“We have such a beautiful community. We live in paradise. We see not everyone has the opportunity to enjoy food, safety and security,“ Noosa Salvation Army captain Matthew Gluyas told guests at their annual Red Shield Appeal breakfast at Peppers Noosa Resort & Villas.
Speakers talked about skyrocketing cost of living pressures and the increasing needs of people in Noosa for help, both monetary and emotionally.
One story by Capt Gluyas captured the reality some people are facing.
“A few weeks ago I was collecting for the Red Shield Appeal in Noosa. I saw a lady who looked quite broken, dishevelled. She started to walk closer. ’I’m homeless, can you help me,’“ she told him.
“It’s not as simple as handing her money,“ he said.
“I said have you had breakfast? No I haven’t eaten in a while, she said.“ So they sat down for a coffee and some food.
“Grace (not her real name) started to share her story. She was in her 50s. She’d lost the job she’d had for many years. They told her she was no longer needed. Her life spiralled out of control. She felt a sense of hopelessness.
“It influenced her relationships. Her marriage fell apart. Her husband became abusive. She had to flee her marriage. She had to live in the streets. She was now sleeping an an alleyway between shops. With a dirty, tear-streamed face she said, ’what hope is there for me’.
“I sat for a while and thought, what hope is there? I know the competition for housing. I held her hand and said, there is hope. I’m not going to let go until I’ve found it.
“Hope is there. Yesterday she told me she had found long term accommodation.
“In our nation we’re in a hope crisis.
“We’re committed to build a web of hope so no one struggles alone.
“We see isolation despair, hopelessness, homelessness, violence and abuse. They walk in our doors every day feeling all hope is lost. We are a community of hope.“
Capt Gluyas spoke of the generosity in the Noosa community.
“Last year we helped 150 people in the Christmas appeal. Hundreds have been helped with funds. Thousands supported with food, hundreds helped with shelter, school kids going to school with food in their bags. Our school program has helped over 20 students re-engage in the school program. “We’ve just had the gift of a cafe – a place for training … a great space to be together.
“We continue to expand the web of hope. We will not give up until everyone has the opportunity to thrive in life.“
Salvation Army district officer Major Neil Clanfield said it was humbling to see so many at the breakfast who wanted to help.
“The Salvos began in 1880 in a park in Sydney,“ he said.
“We are widely known for our uniforms, our op shops, our indiscriminate support. In 1960s the door knock appeal began. It enabled people to volunteer to raise money for the Salvos. Today we do less door knocking and more events like this.
“The past 12 months has been very difficult for many in our community with increasing house prices, skyrocketing prices, rents increasing, shortages of housing, costs of living at crisis point. People have to make difficult decision between purchasing their medications, paying school fees or putting food on the table. We see this in the community, people living in tents and cars, parents looking for cheaper groceries and taking their kids out of sport because they can’t afford it.
“We’re confident people will give us funds to ensure people in this region do not need to struggle alone and get the help they need.
“We can only do what we can do because of you.“
Local business owner Penelope Lena of Bridgestone Noosa, who recently took over the chair of Noosa Salvation Army fundraising committee from John Madill after his many years in the role, said a fundraising auction held last week at Boiling Pot raised $38,910 with all the money going toward those in need in our community.
“We’ve found people want to be involved,“ she said.
Small business commissioner Dominique Lamb spoke to the audience about her role supporting small businesses and advocating to government for them.
There are 473,000 small business across Queensland contributing $119 billion to the Queensland economy, she said.
“Businesses in our community play a huge role in our work with the Salvos, in a charitable role, but many are struggling themselves.
“We take calls from businesses having problems with landlords, living in their cars, experiencing domestic violence. It’s getting harder and harder.
“The top three issues are skills shortages, when they do find employees they can’t house them and the cost of living. Everything has gone up – electricity, insurance, labour, freight. They say we’d like to pay staff more but our margins are shrinking. We’re scared about our survival.“
Dominique said there were a raft of services and funding grants available to assist businesses – free financial advice, free mentoring, small business grants.
“If you’re looking for support make sure you reach out. A lot of small business people spend so much time working on their business they don’t have time to look out,“ she said.
But the situation was not all doom and gloom.
Dominique also spoke about new Queensland initiatives including the creation by NASA of a heavy lifting port going into Cape York and the upcoming Olympics, for example, that will bring jobs, opportunities and investment to the region, she said.
Sunshine Coast Individualised Learning and Support (SCILS) teacher Sally spoke about the program established in partnership with Noosa Salvation Army and Noosa District State High School that has been running for the past eight years to help students struggling in mainstream education to thrive.
SCILS teacher Sally said students were referred to them for a plethora of reasons – they might not be in a good place, it might be anxiety, having panic attacks.
“We call it a reset for school. We don’t have assessments. We give them online literacy and numeracy and outdoor life skills.
We give advice, be supportive, be consistent. We do stuff like basketball, eat together, have conversations, that’s when the stories come out. There’s reasons behind their behaviour, she said.
“The biggest challenges are family structure, technology, social media, housing. We have a couple living in tents.
“Our perception of young persons is they’re resilient, their lives are complex. They’re all passionate about something.“
Sally recalled stories of a some of the students who had left an impression.
One was a boy whose mother passed away at 38 years, leaving his father who had never filled out a form and three children with learning difficulties.
The oldest son came to the program six months after his mother’s death. He became engaged with staff, helped out at the centre, attended a cooking class given by a guest chef and was blown away by what he learned. Staff became like surrogate parents to him and he still visits occasionally.
Another student from a poverty situation was in Year 9.
He wanted out of school. He just wanted a traineeship. They assisted him to obtain a traineeship but he couldn’t afford the bus to get to it, so they helped with transport.
Sally called on people in the community to become guest speakers to give students an insight into other possibilities in their own lives.
The Salvation Army Noosa is urging everyone to get involved in this year’s Red Shield Appeal, with funds raised locally staying local to support community services and programs.
The Salvos are aiming to raise $100,000 in Noosa to support those doing it tough.
There are a number of ways people can get involved – community collection points, online fundraising, or organising a collection at your workplace, school or sporting event.
“Noosa is known for being a generous and supportive community – and we know this year will be no different” Capt Gluyas said.
Now in its 59th year, the annual Red Shield Appeal funds programs including financial assistance, homelessness, family and domestic violence, drug and alcohol services and SCILS.
To help visit salvationarmy.org.au or call 13 SALVOS or donate at any Salvos Store.
