Glen Hartwig weighs in on Gympie homeless problem

As the Gympie Times campaigns for land to be donated for a homeless shelter amid the ongoing housing crisis, we asked the mayor about how the council could help.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig says the council would happily consider any proposals put to it in an effort to solve the region’s homelessness issue.

Any proposal put to the Gympie Regional Council trying to improve the region’s homeless problem would be happily considered on its merits, Mayor Glen Hartwig says.

It comes as News Corp’s Wide Bay titles amp up the Help our Homeless campaign.

In Gympie, the aim is to get a block of land donated for a local shelter.

“Council has been approach by concerned residents about this issue,” Mr Hartwig said.

“We have said that we are very happy to have a seat at the table to explore options and develop solutions that will work best for our unique community, alongside other community groups and representatives with experience and expertise in this area.”

Former Gympie Citizen of the Year and 2020 Medal of the Order of Australia recipient Marlene Owen has been among locals working on getting a block of land from the council to build the shelter.

Mr Hartwig said the council was “mindful” of the growing issue not only in this region but also, across Australia.

Any proposal would have to be tabled before all nine councillors for a vote.

“I know of a few locals within our community who are rising to the challenge of homelessness in our region and are exploring a range of services that could be offered to better support those who are down on their luck, and I am certainly very supportive of this work,” he said,

“It’s always sad that people either have financial issues … or mental health issues that prevent them from having a roof over their heads,” Mr Hartwig said.

Mastheads across the Wide Bay are pushing for improvements to the region’s homeless problems.

Anything that could be done to alleviate that would be worth exploring, he added.

But any application would have to be put before all nine Gympie councillors.

It is unknown how long the process would take, with council staff needing to investigate and present a report and recommendation to the councillors.

Marlene Owen says work is underway within the community to try and secure a block of land from the council to build a homeless shelter on.

In late September the region’s only mental health assisted living centre, Cooloola House, was given a stay of execution against a shutdown order from the State Government’s Department of Housing.

Without the centre, which is used by Gympie Hospital when discharging some patients, residents faced being moved to Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast, or having to find their own housing through friends or family.