Redcliffe Drop-in Centre still no closer to opening a service on the Peninsula

A southeast Queensland community raised close to $70,000 for a homeless drop-in centre — five years later no centre exists and the organising group does not appear to be any closer to opening.

There is still no update on the Redcliffe Drop-in Centre.

A southeast Queensland community raised close to $70,000 for a group working to establish a homeless drop-in centre — five years later no centre exists and the group does not appear to be any closer to opening.

Redcliffe residents helped raise about $67,000 for the project through the first three Rockin’ 4 the Homeless events.

Moreton Bay Regional Council had agreed to lease a space at the Redcliffe Showground to the Redcliffe Drop-in Centre, but withdrew the in-kind support in November claiming the group had failed to meet the conditions set.

These conditions included ensuring the state government was comfortable with the group’s approach, demonstrating they were financially stable and providing written evidence of a consultation process with other stakeholders at the Showground site.

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“So the two year ‘delay’ that the Drop-In Centre is trying to blame council for, is actually a consequence of their own administrative delays,” Moreton Bay Mayor Allan Sutherland previously told the Herald.

In response the Drop-in Centre placed an advertisement in the Herald and on social media calling on the council to make a decision on the site’s location by November 30.

At the time the group was not able to say what they would do if the council could not find another location.

After Dark Saints Josh Malcolm and Tat and Breakfast Club's Helen Bambling run an outreach program for the region's homeless. Photo: Erin Smith

Six months on and it appears they are no closer to opening a centre.

In December the group posted on its Facebook page that it would “fight-on”.

“Now that the Moreton Bay Regional Council has formally withdrawn the land allocated for a drop-in centre from the Redcliffe Showgrounds and determined at this stage that their other premises are either unsuitable or too expensive to re-purpose, the committee of the Redcliffe Drop-in Centre is currently negotiating a consortium to deliver the drop-in centre.

“We are confident the outcome will create a model which can be replicated across many different communities.

“Please be assured the funds raised by the Redcliffe community will not be diverted into funding activities which do not meet the objectives of the Redcliffe Drop-in Centre.”

The Herald has contacted the group asking for a progress update, how much of the $67,000 remained and their plans.

A spokeswoman for the group responded with: “The committee is still working on a solution. When we are closer to an announcement we will send one through to the paper”.

There are several charity organisations on the Peninsula that work with homeless people, including The Breakfast Club of Redcliffe Inc and After Dark Saints.

The Breakfast Club has a hub where it offers access to housing services, medical services, clothes and emergency food packs — all donated by the community and local business.

It also services breakfast three times a week and dinner twice a week, as well as runs an outreach program.

After Dark Saint delivers food and other supplies to those on the street daily.

The drop-in centre was proposed to fill in the void these great groups cannot meet without a home base — such as showers, a safe place to sleep and somewhere to store belongings.