by Janine Hill

A SIT-IN  in Nambour’s town square aims to raise awareness of homelessness and draw support for plans to provide some shelter for those who need it.

Abigail Permewan, who has been without a home for four years, has been pushing for the council to allow the disused Fred Murray Building, in Currie Street, to be used as a homeless shelter or sanctuary.

She met with council staff and Division 10 Councillor David Law on 15 and 16 February to try and progress the idea.

“I need six councillors on-side,” said Abigail. “That building is sitting there full of rats but basically unused. So the rats have somewhere to go while we’re living in a flooded creek.

“They have said that they’re doing an analysis of the building. It was built in 1983 and is still zoned commercial,” she said. “It would have to be rezoned to be a homeless shelter and it would have to be brought up to standard.”

Abigail understands that getting the council to consider the idea is only the beginning of the battle. And, even if it were to agree to the building being used to shelter homeless people, more would need to be done to make the idea a reality. “The council doesn’t have the funds to refurbish it or run a homeless shelter.”

Dead ends

Abigail has attempted to make headway with the Housing Department but has not got the result she wants.

“They’ve put me back on the housing list and they offered me a night in a hotel but I’m not doing this for me. I’m past that,” she said.

“What about the other homeless people in the state? Right now, we’ve got a 72-year-old man with one leg living down at the park and he’s going to have to move all of his stuff because of this rain.”

Abigail said the sit-in, which will involve banners and tents in the square on the corner of Lowe and Short Streets, was simply designed to draw attention to the issue of homelessness and start conversations.

Although appreciative that Cr Law has always met with her and keen to maintain a working relationship with the council, she has been disappointed by the length of time it has taken for real action on homelessness.

A homelessness action plan passed by the council in July said there should be a review of public buildings and property which could be used for housing.

“Where is the review of government buildings?” she said.

She said a petition presented a year ago for a safe carpark for people to sleep in their cars, 24-hour access at a public toilet block, and a powerpoint so that homeless people could charge their phones had yet to yield a result.