Common Ground Queensland to launch on Gold Coast in bid to ease city’s homelessness crisis

It’s the scruffy side of our sunny city, its sad scenes not featured in the travel ads, which will see at least 300 people sleep rough on our streets tonight. Could this development be the answer?

It’s the scruffy side of our sunny city, its sad scenes not featured in the travel ads, which will see at least 300 people sleep rough on our streets tonight.

As a housing crisis grips the Gold Coast and homelessness spreads across the suburbs, a new project could hold the keys to help solve the problem for 200 or more people.

Common Ground Queensland hopes to use a supported housing model, which has been successful in capital cities across Australia, to get chronically homeless locals into permanent, secure and community-friendly accommodation.

Rather than just providing permanent accommodation for people who need it, Common Ground incorporates support services and encourages tenant independence, dignity and pride in their homes, to ensure they don’t slip back into homelessness.

Common Ground Brisbane tenant Nilima Harjal enjoys the rooftop garden in 2017. Picture: Renae Droop

The charity’s state-level board is packed with development, finance and political heavyweights including former Tourism Minister Kate Jones, Spyre Group CFO Michael Ryall and Flight Centre executive general manager Joell Ogilvie.

DBI Architects boss Barry Lee heads the nine-person Gold Coast board, which includes Ms Ogilvie, Southport MP Rob Molhoek and political advisor Matt Jutsum.

Brisbane Common Ground.

CEO Sonya Keep hopes the influential group can encourage the State Government and council to contribute land on which to build the new community.

Ms Keep said Southport was an ideal potential location for the project, as it had a high concentration of homeless people and was close to public transport, health services and employment opportunities.

“We know that if you put a solution where you’ve got a problem, that’s how you get the best response,” she said.

“There are also existing services there and we want to deliver a place for them to live in their community.”

Once a piece of land is secured, the design and capital raising processes can begin.

Homeless people store their belongings under a giant tarp in the middle of town at Nerang St Southport. Picture: Glenn Hampson

The foyer of the Brisbane Common Ground building.

Ms Keep said Common Good’s Brisbane community, established 10 years ago with 146 units, had proven the supported model was effective.

“We have seen in Brisbane and in every other capital city of Australia, the Common Ground model has worked well,” she said.

“People live there, they take pride in living there, and they do their best to stay there.”

Communities and Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch will launch the project next week.

For more information or to support the project, go to https://www.commongroundqld.org.au/goldcoast/