Hoofbeats Sanctuary pleads with council for alternative site

Queensland’s only free ‘lifesaving’ equine therapy service is in a dire situation as it urgently crowdfunds for a site after the Sunshine Coast Council allowed a pony club to take over a hinterland property.

Hoofbeats Sanctuary program director Marie Rene is one of the members of the mental health support service trying to raise money for a new site after the Sunshine Coast Council said a pony club could take over its Doonan property. Picture: Patrick Woods.

A “lifesaving” mental health service for women and girls on the Sunshine Coast is facing a dire situation as they urgently try to crowdfund for a suitable site ahead of a forced relocation.

The mental health service, Hoofbeats Sanctuary in Doonan, is the only free program that offers equine therapy in Queensland to help participants overcome trauma.

The small service helps between 40 to 60 women and girls each year, including those suffering from eating disorders and past suicide attempts, however the Sunshine Coast Council has approved the Yandina and District Pony Club’s request to take over Doonan property.

Hoofbeats Sanctuary CEO Barb Blashki said while initial discussions about alternative sites with the council seemed hopeful, a cut in the council’s budget last year meant plans for a site in Yandina were ultimately scaled back.

Hoofbeats Sanctuary mental health support service is currently under threat by the Sunshine Coast Council. Pictured, Marie Rene program director. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Ms Blashki said the final plans offered by council were unsuitable for the service’s operation.

“At best they could update some of the fences and build a shed that we could use as storage and they would convert the existing shed into an office for us,” Ms Blashki.

“There are a few issues with that as there is no water to supply to the site, there will be nothing for the horses to drink, no way to flush a toilet, and there is also no power to the site so I’m not sure how we were meant to run an office with no power.”

The proposed site is also susceptible to flooding, according to Ms Blashki.

Ms Blashki said six weeks out from “moving day” she still wakes up stunned at the response from the council as the organisation desperately seeks to raise enough money to buy a property of their own.

“I keep thinking we are a tiny group, most of our staff are volunteers, how did they think an organisation this small was going to raise $3m,” Ms Blashki said.

“Time is so rapidly running out.”

Ms Blashki said if the support service was to close it would have an enormous impact on the community.

“The magnitude of support we give is life changing for most clients and lifesaving for the remainder,” Ms Blashki said.

A Sunshine Coast Council spokeswoman said the mental health service had been offered improvements to the Yandina site including a solar battery package for power and septic, describing the work of the site as “progressing well”.