What do we do tonight?
It’s the question that has repeatedly surfaced throughout the I Slept There Too campaign, as homelessness services grapple with a growing number of people sleeping rough while waiting months, and often years, for permanent housing.
While governments continue investing in long-term housing supply, community organisations say the crisis also demands proactive, immediate solutions that provide safety and dignity for people who have nowhere to sleep tonight.
One idea continuing to gain support is a volunteer-run overnight shelter bus, with successful models already operating in Hervey Bay, on the Sunshine Coast, in Redcliffe and Mackay.
As calls grow for a dedicated homeless shelter in Ipswich, support services believe a shelter bus could provide people sleeping rough with something many currently lack – a safe, warm place to sleep while they are connected with housing, health and support services.
The concept continues to prove successful through the Z Bus in Hervey Bay, where Rotary Hervey Bay City recently celebrated the service’s first year after former Sleepbus volunteers stepped in to keep the model alive when the national charity ceased operating.
“If Ipswich is considering something similar, we’re more than happy to share what we’ve learnt – the good and the bad,” organisers said.
“Every community is different and there’s no single blueprint, but we’d love to see more communities finding practical ways to support people doing it tough.”
The proposal comes after eight weeks of our campaign, which has spoken with street feed organisations, outreach groups, grassroots charities, former homeless people, frontline support workers, volunteers and organisations managing ever-growing social housing waiting lists.
Earlier in the campaign, St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland’s Ipswich Accommodation Support Service and East Street Supported Accommodation Program manager Tui Gordon said growing social housing waiting lists and a shortage of crisis accommodation had left vulnerable people with few safe alternatives.
“It’s terrible when someone comes in and you ask them, ‘Have they got a car?’ Because then at least they’ve got somewhere safe to sleep,” she said.
Helping Our Homies co-founder Kelly Dixon said a shelter bus would provide another practical option for people experiencing homelessness across Ipswich.
Goodna Street Life volunteer Ash, who experienced homelessness herself while raising three children, said the concept would have the greatest impact if it operated alongside housing providers and support services.
“Having immediate resources during their stay or support workers to move them into something permanent while accessing the service would be a huge plus,” she said.
“The rising cost of living has made it extremely difficult for families, single-parent households and elderly individuals to comfortably afford housing like they once could.”
Goodna Street Life believes governments must pursue immediate and long-term solutions simultaneously, with the organisation arguing that while every new affordable home is welcome and needed, the missing conversation is how communities keep people safe while those homes are still being built.
The 3 Dannys founder Daniel Fazakerley also backed the concept, while stressing it should complement investment in emergency accommodation and affordable housing.
“Anywhere safe out of the cold and off the streets, even if just for a night on a bus, is a good alternative until people are housed,” he said.
While a shelter bus is not a substitute for permanent housing, it could bridge one of the most significant gaps in the current system.
