Gold Coast housing crisis: Cruel reality facing people living in tents

The surprise burst of wet weather to hit the Gold Coast this week provided a cruel reminder of one of the most serious issues facing the city, writes Keith Woods.

The weather this week has been a bit of a shocker.

Sudden gusts of wind and heavy downpours are not what we expect in August.

For most of us, it’s a minor inconvenience. It means a little extra traffic on the school run. A battle to keep dry when walking the dog.

If you’re one of the thousands looking forward to the Pacific Airshow this weekend, you’ll have your fingers and toes crossed that the skies clear in time.

But these are minor inconveniences, insignificant to what I observed earlier this week.

As another downpour began, a middle-aged woman was hurrying to get possessions inside a group of tents.

Such is the impact of wet weather when you’re homeless.

Tents in the Southport CBD during a week of wet weather

I’ll never forget, two years ago, receiving a late-night phone call from a man I had been in contact with.

A man in his late fifties who, until just a few weeks prior, had lived a comfortable life.

But forced out of the unit he was renting, and unable to find another at a reasonable price, he had at that point been living a couple of weeks in his car, parking mostly on the Esplanade in Surfers Paradise.

I’d been trying to connect him with services, but he was too proud to join the masses needing help.

He had been keeping his chin up, convinced his situation was only a temporary setback which would soon be just an unpleasant memory.

But that night he finally cracked. Why? Because it had been raining heavily for two days.

Try as he might, all his clothes were damp. And when you’ve got a damp car, with damp clothes for a couple of days, then there is nothing you can do to control that smell.

All he wanted was a shower. Clean and dry clothes. A bed for the night.

Orange Sky volunteers working at a community hub in Southport. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

I was reminded of this unfortunate man as I passed that group of tents this week, where the woman was battling the effects of the rain.

Amid concerns being expressed recently about tents popping up in very public locations in Southport and the southern Gold Coast, it reminded me that our first response must always be compassion.

One group which has long since learnt these lessons is the extraordinary and invaluable Orange Sky, which provides laundry and shower services for people experiencing homelessness from a base in Southport.

What they give people is not just clean clothes, but friendship and dignity.

“We can value our service in its material and operational costs, but what you can’t put a price on is someone’s wellbeing,” co-founder and CEO Lucas Patchett said recently.

“We know a fresh set of clothes and a hot, safe shower can make you feel so much better, however, if one of our friends leaves an Orange Sky shift with a smile on their face and feeling a little bit more connected, then that’s how we know we’ve truly done our job.”

The night that man called me in distress I was out of town.

There was little I could do but point him in the direction of the right services.

On that occasion that included encouraging him to call Lifeline.

Often as we see the growing number of homeless people on our streets, we may also feel that sense of helplessness.

But there are things we can do

Groups like Orange Sky are doing superb work. The unpleasant weather this week – a mere inconvenience for most of us – was a timely reminder of why they need our support.

For more information on Orange Sky and how you can help visit orangesky.org.au

Follow @keithjwoods