Safe Shelter ACT Information | Housing and homeless shelter

Safe Shelter ACT Information

Phone: +61 412 164 404

Address: 10 Fawkner St 2612

Website: www.mycommunitydirectory.com.au/Australian_Capital_Territory/Canberra/Accommodation_Services/Crisis___Emergency_Accommodation/21415/152055/Safe_Shelter_ACT_-_St_Columba_s_Braddon_-_Tuesday_to_Thursday_nights

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25.01.2022 The Safe Shelter ACT Committe held a meeting over the weekend in light of the unfolding COVID-19 situation. We have agreed that running shelters at the moment would put both volunteers and guests at risk. Therefore Safe Shelter will not be opening on April 26 and may not open at all this winter. We are very concerned about the situation facing those experiencing homelessness, as discussed in the attached media statement which is about to be distributed. We understand that safe Shelter will be involved in discussion with other agencies about what can be done to alleviate some of the problems. That may provide opportunities for Safe Shelter volunteers to join in that work. We will keep you informed.

25.01.2022 Male homelessness in the ACT The media statement in the photo album on Safe Shelter ACTs experience with male homelessness in the ACT shows that: In the first nine weeks of Winter 2019 Safe Shelter ACTs 118 volunteers have provided a safe place for homeless men, mainly from around Civic, to sleep every night of the week, for a total of 412 guest-nights. In Winter 2018 the equivalent total number was just 204.... Of the 49 individual homeless men who have been accommodated in the three Inner-North church halls, at this stage 37 have stayed for less than a week, suggesting that over 75% of all Safe Shelters guests have then found a pathway out of their situation. That seems to justify Safe Shelters aim to get them off the streets tonight. Safe Shelters figures demonstrate that the ACT has a growing homeless population, as can be seen around shopping centres not just beggars, but rough sleepers. A genuine, public, inquiry is needed, not just to establish total numbers for the ACT but also to find out why some men appear to be refusing to go into supportive accommodation.

24.01.2022 "Only" 41 guest-nights last week - its not all good news! Safe Shelter had only 41 guest-nights in Week 13 of this winter, so an average of just under 6 homeless men each night. The (slightly) warmer weather might have been the reason, but its more likely that the frozen homeless have given up on Canberra and are increasingly heading to QLD. That breaks their ACT residency so, when they do come back theyll have to wait six months to access ACT Government support, by which... time it will be winter again, and so on and on. The comparative numbers to the end of Week 13 are: 2019 - 626 guest-nights; whereas in 2018 there were only 330. The good news was the keen interest in Safe Shelter at a Community Shapers event at the White Eagle Club in Turner on Sunday, so we are building up the numbers to attend the final induction course for potential volunteers, on 20 & 21 August. That should get us through to the end of this winter, on 26 October. E-mail [email protected] if youd like details.

24.01.2022 Last night we hosted the first of our two-night induction sessions for the year. It was great to have a group of new volunteers attend and learn a bit more about Safe Shelter ACT. Tonight the new volunteers will meet some returning volunteers and practice setting up a shelter and admitting guests. A reminder that we are hosting another induction course for new volunteers in the evenings next week on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 March. For more information or to register your attendance please email [email protected]

23.01.2022 Safe Shelter is lucky enough to be receiving the sales proceeds from the Canberra BuyCycle this year, taking place this weekend! ____________________________________________________________ Bike registrations are NOW OPEN! Time to get rolling! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -... Now you can list your bike for Canberra Buycycle 4 and sell it at Canberras once a year bicycle frenzy market. Do you have a bike you would like to donate? If its in working order wed love to have it. Just head to www.canberrabuycycle.com.au You will be supporting a great cause too. This year the Rotary Club of Canberra has determined that sales proceeds from Canberra Buycycle will go towards our Safe Shelter for the Homeless project. More info on Safe Shelter here www.safeshelteract.org.au

23.01.2022 Poster In response to requests, a poster has been prepared about how to respond to the homeless in the ACT. You are welcome to download it to share with any friends or colleagues who ask you that question. You can download here: https://drive.google.com//15oefiyD3fXczIOa8LufmTryet/view

22.01.2022 Safe Shelter induction courses for volunteers start next Tuesday The first induction course for potential 2020 volunteers starts next Tuesday, 10 March. For more information, please e-mail [email protected]

22.01.2022 Whats Safe Shelter doing - 14 April? About 2 weeks ago we asked Vinnies, the Early Morning Centre and the Red Cross Roadhouse how they were going for hand sanitiser for the ACTs homeless coming in for food and support. They werent, so we were able to obtain a bulk supply via Emergency Services. Duncan Craig and a small team at the Salvation Army hall are managing its distribution. We later asked a number of agencies if they needed Backpack Beds as we had some available. S...ix have been transferred to Catholic Cares Assist program. GIVIT has donated a further 12 Backpack Beds, which should be on their way soon, so those will be offered where there is need.

21.01.2022 Meet another one of our wonderful Safe Shelter volunteers, Cath. Cath started volunteering with us this year. She says "I decided to volunteer at Safe Shelter as I was looking for an opportunity to contribute and give back to the Canberra community. I have found volunteering really rewarding so far. Giving someone safe place to sleep at night is just small thing we can do to help" Thanks to the efforts of Cath and all of our other amazing volunteers, we are able to keep Safe Shelter running until the end of October this year!

19.01.2022 How did the cold snap affect the rough sleepers? Just when our volunteers were thinking that numbers of homeless men coming through the doors of the shelters might be returning to last years levels, last weeks cold snap drove the shelters back up to Full House levels. 53 guest nights last week versus 44 in the same week last winter, and a total so far this winter of 720 guest-nights versus 414 in 2018. The need is clear. If you would like to learn more about doing one night a month in a shelter in September and October to finish off this winter, please e-mail [email protected] for details of whats involved and come to our final induction course, on 20 & 21 August.

17.01.2022 What's Safe Shelter doing - 14 April? About 2 weeks ago we asked Vinnie's, the Early Morning Centre and the Red Cross Roadhouse how they were going for hand sanitiser for the ACT's homeless coming in for food and support. They weren't, so we were able to obtain a bulk supply via Emergency Services. Duncan Craig and a small team at the Salvation Army hall are managing its distribution. We later asked a number of agencies if they needed Backpack Beds as we had some available. S...ix have been transferred to Catholic Care's Assist program. GIVIT has donated a further 12 Backpack Beds, which should be on their way soon, so those will be offered where there is need.

17.01.2022 Life on the streets Read this mornings Canberra Times article by Sherryn Groch here - https://www.canberratimes.com.au//a-kind-of-ptsd-what-its/

16.01.2022 Safe Shelter for homeless men is getting ready to open in the city at the start of winter, on 26 April, and will close on 31 October. All Saints Anglican Church in Ainslie will open on Sunday and Monday nights. St Columbas Uniting Church, in Braddon, will open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, and the Salvation Army Canberra City Corps will provide its hall on Friday and Saturday nights. Shelters open at 7.00 pm and guests leave by 07.00 am. Each shelter will be sta...ffed by at least two volunteers, one a male, who sleep in the halls with the homeless men. Their aim is simply to run a safe place of shelter. They are normally supported by a third volunteer who helps run the shelter until Lights Out at 10.00 pm. Each volunteer commits to doing one self-selected night each month in one of the shelters. About 130-150 volunteers will be required. New volunteers attend a two-evening induction course before they decide whether they wish to volunteer. They are joined on the second night of their course by returning volunteers, who attend as a refresher and to reassure the new volunteers. Please e-mail [email protected] for details, to decide whether you would like to attend a course and learn more.

15.01.2022 The wattle trees are in bloom and the Floriade promotions are out; spring is here! The start of spring does not guarantee the end of cold nights in Canberra nor does it mean there are no rough sleepers! The need for Safe Shelter can be clearly demonstrated in the significant increase in guest nights this year compared to the same time last year. See the attached article and graph for more information! Based on previous years demand, and the fact that providing rough sleeper...s with somewhere warm and safe overnight can be the first step in reducing homelessness, Safe Shelter will be operating for longer this year. Our wonderful volunteers will keep the shelter open until the end of October! If you are interested in becoming a volunteer yourself, we will not be running any more induction sessions in 2019 but you can register your interest for 2020 by emailing [email protected] See more

15.01.2022 This week is national Anti-Poverty week, a week to reflect on the various experiences of poverty in our country and advocate for structural and policy changes which will help lift people out of poverty. As part of this GIVIT have produced a podcast series called "Unlikely" in which four different Canberrans share their story, their tipping points into poverty and their pathway to a better life. One of the women featured is a young woman who at the age of 15 experienced homele...ssness for the first time. Her story in particular highlights many of the challenges those without somewhere safe to sleep face and the gaps and barriers in terms of services available. You can listen to the Unlikely series on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xDSvVK85qmSNmr7XF16Zk Find out more about Anti-Poverty week in Canberra here: https://www.actcoss.org.au//media-release-anti-poverty-wee

15.01.2022 Induction courses for potential volunteers at Safe Shelter are currently planned to go ahead, at least for the next few weeks - keeping 1.5 m apart though! There will be a meeting of our Coordinating Committee this coming weekend to discuss what Safe Shelter should do about opening in 2020, particularly in the light of the Prime Ministers indication that the nation should plan for severe restrictions for at least six months. Amongst other things, that meeting will address wh...ether, and for how long, to continue running induction courses in an effort to build up at least a core of volunteers ready for when the shelters can be re-opened. Anyone who would like to attend the induction course planned for 24 & 25 March should e-mail [email protected] for details of being a volunteer. Please have a thought for what might happen to the sleeping-rough homeless during the coming epidemic. They have no dwellings, often no medical facilities to turn to, and cant really self-isolate, can they?

14.01.2022 The 2019 Safe Shelter report is now available! This year, Safe Shelter was open from April to October, staffed by our 134 wonderful volunteers. Together, they provided shelter to men experiencing homelesness for a total of 1,279 guest nights. On average, the duration of stay (for guests staying 7 nights or more) was a lot higher than in previous years. You can read more about this in the report: https://drive.google.com//1DQxWSnsI5kUgczDSr3csNhAQh/view

13.01.2022 How to respond to the homeless in the ACT A common question is how should I respond if I see a homeless person or, at least, someone begging on the streets? The first point is that your $5 or $10 is going to do very little to help them. Unless they can get a regular $100-150 every day, begging is not going to get them into even a caravan park and fed, long term.... You can do five useful things for them: First thing - ask them if they are hungry or need a hot drink. If they say yes, then: Second thing - go and get it for them, then: Third thing - ask them if they are in touch with the ACTs central referral agency - One Link 1800 176 468. Try to convince them to stay in touch with One Link, so that their details stay in the system. (Otherwise, One Link will assume that their problem has been solved.) Fourth thing - ask them if they know to go to the Early Morning Centre (Uniting Church, 69 Northbourne Avenue, just south of Barry Drive) by about 07.30 am on weekdays, to get breakfast and then get help to connect with support agencies and facilities, like Centrelink, doctors, showers, etc. The Early Morning Centre should also tell new rough sleepers to go to the Red Cross Roadhouse, in the Griffin Centre, for an evening meal. Fifth thing - youve done the fifth thing already, havent you? You have spoken with a pretty lonely, probably scared, person and treated them as a real live fellow human being.

13.01.2022 Safe Shelter currently has over 130 volunteers, all of various ages and from diverse backgrounds. We would not be able to provide warm, safe shelter over the winter time without them! We would like you to meet some of our volunteers who give up their time so generously! Our first volunteer who we would like to introduce is Dylan. 2019 is Dylans first year as a Safe Shelter volunteer. About his volunteering Dylan says: I got involved with Safe Shelter from the recommendation... of a friend. I wanted to find a volunteer position that I would have a direct impact on people and Safe Shelter has give me that. Theres nothing more fulfilling than providing a safe place for people doing it tough to have. I love having a coffee and chat with our guests and hearing their amazing stories, its very heart warming. Thank you Dylan and to all of our wonderful volunteers!

13.01.2022 Our Safe Shelter volunteers have been invited to the launch of an incredible art exhibition by Caroline Ambrus "Homelessness - we all own it" on October 10, coinciding with World Homelessness Day. Refreshments will be provided at the event. Attendees are asked to bring a gold coin or canned food donation. More details in the event page below.

12.01.2022 Another bad but good week 50 guest-nights last week, taking the total for the first seven weeks of this winter to 309, compared with 171 for the first seven weeks of winter 2018. Last year, even 40 guest-nights in a week was considered a large number and not reached until late July.... There were no incidents, no nastiness reported, just everyone in survival mode trying to get some sleep and staying warm overnight.

11.01.2022 It aint as easy as it sounds! Recent media coverage suggests providing shelter for the homeless in empty buildings, shipping containers, and the like. Its not that easy and it takes a lot of time. There are planning laws and Building Code regulations to negotiate BEFORE a site or building can be modified and then insured to allow people to sleep there. Then you need a governance structure to provide insurance to protect those who run the shelter; then you need to train the...m and administer their work so they stay safe. If anyone would like to read exactly what hoops, and why, Safe Shelter ACT had to jump through, please e-mail [email protected] and blow your mind as you read the 4-page article.

10.01.2022 Safe Shelter is very happy to be of support to our South Coast and Snowy Mountains neighbours who have evacuated to Canberra. Sleeping bags and swags from our reserves for next winter have been handed out to evacuees at Queanbeyan Showground. It is wonderful to see the generous spirit of the Canberra community at a time like this, keep up the wonderful work everybody. Please note that at this time we do not need any additional supplies as our storage space is very limited.

08.01.2022 Safe Shelter has now closed for the year! A massive thank you to our 134 volunteers who have kept the Shelter open every night since April! You helped support 111 guests over 1,279 guest nights. Having somewhere warm and safe to sleep at night has made a huge difference to these men! Thank you so much. Please find attached the final Guest Night graph and Wrap Up Media Release if you would like more information about guest numbers etc..

07.01.2022 Week 8 - the trend continues Safe Shelter ACT had 50 "guest-nights" in the eighth week of this winter, for a total of 359 guest-nights for Winter 2019. In the eighth week of Winter 2018 there were 19 guest-nights, to make a total for those eight weeks of 190 guest-nights. Clearly, something has changed for the ACT, and not for the better.

07.01.2022 What's Safe Shelter doing - 6 May? The Early Morning Centre asked the Rough Sleeper working group if any member organisation could assist with warm jackets. Vinnies was able to help, but only in the following week. Safe Shelter had some of the superb Knights of St John of Malta long, waterproof jackets so offered six in the interim. On checking with the Red Cross Roadhouse, it was found that they needed some too, so both deliveries were arranged for Friday 1 May. While that w...as being done, a transport company delivered 30 boxes of Backpack Beds (4 to each box!) to the Salvation Army hall in Braddon, to everyone's surprise. On checking, it was found that they were supposed to have been delivered to Vinnies' Street to Home storage, up the road. On Tuesday, 5 May, a small working group of Vinnies and Safe Shelterers moved them. Meanwhile the Red Cross Roadhouse requested more hand sanitiser and 4 of Safe Shelter's Backpack Beds as an interim measure.

06.01.2022 Get them off the streets tonight! There are two main points in the attached media statement: To 3 August 2019, Safe Shelters three inner city shelters, in halls at St Columbas and the Salvation Army in Braddon and All Saints in Ainslie, have provided shelter for 667 guest-nights. In the same 14 weeks in 2018, Safe Shelters volunteers provided 370 guest-nights.... and In all of Winter 2018, a total of 95 men stayed in Safe Shelter in those 23 weeks, with 50 men, or 53%, staying for 7 nights or less. So far in 2019, after just 14 weeks of this winter, a total of 75 men have stayed in Safe Shelter, with 55, or 73%, staying for 7 nights or less. Only 11 have stayed for more than 3 weeks and 4 of those have not stayed at Safe Shelter in the last 4 weeks. Obviously Safe Shelter is not a "solution" to homelessness, but it is a first step away from sleeping on the streets and most of the men are taking that step.

06.01.2022 Next induction course for potential volunteers The next induction course will be on 2 & 3 July, 7-9.00 pm. To learn whats involved, please e-mail [email protected]

06.01.2022 This year, so far, Safe Shelter has accommodated 102 individual guests; each with their own unique experience and stories. Last night one of our guests left this lovely note for our volunteers. We are lucky that he was happy to share a bit of his own story but the note powerfully demonstrates just how vital the work of our volunteers is to providing a warm, safe shelter to people struggling to get by in our own community.

05.01.2022 A sad record last week In the 10th week of this winter, Safe Shelter ACTs volunteers provided 57 guest-nights to homeless men, a very unwelcome record. The total for this winter is now 469 guest-nights. In the same 10 weeks in 2018 it was 221, and we thought things were bad then!... One piece of good news is that of our current total of 125 volunteers, 91 are returning volunteers from previous winters, which says something about how they feel about what they achieve! Volunteers sign up for just one winter at a time and do one self-selected night per month in a shelter. A second piece of good news is that over 70% of guests have stayed for less than a week, which suggests that they have been able to use their shelter accommodation to find a better alternative. The next two-evening induction course for anyone who might consider volunteering will be 23 & 24 July. Please e-mail [email protected] for details.

05.01.2022 Yesterday was World Homeless Day, a day in which people around the globe reflect and advocate for those with nowhere safe to call home. In Canberra, there are currently about 1,600 people experiencing homelessness and a further 26,000 living below the poverty line who are at potential risk of homelessness. There are many ways in which you can assist those without a home in your local community:... - Volunteer for Safe Shelter. Think about volunteering once a month from April to October to keep our shelters open. Our next induction courses will be held in March next year - keep an eye on our Facebook page for dates etc. - Donate to Safe Shelter or another homelessness service in Canberra. Many services rely on financial donations and material aid from the community. Contact us via messenger to see if you can help! - Use your voice to advocate for structural and policy changes that will help end homelessness. There are some great suggestions on the Council to Homeless Persons website of campaigns that you can join: https://chp.org.au/take-action/ See more

04.01.2022 ACT support for bushfire evacuees The following has been provided by Volunteering ACT and ACTCOSS: The ACT Government and community partners have today (Thursday, 2 Jan) established an emergency relief centre at Dickson College - Phillip Avenue, Dickson ACT. ... The centre is now open and will provide essential emergency support to people travelling through Canberra from the South Coast, or other bushfire affected areas, on their way home. It will remain open until midnight tonight (Thursday 2 January) . Should you receive requests for emergency support for this purpose today or tonight, please direct people to the Dickson College relief centre. The Government is also working to coordinate support for Canberrans who are returning from bushfire affected areas requiring personal support. We will update you as soon as we receive further details on these services. If you have any questions please contact Stephanie Crosby, ACTCOSS Operations Manager on 0422 007 205.

03.01.2022 Safe Shelter ACT is still working hard to come up with alternative ways to support Canberrans experiencing homelessness in light of service suspension due to COVID-19. We are extremely concerned about the lack of support available for vulnerable community members, particularly those sleeping rough, as highlighted in this article: https://www.abc.net.au//coronavirus-while-being-h/12102122

02.01.2022 Whats Safe Shelter doing - 6 May? The Early Morning Centre asked the Rough Sleeper working group if any member organisation could assist with warm jackets. Vinnies was able to help, but only in the following week. Safe Shelter had some of the superb Knights of St John of Malta long, waterproof jackets so offered six in the interim. On checking with the Red Cross Roadhouse, it was found that they needed some too, so both deliveries were arranged for Friday 1 May. While that w...as being done, a transport company delivered 30 boxes of Backpack Beds (4 to each box!) to the Salvation Army hall in Braddon, to everyones surprise. On checking, it was found that they were supposed to have been delivered to Vinnies Street to Home storage, up the road. On Tuesday, 5 May, a small working group of Vinnies and Safe Shelterers moved them. Meanwhile the Red Cross Roadhouse requested more hand sanitiser and 4 of Safe Shelters Backpack Beds as an interim measure.

01.01.2022 Not quite what you might have expected, but a pretty bad week overall! You might have thought that Safe Shelter ACT would have had its greatest demand on Friday night - cold, wet and a howling westerly. In fact the volunteers accommodated "only" eight homeless men that night. Experience in previous years suggests that some choose to stay in dry spots around Civic, rather than walking up to a shelter when the weather is so foul. The main message, however, was that Safe Shelter... ACT had yet another all-time record this week - 61 guest-nights - for a total for the first 11 weeks of this winter of 530 guest-nights. In Winter 2018 the numbers were: 19 for the week and 221 for the 11 weeks. (2018s numbers did pick up somewhat after that, but to nothing like this years numbers so far.) The 2019 numbers may level off if the homeless men start heading towards Queensland but, of course, they would then not meet ACT residency requirements and so not be entitled to any accommodation support for several months after returning to Canberra.