The face of homelessness in Cairns is changing says, Wheels of Wellness CEO

Homelessness is impacting ordinary people at record rates in Cairns, according to the boss of a leading support service.

Wheels of Wellness clients receive respite services at the hub. Picture: Supplied

Homelessness is impacting ordinary people at record rates in Cairns, according to the boss of a leading support service.

Queensland Council of Social Service statistics show homelessness in Queensland has risen by 22 per cent, compared to 8 per cent across Australia.

In regional Queensland the situation is even more dire where demand for specialist homelessness services increased by 29 per cent.

Wheels of Wellness chief executive Alister Keyser said more people were using their services.

“We are seeing a lot more homelessness in general in Cairns and it looks like the face of homelessness is changing in our community,” Mr Keyser said.

“I had a fellow that came in some months ago, I had a chat with him.

“He was new to Cairns and had recently lost his job and lost his home, he had never been homeless before and he looked well dressed and put together, you wouldn’t guess he didn’t have a place to live.

Staff, volunteers and clients at the Wheels of Wellness hub. Picture: Supplied

“Out on the street we are seeing more and more of this happening, you head out to a place like Rosies down at Barlow Park and what you will find is an increasingly different kind of cohort.

“We are hearing about more and more people sleeping in their cars and people coming up from the South East thinking they may have an easier time here.

“Ultimately, we are seeing a subtle shift.”

Wheels of Wellness has received additional funding from The Lady Bowen Trust to provide basic items such as blankets, sleeping bags, clothes, and underwear as well as expand its health services to include dental care.

“Our team noted there is a big gap in oral health among our clients,” Mr Keyser said.

“You can imagine when you are living on the street, brushing your teeth and looking after your oral hygiene is probably not your big priority.

Wheels of Wellness clients wait for the hub to open in the morning. Picture: Supplied

“Unfortunately we know poor oral health is related to worse health outcomes.”

Mr Keyser said the plan was to identify high priority clients and add dental services through their GPs and nurses so they can get the help they need including for chronic issues.

Mr Keyser said there needed to be a shift in the way the public think about the homeless as the situation gets more dire.

“The general community has a broad idea of what they think homelessness looks like and I think we as a community need to understand it is not necessarily always accurate,” he said.

“People can be homeless for a whole heap of reasons and just because you are homeless you are no less deserving of support.
“Do I actually think it is going to get worse? I think it will.

“That’s why we need to all be working together to try and arrest it at the root cause.

“As tough as it is, I don’t think people will stop trying and that is a great thing about our community.”

Originally published as The face of homelessness in Cairns is changing says, Wheels of Wellness CEO