Since opening its doors in 2003, Soul Café — now known as Soul Hub — has been a place where food nourishes more than just the body. What began as a simple mission to serve free hot meals to Newcastle’s most vulnerable has grown into a vital community service, offering dignified access to support, connection, and care.

Each year, Soul Hub serves more than 86,5000 meals and distributes more than 8,550 food care packs, supporting people experiencing homelessness, housing and food insecurity, mental unwellness and social isolation. But at its heart, every meal is much more than a plate of food — it’s an opportunity to start a conversation, build trust, and remind someone they’re not alone.

Port Waratah is honoured to have walked alongside Soul Hub on this journey for many years. Our formal partnership began in 2012 with the funding of a Mental Health Clinician, recognising the growing need for professional support among Soul’s guests. As the community’s needs evolved, so too did the partnership — in 2021, the Social Work Programme was introduced, and today a small, dedicated team of social workers, each with a specific case load, provides one-on-one support each week.

With Port Waratah’s continued support, Soul Hub’s social workers help guests navigate life’s challenges, offering advocacy, guidance, and care. They work hand-in-hand with the wider Soul Hub team — mostly volunteers — including Guest Support Coordinators and the Soul Clinic, to provide truly wrap-around, holistic support.

Through the Social Work Programme, lives are being transformed. Each story of change represents someone’s son, daughter, parent, sibling, or friend — and when one life changes, that impact ripples through families and broader communities.

Beyond changing lives, the programme also builds capacity within Soul Hub itself. By embedding trained and skilled social workers into what is largely a volunteer-driven organisation, Soul Hub has strengthened the team skillset and service model, creating a more connected and sustainable approach to community care.

Many guests face complex challenges, often managing interactions with multiple agencies such as Centrelink, Legal Aid, Jenny’s Place, or the Department of Communities and Justice. For those already overwhelmed, Soul Hub’s social workers offer a steady hand, helping them navigate this maze of services and systems, with a focus on their wellbeing.

As Matthew Ortiger, General Manager of Soul Hub, reflects, “At Soul Hub we can’t close ‘the gap,’ but with Port Waratah’s support we’ve built an island of holistic hope within it — a place where people experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, mental unwellness, addiction and social isolation can find genuine care and support.”

Together, Soul Hub and Port Waratah continue to feed not just the body, but the soul — creating connection, hope and dignity for those who need it most.