Christmas is a busy time for aid organisations and charities, as they gear up to help those in need.
Among them, a small organisation in Sydney, called the Gethsemane Community, which helps the elderly and those on the edges of society.
Its team of volunteers are overseen by a Josephite nun and a man who's spent time behind bars.
Under a house in Sydney's inner west, Sister Myree Harris is putting hampers together from school, church and business donations.
The Order of Australia medal recipient has been helping the homeless and mentally ill for two decades.
Working alongside her is former prisoner, Vic Hitchcock.
They got involved after walking into a boarding house where residents with disabilities were living.
"And really thought I'd walked into dickens or hell or something," said Sister Myree Harris from the Gethesemane Community.
"The poverty was just appalling, they had nothing and I realised that not only did they have nothing, they had nothing for Christmas."
Mr Hitchcock says he was turned down by other charities because of his criminal record.
He only volunteered because his therapist told him to do some community work, but he says he gets a lot out of it.
"[I get] self-satisfaction, a bit of giving back," said volunteer Vic Hitchcock.
"I came out here, met Myree with every intention of working for a week or two and she drove me around and showed me some of the squalid conditions people were living in and I was horrified."
This Christmas, they've delivered about 1000 gifts and sent cards to nearly 900 people.
Among them, residents of this boarding house.
"It's nice to have a little gift and give a little gift back," said resident Maree Jennings.
"It really means a lot to me," said resident Christopher Varley.
The latest Census figures show that the number of homeless and those living in boarding houses has risen significantly across Australia.
New South Wales recently passed a Boarding Houses Bill providing better protections for residents.
But Sister Myree says that improved conditions don't address the social isolation.
She's now expanding the Christmas Project to aged care homes.
"We realised that when they went to aged care, they still were poor and they still had no friends, no family. Sixty percent of people in boarding houses have no contact with family."
University student, Lesa Chung, volunteered to help at a nursing home after seeing a newspaper article.
"I've been helping by talking to some of the residents and finding out some of the things they like just to make their presents a little more personal."
In six months, Mr Hitchcock and Sister Myree, will start preparing for next Christmas.
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