alliances. We also started discussions about a NSW Alliance which continued throughout the year.  

We conducted two-day foundations training in July 2022. This brought together an interesting group of people committed to change in the Hunter and included some new organisations as potential new alliance members. 

We ran our 2022 listening campaign and gathered more than 200 stories from Hunter people about experiences and issues that are most important to them. They informed our Assembly in September 2022 where members identified four themes and created four Research-Action Teams to determine actions.

2021 in Pictures

Michael, Nissa, Carly and Tom, shared their stories at our Lake Macquarie Mayoral Candidates Forum to demonstrate the realities fo housing insecurity and climate change.

Just some of the nearly 40 people we trained online and in person in 2021.

Hunter Homeless Connect's Nissa Phillips worked from home during the pandemic to help make our Allies Assembly on housing, homelessness, and climate change happen.

A screenshot of the Newcastle Council meeting during the motion to adopt HCA's proposed Lord Mayoral minute. 

Uniting Church members in the Hunter met to learn about community organising's role in their faith, and to meet relationally.

A group shot of Uniting Church members sharing stories and listening to one another relationally.

Several leaders of Sydney Alliance and Hunter Community Alliance came together in June to develop relationships and plan consider the future.

Some of the nearly 50 people who participated in our Allies Assembly in September.