By Margaret Maccoll
As well as a name change United Synergies will upgrade facilities and has launched a tiny house solution for youth homelessness in Noosa and a transitional housing project in Toowoomba to mark both National Homelessness Week and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of United Synergies.
Thirty years ago a group of committed individuals in Noosa set up the non-profit-organisation, United Synergies, to assist just six homeless young people.
Now called “You Turn youth support“ the organisation assists 6000 young people through its homelessness, child safety and mental health services.
“Our founders recognised there was a need on the Sunshine Coast and in particular the Noosa region,“ CEO Andrew Anderson said. “They got funding to help with Noosa accommodation. They were genuine community-minded people who wanted to help youth in the area. There was not a lot of services like it on the coast at the time. It just grew and grew.“
The organisation now has 180 workers covering the south-east regional corner of Queensland from Caboolture to Bundaberg in the north and Toowoomba in the west and operates a national suicide program.
Mr Anderson said in a partnership with Noosa Council, including a $60,000 grant, You Turn’s laundry and shower facilities in Ernest St, Tewantin would be upgraded with new showers, washing machines and dryers. He said the services were very important for people sleeping rough or sleeping in cars and the facilities were “in desperate need of an upgrade“.
In another partnership with Noosa Council You Turn aims to provide tiny house accommodation on a parcel of land and case management to assist young people to get their lives back on track in a project titled Big Hearts for Tiny Houses.
Mr Anderson said the organisation had been working with council for a site to locate tiny houses to be built by Coolum business Aussie Tiny Houses at a cost of $100,000 each.“We hope to raise $100,000 by Christmas for our first house,“ he said.
Their third initiative involves an investment by the organisation of $400,000 raised over many years to establish transitional accommodation for young people in the Toowoomba area.
Mr Anderson said young people aged up to 25 years came to the organisation in need of crisis and emergency accommodation and with help progressed to transitional accommodation before continuing on to the private market.
“This continuum of care is an incredibly important step to getting them back on their feet,“ he said.
Mr Anderson said it was difficult to gauge the number of young people in the region who were homeless or couch surfing.
He said Council figures estimate about 80 young people but You Turn provided about 200 people quarterly with emergency relief.
You Turn also provides mental health services from its five Headspace centres.
Through its child safety services the organisation runs a number of programs including foster and kinship care, residential care and intensive family support.
Anyone wanting to donate to the Big Hearts for Tiny Houses project to provide tiny house accommodation in Noosa can visit www.unitedsynergies.com.au/donation/
