Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home People

Giving time to help the poor

byStaff writers
11 August 2013 - Updated on 16 March 2021
Reading Time: 5 mins read
AA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

STEVE Portas can remember when he was a boy the family’s evening meal would sometimes be interrupted by a phone call, and his father would disappear for an hour or two.

“I once recall Dad taking a phone call as we sat down to eat our meal at the family home in Mansfield,” Steve said.

“Dad quietly disappeared for an hour or two, and we thought nothing of it; because we were kids and also because it was such a regular occurrence … so it seemed normal.

“And it was … except for the fact that on this occasion it was Christmas Day and the call had come from the local priest, who had a distressed family on his doorstep, in need of immediate support.”

For Steve’s father, answering the call was part of his commitment to being a faithful member of the St Vincent de Paul Society, and Steve recalled the experience to help those nominating his father for a Queen’s Birthday honour.

It was no surprise to those submitting the nomination that Graham Portas was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2013 honours list.

To Graham, “it is mildly embarrassing, really”.

He received the award “for service to the community of Holland Park-Mount Gravatt”, in Brisbane – service given mainly as a Vinnies member.

Graham, 70, has been a member for more than 45 years and, like many Vincentians, prefers not to trumpet his deeds.

When he received the letter from the Governor General’s office asking him if he would accept the honour, and requiring him to keep the matter a secret, he just wanted to ignore it.

Related Stories

From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

“For a day or so I just wanted it (the letter) to go away,” he said.

“I felt I was unworthy, and still do.

“I’ve met a lot of good people who’ve done a lot more than me.

“All I’ve done is a little, for a long time.”

Doing “a little” every week for more than 45 years amounts to a commitment worth honouring.

“I wonder how many local families have benefitted from his support over the past 45 years,” Steve wrote.

“It would have to be 5000 families, meaning 15,000 to 20,000 local community members.”

When Graham joined the society in 1964 he did not know what he was letting himself in for.

“It was something someone asked me to do after Mass one Sunday when I was a young man – about 22 years old,” he said.

“I was still living at home with my parents at Norman Park.”

He didn’t think much about accepting the invitation but “there was no reason to say no”.

“Generally it’s my nature that if I’m asked to do something, and I’m able to do it, then I’ll do it,” he said.

“I had heard of Vinnies at high school – at St Laurence’s (South Brisbane). I knew of (Vinnies’) existence and that they helped the poor but (knew) little more than that.”

When Graham did find out more about the group he was joining, the idea made him a little nervous.

“I was a little scared at the first few meetings when I heard we had to go and visit people in their homes – people twice my age,” he said.

“It was a little daunting.”

But that has become easier with time and plenty of practice.

Graham, who served as secretary of the society’s Holland Park/Mt Gravatt conference for many years, said the number of visits conference members made to the poor each week had increased.

“In 1968 we might have had two or three cases a week on average,” he said.

“And we had time to do clothing drives some weekends.

“We’d put the kids in the car, and throw out plastic bags (to be filled with clothing), and we’d come back a week or two later (to collect the filled bags), which mainly ended up in our (Vinnies) shops.

“We might have done three or four of them a year.

“For a while we’d also visit (patients in) a ward at the Princess Alexandra Hospital on a Sunday morning.”

The members don’t have the luxury of time for those extras today.

“I checked the other day, and in our last quarter up to June 30, statistically we’re doing two cases a day for a seven-day week.

“Some days we might get none, and others we might get nine or 10.”

Graham said almost all people seeking assistance from his conference would be receiving welfare benefits.

In his early experience most people visited would have been two-parent families, and it was a time when unemployment was low.

“Now most of our clients are either single people or single-parent families,” he said.

“Over the past decade particularly, we’re coming across more people with (mental illness), and people without the life skills they should have.”

The age of members is another challenge facing Vinnies.

“When I joined as a 22-year-old I was the youngest member (of the conference),” he said.

“Even then, the other members were probably twice my age.

“I’ve always been a young member of the society and still am, sadly.”

The society’s Queensland vice-president Robert Leach, in a recent Vinnies View column in The Catholic Leader, reported the average age of members in Queensland was 73.

Having retired 10 years ago, Graham has more time to visit the poor these days and is often accompanied by his wife, Glenda.

They also have more time to spend with their four children and nine grandchildren.

Graham, happy and contented, doesn’t need his Queen’s Birthday honour to know he is a man who can count his blessings.

Apart from the love of his wife and family, he said his lifetime of work with Vinnies had been most rewarding, “when life’s been so good to me”.

“I’ve never had to worry about where my next meal’s going to come from, or where I’m going to sleep,” he said.

“It often amazes me, the people in desperate situations who don’t have a worry in the world. Then you get others in the same situation who are absolutely distraught.

“It makes you feel pretty fortunate yourself.

“I’m often reminded the margin between me and them (the people seeking help) can be very short – when something’s tipped them over the edge.

“There but the grace of God …”

Graham said there were often times when he examined the details of a person’s situation before a visit and thought the problems were overwhelming.

“And you think what’s going to happen here,” he said.

“Then when you visit those people they are often less concerned than I would be.”

It can be a case of them being accustomed to hardship.

“Here am I still in the same house we’ve had for 44 years, (and) often a client may have lived in several houses in the last year,” Graham said.

For him, Vinnies is a way to put his faith into practice.

“It’s part of my life,” he said.

“It’s never taken over but it will always be part of my life, as long as my health holds up.”

 

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Pope tells youth to play for Christ

Next Post

Prayers of our Lady of Fatima

Staff writers

Related Posts

News

From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

23 May 2022
Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

20 May 2022
Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition
QLD

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Next Post

Prayers of our Lady of Fatima

Rebecca St. James – Yes, I believe in God

Visual feast brings classic to life

Popular News

  • From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Fr Liam receives bravery medal after shark attack rescue

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

News

From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

by Mark Bowling
23 May 2022
0

ANTHONY Albanese, a self-described cultural Catholic, has been sworn in as Australia’s 31st prime minister today, after...

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

20 May 2022
Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping