Sharehouse opens safe shower and laundry facility for Townsville’s youth in need
Townsville’s youth in need now have a safe place to shower and wash their clothes, thanks to Sharehouse’s new dedicated facility, empowering them to regain confidence and independence. Find out more.
Townsville
Don't miss out on the headlines from Townsville. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The city’s youth in need now have a new dedicated shower and laundry to use thanks to a Townsville-based NGO.
Sharehouse opened the purpose built facility at its Aitkenvale premises for young people to feel safe as they shower and wash their clothes.
The NGO helps young people aged 16 to 25, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with accommodation supports and an employment training program.
Sharehouse CEO Lisa Hammond said what the organisation did was unique.
“The housing that we provide is independent living, but they’re still supported by a youth worker.
“So it’s sort of that middle step between a shelter and then fully independent living so we’re there to really teach the young people about living skills and support them with whatever they need help with.”
She said the new show and laundry and shower where much needed.
“We’ve just opened up a bathroom and laundry facility for young people where they can have a safe place to come and have a shower, use the washing machine the dryer at any time during business hours.
“So we found that there were a lot of young people coming through our doors, who were homeless, looking for accommodation, but they also hadn’t showered for several days because there isn’t actually a safe place for young people to shower in Townsville.
“There is a community hub but it’s for all ages, and you’ve got public showers but it’s not really safe for young person to go.”
She said it was essential that young people felt safe when showering and cleaning clothes.
“It’s so important and when you look at the fundamentals of hierarchy of needs – like not having a shower not feeling good about yourself.
She said it was a little thing that could make a big difference to a young person’s life.
“We have a lot of young people that are looking for work as well and they just they need that space to be able to refresh themselves and look and feel good, which then leads to other positive things and improves mental health overall.
She said there were many ways Sharehouse could help young people.
“There’s lots of things we can help people with. We’d really like young people to just come in, have a chat to us and we can sort of help you go from there and that it is a safe place to come into.”
She said the city’s youth needed a helping hand especially in the current housing crisis.
“Over the last six months we’ve seen 183 young people come into this office looking for housing.
“There’s been some other concerns that they’ve had such a cost of living, relationship breakdowns, domestic family violence and mental health.
“This will help those young people out a lot and we often find that young people are quiet and they will not speak up.
“So it’s really important that we have these welcoming services there to help these young people get back on their feet and re-emerge in society,” she said.
Fifteen-year-old Nova Raisherook said she was excited about the new shower and laundry and the NGO had helped her get back on her feet.
“If someone ever needs support, I know that this place is perfect place for it,” she said.
“It’s helped me personally get out and I’ve struggled with anxiety and social anxiety.
“These guys at Sharehouse have just pulled me out of that and they’ve taught me useful skills that I need to be able to progress in life.
“For example, employable skills, employability skills. They’ve helped me a lot with that, and I’m very grateful.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Sharehouse opens safe shower and laundry facility for Townsville’s youth in need
Power out: Crash at Bohle Plains leads to outage
A power outage has been reported at Bohle Plains after a car crashed into a power pole.
27k workers needed: Townsville recruitment campaign kicks off
A new campaign has kicked off to recruit 27,000 skilled workers to Townsville over the next five years to help deliver a $34bn pipeline of projects. Watch the video.