By Margaret Maccoll
Known for running the Gympie Muster, Events 4 Greater Good, as well as Noosa’s Come Together Festival and Busking Championship to raise money for schools, charities and children with disabilities Oz Bayldon has lately turned his attention to helping the homeless and victims of domestic violence.
After making a call out on social media for household items to assist people in need he was inundated with offers of goods. The next challenge is to establish an op shop, storage space and base for Campsite Rescue.
“It was an unbelievable response. We got that much stuff we can’t cope,“ Oz said. “We could do with funding for a storage shed.“
Oz said after assisting some victims of domestic violence (DV) he became a go-to person for people needing help and the situation snowballed.
“The problem is it’s bigger, especially with Covid,“ he said.
“We’ve just helped a dad and his son. There’s a few mums with kids. There’s a lot of people roughing it. It’d be nice to have somewhere they could go – a safe place. We’re finding a lot of DV go back. It’s too hard. There’s a lot of support at the end of the phone but no help finding a house and furniture.“
While he admits to lending a hand Oz said the hard yards on the ground were being done by Wendy Rampton, founder of registered charity Campsite Rescue.
Since she established Campsite Rescue to assist the homeless in the community five years ago the situation has escalated, Wendy said.
There are various reasons people become homeless. It may be through illness, loss of a job, mental illness, marriage breakdown, leaving unhealthy parental homes, bankruptcy or the lack of affordable housing but whatever the reason anyone can become homeless but something must be done in Noosa to create housing for those in the community that have none.
“It’s a never-ending run of people who find themselves destitute. They find themselves in need of short-term emergency help with no where to live, no money,“ she said.
“Some have dogs and when they do end up getting housing they can’t take the dog with them. They end up sleeping rough in cars in the bush or along the coastline. There’d be at least 35 people each night sleeping on the coastline and that’s not counting backpackers and tourists.“
Wendy said the community was gaining a better understanding of the situation but people in need were reluctant to ask for help.
She doesn’t ask if people are homeless, she asks if they are living out of their bag or out of their car.
“They admit it’s temporary, things will change soon,“ she said. “They can’t believe they find themselves in this state. Things can change soon but they need a helping hand.
“Everyone has highs and lows in life – employment, relationships change. It’s being able to navigate these hurdles.“
Campsite Rescue recently assisted a father and son. The father was angry he had to ask for help, Wendy said.“We had a father sharing a house. The son had a marriage breakup. He was sharing a house, the share house fell through. Dad said come and stay with me. The landlord said we can’t have that. They both ended up homeless. It was the son’s birthday. We had to look for a place to get some food for Friday night. I had to lend him my phone to call his son. It’s really emotional. You understand the crisis situation they are in.“
Wendy has seen plenty of people on Newstart who can only afford to live in a car.
“I tell them the only way out of this is to get a job, whatever it takes, just do it,“ she said. “Most of them have already tried doing it. They get dragged down.“
“I don’t judge them. I ask are you warm, are you hungry, are you safe. I hook them up with other homeless to be safer.“
Wendy bought her own van and spends much time moving people and their possessions around to friends or relatives seeking accommodation, but funding the transport is a continuing challenge. “They couldn’t afford removalists. It’s important they keep what they’ve got,“ she said.
“It’s really hard to sustain this if you don’t charge for this service. The people we help don’t have money to pay. Community people love to donate and we’re happy to take it. Every cent we can put into food, back packs, accommodation.“
Wendy’s hopes to have a base from which to operate that could include an opportunity shop to raise ongoing funds and store donated items.“We definitely need something to work out of – somewhere the homeless could come and select their own clothing and furniture, have a shower and get services,“ she said. “There are great services they don’t access. They don’t have mobile phones.“
To help Wendy help the homeless visit Campsite Rescue on Facebook.
