{"id":86127,"date":"2025-08-21T23:38:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T23:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/86127\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T23:38:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T23:38:11","slug":"plea-to-make-parks-safe-again-in-sunshine-coast-town-grappling-with-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/86127\/","title":{"rendered":"Plea to make parks ‘safe again’ in Sunshine Coast town grappling with homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Saly has been sleeping rough in Nambour, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, for a month and she has already had $500 worth of camping gear stolen and her car trashed.<\/p>\n

“That was devastating … I’ve just found out from the mechanic it’s [the car] written off,” Ms Saly said.<\/p>\n

“That was my home.”<\/p>\n

\"Graffiti<\/p>\n

A growing number of homeless people are staying at Quota Park in Nambour. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Jessica Ross)<\/p>\n

The 46-year-old says she fled an abusive relationship in North Queensland and spent time on the streets there, but Nambour was “worse” and “really scary”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She found some respite when she was admitted to hospital this week with a knee injury.<\/p>\n

Ms Saly was among those who escaped the relentless rain for a warm shower and meal at the Nambour Community Centre on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\"Exterior<\/p>\n

The centre runs a drop-in service where people can have showers, wash their clothes and have something to eat. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Charlie Shelley)<\/p>\n

Huddled at another table, under a dripping marquee, sat Ken Cuthbert, who has lived in the town for 18 years.<\/p>\n

He has spent the past 16 months in his van after falling out with his family.<\/p>\n

“It’s unsafe at my age … when you’re camping a person of 78 needs a toilet, so I found a place where I can stay and the toilets are open all hours,” he said.<\/p>\n

“But I’m not supposed to be there. I can get moved on any time.”<\/p>\n

He is on the waiting list for public housing, but said that, because he has a van, he continues to slip further down the queue.<\/p>\n

“I don’t want a Taj Mahal building, you know? I just want somewhere with a roof over my head. Maybe a bit of electricity, a toilet and shower \u2014 that’s all I need,” he said.\"Man<\/p>\n

Ken Cuthbert said he felt particularly bad for women and children having to live on the streets. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Charlie Shelley)<\/p>\n

A growing problem<\/p>\n

The plight of homeless people in Nambour has been in the spotlight this week, with authorities meeting on Tuesday to tackle this issue.<\/p>\n

The talks follow a petition started by resident Helen Tagg calling on Sunshine Coast Council to make parks and public spaces “safe again”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It has attracted more than 1,500 signatures in less than three weeks. Nambour and surrounds had a population of about 22,500 at the last census<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Group<\/p>\n

The Sunshine Coast Mayor, Housing Minister, police and support services representatives held talks on Tuesday afternoon. (Supplied: Sunshine Coast Council)<\/p>\n

“I was a homeless teenager, 14 years old, kicked to the streets with a garbage bag and left to navigate the world,” Ms Tagg said.<\/p>\n

“I have a very deep understanding of what it is like.<\/p>\n

Council denies homeless camp destruction<\/a><\/p>\n

Moreton Bay Council says homeless people consented to leaving their tent sites and having their possessions thrown into a council rubbish truck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“But I also work in youth services and I’m talking to a lot of people who are afraid right now to walk through their parks.<\/p>\n

She said one of the issues was children “witnessing drug deals in front of our schools”.<\/p>\n

Community centre manager Ana Greenfield said many of the new faces in town had arrived from the Brisbane and Moreton Bay regions where councils were “coming down hard” on homeless people.<\/p>\n

“Nambour is such a giving, supportive community on the whole and it’s on the train line, so we’ve seen numbers increase significantly,” she said.<\/p>\n

She said the surge meant the centre had been forced to reduce its drop-in hours.<\/p>\n

\"Dog<\/p>\n

A dog named Matilda stays cosy at the community centre, while her owner grabs something to eat. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Charlie Shelley)<\/p>\n

“We couldn’t cope with the numbers anymore,” Ms Greenfield said.<\/p>\n

“Something needs to change … they’re constantly moved on, things get stolen all the time. They’re in a state of constant trauma.<\/p>\n

“It’s quite inhumane really, the way we are in a society that’s quite wealthy … I know we can do better.”\"Woman<\/p>\n

Ms Greenfield said housing with “wrap around” support was desperately needed. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Charlie Shelley)<\/p>\n

A complex problem to solve<\/p>\n

State Housing Minister Sam O’Connor said department staff had confirmed the rise in people sleeping rough in the town.<\/p>\n

“Those numbers, on the data that our teams have observed through their outreach, have basically doubled since May, so it is a significant concern for the Nambour community,” the minister said.<\/p>\n

\"Group<\/p>\n

The minister (second left) visited several parks in Nambour with council and department representatives. (Supplied.)<\/p>\n

He said “the people we’ve engaged with” had not indicated pressure from southern regions as a “major reason” for being on the Sunshine Coast, but he also conceded that “we don’t get to engage with everyone”.<\/p>\n

\"SC<\/p>\n

Ms Tagg handing the petition, which attracted more than 1,500 signatures, to Cr David Law. (Supplied.)<\/p>\n

“Some people won’t engage with services … but there’s a whole range of factors that contribute to this,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said his department would work with the council to find alternative sites in the short term, and did want to see better coordination across councils.<\/p>\n

“Long-term, the priority is to really grow our pipeline,” Minister O’Connor said.<\/p>\n

“We looked at the future of what supportive housing could look like \u2014 the type of housing that the people with these complex needs can have so they can sustain a long-term tenancy.”<\/p>\n

Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the council and state government would urgently identify safe locations with “wrap-around” services.<\/p>\n

“Council is listening to the Nambour community, the housing and homelessness sector,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Politicians<\/p>\n

Nicklin MP Marty Hunt, Mayor Rosanna Natoli, Housing Minister Sam O’Connor and Cr David Law were at the roundtable meeting. (Supplied: Sunshine Coast Council)<\/p>\n

Shifting up the rail line<\/p>\n

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said there had been “a more noticeable” increase in homeless people living in his town, and he believed 50-cent rail fares had also been a contributing factor.<\/p>\n

“These people generally don’t want to pay full price to move around. The challenge that we face is we have a lack of services,” Cr Hartwig said.<\/p>\n

He said some of the arrivals had drug dependencies and mental health issues.<\/p>\n

“Residents have raised safety concerns … there have been a number of community meetings and our police here are very, very proactive,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Mandatory detox is probably an option to consider from a state level because they do create a significant drain on a number of different government departments and resources.”\"Man<\/p>\n

Glen Hartwig says the town does not have enough services to support homeless people. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

Ms Greenfield said cost-of-living and housing pressures made homelessness a national issue, but applauded Sunshine Coast Council for tackling it compassionately.<\/p>\n

“We need to own our problems,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We need to be very considered in our approach, use the money wisely and have long-term sustainable solutions in the best interests of the whole community.”<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Ms Saly has praised Nambour Community Centre volunteers for their efforts in helping rough-sleepers. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Jessica Ross)<\/p>\n

Ms Saly said she was happy to speak about her situation because it was one anyone could find themselves in.<\/p>\n

“You could get hit by a car, you might lose feeling in your legs so you can’t work,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Anything can happen, so people should be mindful of that.”<\/p>\n

She said, despite her struggles, she was determined to get back on her feet.<\/p>\n

“I’m not dead so I’m alright, I’m surviving,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rebecca Saly has been sleeping rough in Nambour, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, for a month and she has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[11756,2610,43,55690,7694,10920,37103,64381,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-86127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-affordable-housing","9":"tag-cost-of-living","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-homeless","12":"tag-homelessness","13":"tag-housing-crisis","14":"tag-nambour","15":"tag-nambour-homeless","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-top-news","18":"tag-top-stories","19":"tag-topnews","20":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}