The recent Brisbane floods brought devastation to the lives and homes of so many people, and the most vulnerable members of our community in particular are still recovering.
The HART4000 team had been working to secure more affordable housing for Kylie-Maree, who was living in a granny flat and spending her entire income on rent, when the weather crisis hit and completely flooded her home. HART4000 intervened to provide emergency relief, advocacy and housing assistance, supporting Kylie-Maree every step of the way out of crisis. Now she is thriving in her new social housing property and embracing her renewed sense of self-sufficiency.
Our HART4000 outreach workers first met Kylie-Maree in September 2021 when they were attending various boarding houses in Brisbane to engage with people needing assistance. At the time, Kylie-Maree was staying in an unsafe boarding house where she had suffered assault, and prior to this, she had spent six months living in a domestic violence shelter. HART4000 allocated Kylie-Maree a Homelessness Intervention Worker who assisted her to move out of the boarding house and into a hotel, after which she sourced a granny flat for a more permanent residence. However, this proved to be financially unsustainable for her.
Kylie-Maree lives with ongoing mental and physical health challenges that are compounded by the complex trauma she has experienced. Her Homelessness Intervention Worker advocated to the Department of Housing to move Kylie-Maree into social housing, and both were working towards the goal of social housing when the Brisbane floods surged, flooding her granny flat in Rocklea beyond repair. She was forced to flee her residence with only one small box of personal possessions and her assistance dog.
With the assistance of the HART4000 team, Kylie-Maree safely accessed one of the evacuation centres, and soon afterwards she secured long-term social housing in inner city Brisbane through a Community Housing Provider. Kylie-Maree also received a Kmart voucher through Brisbane City Council’s “My House My Home” grant to help her purchase new household items. She is now happily settled in her new home and has secured ongoing disability support through the NDIS.
Communify’s HART4000 team is committed to helping people find the homes that are right for them, and following a natural disaster, our housing assistance work has become more crucial than ever for our community. Click here to learn more.