‘Changed my life’: Kingaroy man’s incredible transformation

From being homeless to now employed with a place to live, this is how the Kingaroy Youth Hostel changed a young man’s life.

Brandon’s life turned around thanks to the help of South Burnett CTC and the Kingaroy Youth Hostel. Photo/Tristan Evert

From sleeping rough with no place to call home, to becoming a contributing member of the South Burnett, this is the story of how the South Burnett CTC Kingaroy Youth Hostel helped get a young man’s life back on track.

Brandon was out of options, he was living with a friend‘s family, had no job, no money and was in a dark place, that was before the Kingaroy Youth Hostel offered him a life line.

He jumped at the opportunity, moving into the hostel in December 2019.

Brandon spent a year in the hostel, taking full advantage of the various services offered through the South Burnett CTC organisation.

In the space of a year living at the hostel, Brandon found a job at Andersons Fruit Market, he now rents a house, has acquired his learners drivers licence, tracked down his birth certificate, opened a bank account, saved some money, got a Medicare card and now receives Centrelink payments.

Brandon said the hostel changed his life.

“If I didn’t have the hostel I don’t know where I would have ended up, it turned my life around and helped me spin my life back onto its feet instead of on top of its head,” Brandon said.

“I feel I have come a long way since I moved into the hostel, I stayed in there for over a year and recently moved out, have my own place and a housemate.

“CTC has helped me quite a lot, they helped me with my savings and helped me land a job at Andersons.”

Brandon said he was glad he took a chance on Kingaroy and the South Burnett CTC. Photo/Tristan Evert

The hostel houses an average of five residents per night, providing crisis accommodation for youths throughout the community.

READ MORE: Potential hostel closure will force youth into tents, swags

It helps young people who are struggling get back on their feet and transition into contributing members of society.

For the past seven years, the hostel has had a full-time in-house volunteer who managed the hostel after hours, allowing for around the clock care for youth with complex issues.

He recently retired leaving behind an irreplaceable position without government funding.

Without an after hours youth worker, CTC is already having to turn away referrals due to their complexity and the lack of support available – despite not being full.

The hostel is funded for five beds and in the last financial year 26 people accessed the service for a combined total of 1823 nights of accommodation.

In the past three years 123 people accessed the service for a combined total of 5800 bed nights.

Since about 2012, a total of 13700 nights of accommodation have been provided to young people in the South Burnett through the service.

Brandon said the hostel is an extremely important service to the South Burnett community.

“Without that hostel you will have lots more people lying on the streets with no where to go,” he said.

“That youth hostel is there for those who really need it like how I really needed it when I was homeless.

“If they closed the hostel it would be devastating for the community, so many people take advantage of the hostel to better themselves.”

Brandon spent a year living in the hostel and has since moved into his own place and secured employment. Photo/Tristan Evert

South Burnett CTC sent a request for additional funding in September last year to the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Technologies and were told it sits on the Minister’s desk.

READ MORE: SUICIDE EPICENTRE: Data reveals Burnett’s dark problem

A spokeswoman from the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy told the South Burnett Times they are aware of the recent request for funding from SBCTC and that they will continue to work with the organisation to understand their requirements for future service delivery.

However, the response failed to answer a number of key questions, including if and when funding would be made available.

“Everyone deserves access to a safe, secure and sustainable home,” the spokesperson said.

“This includes young Queenslanders, and the Queensland Government is investing in specialist homelessness services across the state to help our most vulnerable.

“This financial year we have already provided more than $300,000 for the South Burnett CTC to provide supported accommodation at the youth hostel and mobile support for young people aged between 16 and 25 years in the South Burnett Region.”

If funding isn‘t granted, CTC will be left with two options, according to CTC youth services team leader Nick Krauksts.

Nick Krauksts said if funding isn’t granted, it could force more youth onto the streets. Photo/Tristan Evert

“At this stage it comes down to if our request for extra funding isn‘t granted we’ve got two options to consider, we close the hostel removing that average of five people a night that are housed and the nearest hostel is Toowoomba,” he said.

“The second option is to renegotiate with the department what we do with the hostel, which would mean permanently only taking low-risk clients, not taking any clients with complex mental health issues or people with drug or alcohol issues, which usually with an adult presence we take on.

“We have taken people who are suicidal because you have someone to monitor them and can put in a good safety plan and when you don‘t have a staff member or volunteer overnight you just can’t be confident you can keep them safe.

“Another issue is we accept people being bailed to the hostel. That won‘t be an option, which will put pressure on the local police.

“It will have a ripple effect through the community, we will see an increase in tents around town, an increase in crime, an increase in drug use and more stress on the other services.”

Brandon said the biggest thing was the hostel helped him get back on his feet.

“I’ve got nothing but praise for the hostel,” he said.

“It will be a devastation upon this community for the hostel to be shut down.”

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