A significant donation of $50,000 made this week by local charity, Waves of Kindness, will pave the way for Youturn Youth Support to begin work on their Big Hearts for Tiny Homes campaign.
“Waves of Kindness are really proud to be partnering with Youturn to facilitate this Big Hearts for Tiny Homes project. By collaborating with local councils and a myriad of local agencies, Waves of Kindness is able to assist the local community through the proceeds from our Noosaville Opp Shop,” Waves of Kindness CEO Dan Riga said.
“We are so grateful for this generous grant by Waves of Kindness which will allow us to surpass our target of one tiny home and pave the way for us to work towards a second one,” Youturn CEO Andrew Anderson said.
“Over the past 10 months since launching our Big Hearts for Tiny Homes campaign in August last year, we have worked tirelessly with our community and corporate partners to raise awareness and funds for this exciting project.”
Like many other regions, the Sunshine Coast is experiencing a housing crisis, with extreme housing costs, social housing shortages, high rental competition and low average incomes. This can be a challenging place to live for many young people and many are experiencing homelessness.
“The reality according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is that specialist youth homelessness services have insufficient beds to meet demand and they are forced to turn away one in two people who contact them for help,” Mr Anderson said.
“To achieve our long-term vision of strengthening our community by tackling youth homelessness on the Sunshine Coast, we have set our sights on a substantial initiative to provide more access to stable housing for young people by raising funds to invest and build ‘Tiny Homes.“
The Tiny Homes will provide short-term, transitional housing to young people in need of homelessness support. After receiving help to resolve crisis in their lives, a young person may receive ongoing social support and tenancy in a Tiny Home, before taking the next step to independent living.
“Due to the generous donations received from our supporters including Waves of Kindness, we are now able to commence our build in July for a September delivery. The first two Tiny Homes will be based in the Noosa Shire, and we are working closely with Noosa Council, who has been extremely supportive of this initiative, to secure suitable land for these Tiny Homes. We expect to receive final confirmation shortly and look forward to sharing this with you,” Mr Anderson said
“Driven by the compassion and support of our community, our goal is to build Tiny Homes with a Big Heart. This Big Hearts for Tiny Homes project is a first for our organisation and one that we are truly passionate about, but we cannot do it alone. We are so close, but there is still work to be done. For businesses here in the region who are nearing their financial year end and inclined and able to support this cause, please reach out to us.“
