Inside the harrowing space homeless teens call home
NESTLED in the heart of Surfers Paradise — at the doorstep of one of the Gold Coast ritziest neighbourhoods — sits a depressing reality for teens on the street. This is what it’s like inside a ‘flop house.’
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NESTLED in the heart of Surfers Paradise at the doorstep of one of the Gold Coast ritziest neighbourhoods sits a depressing reality for homeless teens from the southeast.
On the corner of Markwell Avenue and the Gold Coast Highway is one of the Coast’s most notorious flop houses.
The Oak building was destroyed by fire in August 2015. Before that, the vacant building had become a well known haunt for homeless people.
Now, three years later, all that remains is a partially flooded underground car park, barricaded by a fence but easily accessible for teens and other homeless people.
The Bulletin ventured into the dank environment and found living conditions you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
Climbing through a partially torn down chain link fence, the eyes are drawn to an old mattress and a milk crate lying out in the elements. Rubbish is strewn across the place.
Turning to enter the underground car park, you are greeted by graffiti and garbage. Then, down the slippery stairs and climbing over a destroyed steel barrier, it takes a moment for the eyes to adjust to the darkness.
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The smell is one of the first things you notice – a mixture of garbage, smoke, wet materials and human waste.
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When the eyes adjust you see two tents have been set up on the far side of the car park. Mattresses lie haphazardly around the place and there is literally rubbish everywhere.
Every step is accompanied by a crunch underfoot – a mixture of broken glass, a few used syringes and everything from food waste to old fittings.
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There are wooden planks with nails hammered through, in what can be described as a crude booby trap to stop people stealing things.
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Water is seeping everywhere. It appears as if someone had turned on the fire hoses, as they have been run out. Rain water has pooled around the sides of the car park.
The walls of the haunt are covered with tags and other graffiti. Rubbish is piled into every corner, nook and cranny.
An old 44 gallon drum has become a makeshift fireplace for the colder Gold Coast nights.
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It is exactly what we thought we would find, but it remains confronting. Human beings are living here. They’ve made this their home.
Sources said this is mainly a place for homeless teens, forced out on to the streets because they aren’t safe in their own homes. Think about that for a minute. Kids as young as 12 would rather live in this squalor than at home. We should all collectively shudder at that thought.
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When I was 12, I was completely dependent on my parents. There is no way I could have survived in such conditions.
Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said he had recently been to a flop house, noting there were several across the Gold Coast, always close by to places where people could access services.
“I was in one (flop house) recently and found a father and two children in there. We were able to engage services, to give them some short-term housing. A lot of times the problem can be dealt with if they can be introduced to people that know how the system works and know where the opportunities are in those systems and hook them up with it,” Insp Hogan said.
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“We are noticing different flop houses. There are a number of those and by in large they tend to be fairly close to support facilities, such as local churches that can supply food and warm clothes.”
Morris Property Group, which owns the property, said it was not aware of homeless people living on the site. A spokesman said if they did know they would contact police.
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