Breakfast,Lunch & Dinner;
Men only
Where: http://bit.ly/aPxUJb Talbot Lane, Woolloomooloo 9357 1533
Food is now the best for FREE in Sydney.And so it should be. Matthew Talbot gets millions of dollars in government funding as well as corporate and political support. It appeals most to the institutionalised and many homeless are banned for life for some perceived indiscretion as judged by the largely uncaring staff who implement its jail like policies. And after 30 years of feeding homeless men virtual scraps, they’ve finally been embarassed,we suspect, into providing a decent meal, which they do…for those allowed in. My 3 visits over the last week all saw reeasonable helpings of good quality food. I still couldn’t wait to get out of the place -its draconian “we’re better than you” attitude permeates, it seems, into the very concrete of the walls.
Run by St Vincent De Paul, Matthew Talbot is one of the major acceptors of government funding in the name of homeless and marginalised people. Matthew Talbot has been around for decades and is a key part of the NSW Governments Strategic Plan to make the inner city areas a no-go zone for homeless and playground of the rich exploiters whom governments love and nurture.
17/05/2010
SydneyHomeless
Sydney Homeless 
11 responses to “Free Meals: Matthew Talbot Hostel”
oliviarothwell
September 29th, 2016 at 16:21
Reblogged this on musingsofaspecialeducationteacher.com and commented:
I’m so behind on my blog posts so I’m posting this blog instead.
Hamk & Alida Ruigrok
July 17th, 2016 at 13:25
To whom this may concern,
We like to donate to the homeless, please e-mail your contact person and your contact phone number, we do not donate via the internet for security reasons, so email your details and we will respond.
God bless
Hank & Aklida Ruigrokw
Michael
January 8th, 2015 at 09:14
Good one guys…I too spent some time at the MT beginning around May 2004. My very first time in Sydney, didn’t know where to go after I ran outta cash to get me by. Ended up at the MT, got in temporarily at first, then back on the streets, then back in again for 3 months. Had a room of my own until they found me a share house unit.
When I was granted the privilege of their in-house hospitality, we DID have to pay for meals….
geez!!!…as if being without a home to go to wasn’t bad enough!!
And I was naive to the fact that the MT was in receipt of millions of taxpayers dollars, while they fed the needy on mere scraps. Meanwhile, we had the misfortune to witness big bosses of the MT driving around in flashy cars!!!
Most of the poor buggars on the streets aren’t there because they wanna be there, but are there through no fault of their own, and by being on the streets, they get treated like criminals, not only by MT staff, but by people in general. I should know…I’ve been there, and bore witness.
In any case, I do hope that the situation has changed for the better.
Thanks for reading and all the best for 2015 guys.
Geoff
March 14th, 2012 at 11:07
Do you not think it is a good thing (worth being grateful for) that food is provided for free in the Mathew Talbot hostel? I think it is alarming that the poster of this blog writes with a clear distain for the very people whos persuit of wealth creates an income that is taxed and so provides for publicly funded, community ventures such as the mathew talbot hostel. Why not focus on the task at hand. Feeding the poor to get them through difficult times until they can find themselves an income to pay for there own food, clothing and shelter?
doug heath
March 17th, 2012 at 19:15
There’s a problem in dealing, as you put it Geoff, ‘with the task in hand’ and that problem is that the task never changes, year afrer year, decade after decade in a country where enough food is tossed in the garbage to feed the populus. AS a man who used the MT for food, clothing and shelter for many years, from 1966 to 1976 in fact, it wasn’t until I broke the habit of dependence, not a booze or a drug habit, but a dependence habit, that I climbed off the street.
SydneyHomeless
June 12th, 2012 at 16:23
couldn’t agree more Doug. Theres a group who have factored in the resources they get free and avail themselves when they could do otherwise. Our strategies are self sufficiency although we do support free food redistribution such as the Martin Place site- new people need it.
doug heath
June 12th, 2012 at 20:16
That group I feel, Geoff, is pretty small, scarcely worth bothering about. It’s the kind of anecdote that gets bandied about by those who’d deny genuinely needy people; a bit like the articles in newspapers about men who make tens of thousands of dollars from begging on the street. That is, true, but the number would be so insignificant that it makes for a difference in kind. Back when, the men I knew who actually had a choice about availing themselves of hand-outs was trivial; maybe half a dozen, compared to the five or six hundred who needed the Talbot or Sallies. Let’s know what you think. Doug
SydneyHomeless
June 12th, 2012 at 16:20
Matthew Talbot used to charge for meals until a TV station sponsor threatened to pull its sponsorship.Also Matthew Talbot receive lots of government revenue as well as corporate support -far in excess of the value provided to the homeless or resident community. Prior to 2000 the Talbot used to sleep 300plus …off the books 420. Today after tens of millions spent on upgrades it sleeps a paltry 120….nuff said about monetising the marginalised
doug heath
June 12th, 2012 at 20:19
I, too, find this alarming. In the early 70s, around 500 men spent their nights in the MT, including unpaid staff and paying pensioners. Ordinary guests paid nothing – ZERO – for food or beds.
doug h
January 21st, 2012 at 19:44
Also, the walls are brick not concrete. Can anyone tell me what’s the situation down there these days. The building is twice as big as it originally was. How many men actually spend their nights there? Surely it isn’t only the 90 they say get emergency beds?
doug h
January 18th, 2012 at 16:05
AND BOY SHOULD YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED IT AS DID FOR THE FIRST TIME SOME 45 YEARS AGO WHEN THE NOTORIOUS ‘CARROT SOUP’ WAS THE MENU. WE HAD A JOKE GOING AROUND THAT YOU GOT A PRIZE IF YOU FOUND A CARROT!