Our History
Stan McCormack was the founder of ACSO and namesake of our Housing Program.
Stan found a priest who was the assistant prison chaplain when he was inside for armed robbery. One day he was sitting in his cell chatting when the Chaplin said to him “Stan, I want you to give some thought to what would be needed when men are coming out of jail, like a half-way house. The Chaplin had a couple of barrister friends who have noticed firsthand there is no support of anyone after release.” That was late 1982.
So, Stan set to work and thought hard, and he decided to make an exercise of it. I wrote out everything that someone may need, a site for the house, food, clothing and access to resources generally. He did this because he saw it as a challenge, and it got him thinking about the lack of post-release support.
Upon Stan’s release in 1983 he had no intentions of starting a half-way house. Although Stan did get involved with Prison Fellowship who kindly accommodated him and gave him some work. Stan’s main job there was to keep producing The Epistle, a magazine published and distributed for the prison population Australia-wide, and areas of the Criminal Justice Network.
Stan McCormack 20.04.1944 – 27.04.2021
Stan still had the desire to help other prisoners who were in the same situation as he was and soon after Stan moved into a self-contained flat in a Carmelite monastery where Stan’s brother was a priest. Stan knew a man called Robbie, who had got out of prison after eight year and he had nowhere to go. Over the weekend, Robbie stayed with Stan and he decided that now was as good a time as any to find a rental property for situations like this, and as a home base for the magazine. Stan wanted to find somewhere that was central that the guys could get to, like Fitzroy, Carlton or Brunswick. At that time another ex-prisoner he knew named Greg had just been evicted from his property and a social-worker, who was a friend of Stan’s, also needed somewhere to stay.
The First House
The first house; Napier Street, Fitzroy
The concept of the house, a double story terrace was Separate accommodation for Stan and the others upstairs, the bottom section was to be both the base for the production of the Epistle Magazine and a ‘Drop-in’ facility for newly-released men and women, who were in crisis, needed support or advocacy regarding dealing with government departments, agencies, or Court matters and appearances. So they got a private rental house in Napier St. Fitzroy, in October 1983. They all shared the rent but Stan paid the majority of it.
From that time people just kept coming in, as well as supporters coming on board to help. Stan still had a lot of contact with prisoners through the magazine and the address was advertised as somewhere these guys could go for crisis accommodation and help and there was an unpaid but qualified social worker as a helper. At one point it was so crowded, there were partitions erected to divide Stan’s bedroom into sleeping quarters for 3 people!
When the house was full, they would accommodate guys in boarding houses across inner Melbourne. They were literally inundated with people. Stan never worried about how many guys were in the house at one time and it never affected him as to who was coming and going. There was always help on hand from these guys who would do anything for us because we were providing a roof over their heads.
The more men we took in, the more support we seemed to get from different people and agencies. Word of mouth saw them being recognised for what they were doing, and thus more supporters emerged as time went on. Another priest who was a friend of Stan’s once questioned him about what he was doing. They went to have dinner in Chinatown one Sunday night and a group of people got stuck into Stan… They asked him what he was doing. They had heard of the place and knew Stan had been in jail for so many years. Stan just said “Look Father…if it’s God’s work then it will succeed, if it isn’t then it will fail so let’s leave it at that”, and we did.
How Napier Street was bought
One Saturday, the landlord came in and told us that the house we were renting was going up for sale. Stan told him that he had $500 and was interested in buying the house. Stan had absolutely no idea how he would come up with that sort of money by the settlement date.
Stan would have prayer meetings on a Thursday night at McCormack house. Well, the night before the settlement was due, one of the guys walked in just after the meeting had finished to help with the dishes. They got talking and Stan told him how he needed $4500 by tomorrow (Friday) morning or there would be no house. This guy asked if he could use the phone. Stan let him into the front office and left him there. He came back after a long while and said “Sorry Stan, Thought I could help but no luck.” We prayed about it and had a cuppa.
Around 8:45am Friday morning the same guy walked in with a woman who Stan describes as mysteriously calming and spiritual. Stan sat down with them and she explained that she would give him the $4500 needed to pay off the rest of the deposit on the house. Just as she said that, the telephone rung and it was the landlord wanting to know if we had the money! Stan told him “I have the money. A lady is paying for it and she is here with me right now!!” So Stan put the woman on the phone and the settlement was finalised!
Sister Clare McShee
At that time, a catholic nun, Sister Clare was away at a weekend conference. A lady came up to her and asked if she would take her to the prison in Bendigo and help her deliver a present to one of the prisoners. This lady was connected to a group who used to go and visit the prisoners regularly in Bendigo. That was when Sister Clare came on board with us and was soon visiting prisons with us and did so for many years. Sister Clare was awarded an Order of Australia medal for her work in prisons and specifically with sex offenders. Sister Clare passed away 2014, ACSO continue working with Sex offenders with her memory in mind.
People were so generous. Once a friend of Stan’s was visiting, he heard the story of a guy who had just got out of prison. Stan told him, “If we can get him to South Australia then he has good support from his family over there. The friend asked “how much is the fare over to South Australia?” Stan replied” the cheapest is $98. With that, he opened his wallet and pulled out $100 and put it on the table. The friend then added another $20 to it saying “We had better give this guy a cup of tea along the way!” The friend would bring in tracksuits and clothes etc. along with other members of Prison Fellowship who dropped off all kinds of different stuff. People gave to us all the time.
Many miracles
Miracles seemed to happen all the time. One day there was a guy from England who just got out of prison and only knew 2 people who both lived in Canberra. He was homeless, so needed to get to Canberra. That very day some volunteers came in and handed me an envelope. It was from an ex prisoner who had used the service before and who said he felt he had to give back, and that he wanted me to use the $300 in the envelope for me personally. Well that was a problem solved.
We never had the money when the time came to pay the rent, but we always got it somehow in the nick of time, often given as a surprise gift, and sometimes to the cent, it felt as if was divine protection!
Stan realised that they needed to get a committee of management established, so it was a case getting hold of strategic people. Someone suggested we get a Judge on our committee. They asked one, who suggested his colleague who happened to be head of the Parole Board and was interested in what they were doing. Judge Alastair Nicholson was his name and he was invited over to see what they were doing.
Well just before he arrived , Stan got everyone up and kicked some people out and ran around in a mad rush. So Alastair turns up in his chauffer driven car. They were in the front office area of the house when Stan showed him a plan of what he had in mind. Stan was just about to show him around when one of the ex prisoners comes rolling into the office. He was about 16 stone and it was obvious he had been out and had a big night the night before. It was not really the impression Stan was trying to make. Stan moved off quickly to show Alastair around the place and explained about our activities and vision for the future. Alastair wrote back not long after this visit to say he was happy to put his name to this project. Alistair became the Chairman then later Patron and, ACSO is forever grateful for his guidance, support and contribution over the years. He retired in 2010.
Quote from Stan McCormack
“I didn’t realise it then, but I did think afterwards that I had to draw on everything I have ever done before, from setting up the office and my sales experience too…. I utilized all that and my faith too! I think I would have done better if I had paced myself but if I had stopped and thought about it wouldn’t have been spontaneous and evolved the way that it did”.
A message to ACSO from Stan about the future.
“Keep doing what you’re doing! You are doing a great job, really good! Well done. You have carried the legacy. It’s a place to be proud of. Every day is exciting. Look forward to the future!”
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McCormack Housing proudly acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and their rich culture and pays respect to their Elders past, present.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia’s first peoples and as the Traditional Owners and custodians of the land and water on which we rely.
We embrace the spirit of reconciliation, working towards equality of outcomes and ensuring an equal voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, including those who have come in contact with the justice system.
McCormack Housing recognises the right to a safe and inclusive service without bias. McCormack Housing is committed to the equitable treatment of its participants, employees and partners. We believe in humanity and celebrating the diverse voices of our community through leadership, practice and policy design, to honour and embrace diverse traditions, cultures and experiences of those we support and work alongside.