Tara Murray
Sometimes it is about providing a meal. Other times it’s just about providing an ear to listen to what’s going on.
For local organisation, Inspire Hope the main focus is just making sure those who find themselves homeless are not alone.
The organisation’s Tamara Carr said for many people who are homeless, it is a very lonely place.
“We find out where they need to go and what services they need,” she said. “If we can build that bridge for them, we will.
“We try to put things in place for them. The journey can be hard, lonely and sad. We try to come in and provide some love to them.”
Ms Carr said there were a range of different things they looked to do for people who were homeless.
It might be helping them find housing, providing items and food or helping with identification.
Inspire Hope set up a local support program in St Albans last year to help residents who were in need.
Ms Carr said they had seen more people needing help as a fall out of the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
She said without the extra money in the JobSeeker payment, many people were struggling financially and didn’t know where their food was coming from.
“There are so many amazing services in Sunshine, but not a lot in St Albans for those people.
“We do not always know what capabilities some people have to get transport.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of people needing help due to COVID for different reasons.
“We’ve seen an increase in violent domestic relationships as a fall out of the pandemic and we’re seeing unstable housing.”
Inspire Hope has just started a weekly lunch at the Tin Shed in St Albans.
Ms Carr said the space being provided by the Tin Shed, was a safe space where someone could go for a few hours.
There were five people at the first lunch, with one woman saying it was the first time she had drunk a hot cup of tea in months.
They also run a fortnightly lunch on Sundays at a different location in St Albans.
While the lockdown halted those lunches, Ms Carr said they were still looking for ways to support those people.
“We do know where some of them ‘live’ and we take food out to them, so they still get a hot lunch.
“We check if they need anything and we say we’ll see you in a couple of days. Interaction is a big part of what we do.”
