Gympie Vinnies, Salvation Army shares support for homeless shelter

Community groups now say growing homelessness caused by inadequate welfare housing and the rental squeeze has become the biggest issue facing this region, and the chorus calling for a dedicated homeless shelter here is getting louder.

Gympie Salvos and Gympie Vinnies are in support of a homeless shelter being built in Gympie, and are backing Gympie woman Marlene Owen in her fight for it to happen.

Gympie woman and homelessness advocate Marlene Owen has gained the support of community groups in the region to build a shelter for the growing homeless population.

The Gympie Times spoke with Mrs Owen on September 6, where she said she was in the process of starting a committee to build a homeless shelter in Gympie.

The Gympie Times spoke with two community organisations known for helping the homeless in the region - Gympie Salvation Army and Gympie Vinnies - on the issue and asked if they were in support of Mrs Owen’s initiative.

Gympie Salvation Army Family store manager Leigh Davison said she would love to see a homeless shelter built in Gympie, especially given the increase in the number of people living rough.

Leigh Davison (second from the left) said she would love to see a homeless shelter in Gympie.

The Salvation Army is one community organisation in Gympie giving some help to the homeless, by providing showers and food.

“We provide showers, and towels and toiletry packs in the mornings,” Ms Davison said.

“Most days we can provide a breakfast for them as well.”

She said the Salvos also assisted with welfare needs, such as issuing gift cards to purchase food.

However, Gympie Salvos cannot provide accommodation, and instead offer to relocate those seeking shelter to Brisbane.

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“We can provide accommodation everywhere but Gympie; it’s really bad,” she said.

“It’s the biggest issue I think this town has got.”

“When you see young families who have nowhere to go, it just breaks your heart.”

She said while she is in full support of a homeless shelter in Gympie, the project needs to be done correctly in order to be sustainable.

“You’d have to have people do a shift change through the night, you can’t leave them not supervised at all, there has to be some sort of supervision,” she said.

Gympie Vinnies Vice President Mary Condon agreed with Ms Davison and said she was in full support of a homeless shelter in Gympie, but it needed to be conducted correctly to be sustainable.

Mary Condon said she also supports the idea of a homeless shelter, but it needs to be sustainable. Photo Greg Miller / The Gympie Times

“The number of homeless is definitely growing,” she said.

“You don’t have to be out on the streets, you can be couch-surfing, living in an inadequate dwelling, could be a shed, a van in someone’s property.”

Gympie Vinnies does a number of things to support the homeless in the region, including food, clothing and depending on funding, can help with bills such as car registration or rent.

Mrs Condon said the organisation also placed those desperate for accommodation into motels temporarily, but that also depended on funding.

She said Gympie’s homeless problem has multiple prongs to it, including inadequate welfare housing and the rental squeeze.

“The current boom in housing means people are capitalising and selling houses and turfing out tenants who thought they had some security,” she said.

She said she thought Gympie had the potential to solve the problem efficiently if everyone involved worked together.

“I think it’s needed, I think it’s a great idea, but it needs to be done properly with the adequate surrounds,” she said.

Originally published as Gympie Vinnies, Salvation Army shares support for homeless shelter