Helen’s Haven Ipswich: Goodna Street Life turn Weeroona Hotel into homeless shelter

An Ipswich charity has overhauled an old hotel into crisis accommodation for homeless people.

Goodna Street Life vice president Steve Purcell inside Helen's Haven. Picture: Lachlan McIvor.

The charity which has turned a rundown hotel in Ipswich into crisis accommodation for those without anywhere else to turn hopes the innovative model can be used around Australia after finding success in the midst of a pandemic.

Goodna Street Life took over the Weeroona Hotel just off the Ipswich Motorway in 2019 and started work to overhaul the venue in January last year.

Covid has forced the charity to adjust its approach and the impacts of the virus only added extra pressure on a system that was already straining, but Helen’s Haven in Goodna is seeing positive results.

Inside Helen’s Haven in Goodna, which was formerly the Weeroona Hotel.

Named after charity founder Helen Youngberry, the site’s eight motel rooms are always filled and people can stay there for up to 60 days.

While at the facility they can also access counselling, drug and alcohol recovery programs and work with training and employment organisations to learn new skills to re-enter the workforce or change careers.

A dry bar and kitchen provides food and drink with the pokies long removed.

They then move on to more permanent accommodation.

Vice president Steve Purcell said demand was so great, the charity was in negotiations for a new site to deliver specialist crisis accommodation for families and young people in a similar model providing the same wraparound services.

There are about 90 clients currently housed directly with Goodna Street Life, including in caravan parks, boarding houses, motels, short-term leases or long-term housing.

The charity signed a five-year lease with another five-year option on the site, with the pub owned by the Falvey family.

“We’re seeing a lot of great success stories coming out of this,” Mr Purcell said.

“The housing situation just continues to get worse in Queensland.

Goodna Street Life vice president Steve Purcell.

“We found at the end of the Covid period the amount of families coming to us was increasing. We’ve never been in that situation before.

“We took on a lot of extra sublease houses to provide housing for families. It becomes extra complicated when you have four children. The impacts of homelessness are really compounded.

“We exist to respond to the need of the community. That’s our greatest strength as an independent self-funded charity - we can respond faster then the government-funded agencies.

“That’s why we don’t take government funding to do the service so we can fill the holes within the current system. We can make sure we’re catching the people falling through the gaps. That’s our reason for being.”

Disaster struck when the charity’s main source of income went up in flames last week.

Its op shop burnt to the ground on September 14 with the $5000 it brings in each week crucial to funding services.

“That put everything we do at risk,” Mr Purcell said.

“We’re talking about people losing power and that can’t happen. We need to keep the lights on for our clients.”

The Goodna Street Life op shop fire went up in flames on September 14.

After being woken at 4am that morning and used to dealing with crisis, it was only 12 hours later when donations, including people walking in with cash in hand, started pouring in that Mr Purcell broke down.

In a little over a week more than $20,000 was raised which will tide them over until they set up in a new home.

“We were all in charge and had it all together but then when that show of support started coming in that really pulled at the heartstrings,” Mr Purcell said.

Just two days after the fire an agreement was in place to set the op shop up in the Goodna Marketplace shopping centre, formerly St Ives Shopping Centre.

There are challenges ahead but Helen’s Haven provides a strong base where innovative solutions are being found.

It was where more than 150 people living rough were vaccinated after the charity were told homeless people were struggling to get access to a clinic or dealing with misinformation about the jab.

The charity took over the rundown hotel in 2019.

Construction on six ‘sleeping pods’ is underway and they will be set up outside the hotel, providing a safe and secure place to sleep and gain access to power when crisis strikes in the dead of the night and help is not immediately available.

Mr Purcell said other charities had contacted Goodna Street Life about some of the unique work they were doing.

He didn’t believe their hotel model was being used anywhere else in Australia.

“I’m not surprised because commercial leases are really complex and difficult,” he said.

“I could probably double the amount of room I have here and I’d still have them full.

“If you’re not a state-funded charity then you fall under the local planning scheme. There’s so many local governments across Queensland with all variations.

Goodna Street Life president and founder Helen Youngberry and vice president Steve Purcell.

“Discussing with Ipswich council, there is no actual mention of homelessness in the Ipswich City Council planning scheme. Ipswich is not alone in that.

“We still fit in this grey area. (The sleeping pods) are really a fancy tent.

“The system that currently exists doesn’t work. There’s a big gaping hole in homeless support services in Queensland.

“I hope once we finish our pilot program we can get other agencies across Queensland and get the State Government to start looking at how we make this plan a feasible reality.”

To donate to Goodna Street Life, visit here.

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.