A SMALL Queenslander home on the corner of a street in Spring Hill has been a source of hope for many Brisbane residents when times are at their toughest.
Vinnies Queensland’s Spring Hill Support Centre has been helping those experiencing homelessness, poverty and family trauma for nearly 10 years – but with winter just around the corner, the requests for help continues to grow.
Vinnies’ Brisbane president Trish McMahon said with many vulnerable Brisbane residents currently on the losing end of a state-wide affordable rental shortage, the demand was getting higher.
“Every winter we see a spike in requests – we’re talking an additional 500 extra people or so during June, July and August,” Ms McMahon said.
“This rental crisis has seen an unprecedented number of requests for support with rising rent prices, on top of the usual requests we get through the colder months.”
According to stats from SQM Research, Brisbane experienced a residential vacancy rate of 1.4 per cent last month, the lowest since June 2007.
Ms McMahon said the Spring Hill Support Centre had stocked up on blankets and food hampers to distribute to locals doing it tough during winter but was concerned it would not be enough.
“Our food pantry is not exactly full and what we do have, we’ve mostly purchased it ourselves,” she said.
Vinnies Queensland recently launched its Winter Appeal to support Queensland families and individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness throughout the state.
On June 17, one of the coldest nights of the year, local business and community leaders will be doing their part by sleeping rough at the Vinnies CEO Sleepout event to raise more than $1 million for homelessness support services.
Ms McMahon said the support of Brisbane residents would go a long way in providing food, essentials, and blankets, as well as supporting the Vinnies team to find safe and secure accommodation for the city’s homeless.
In the last financial year, Vinnies Queensland’s homelessness services assisted 3,641 people in need across the state and provided more than 85,700 beds for crisis accommodation.
