COMMON GROUND QUEENSLAND WELCOMES GOVERNMENT’S $1.8B INVESTMENT
Announcement posted by Wings Public Relations Pty Ltd 12 Jun 2017
Common Ground Queensland has welcomed the Queensland Government’s decision to invest $1.8 billion to increase supply of affordable and social housing in Queensland.
“This is a bold initiative that will fundamentally change the way Government and the service sector respond to people who require assistance to access housing and services to prevent and respond to homelessness. The Queensland Government is to be commended on developing a plan that has the potential to create a generational impact,” said Common Ground Queensland CEO Sonya Keep.
“We welcome today’s announcement, and are especially eager to work with the Department of Housing’s new partnership office to investigate State-owned land that may be available in order to replicate Brisbane Common Ground or other supportive housing models that provide housing for families or young people at risk of becoming homeless.
“We know the Common Ground Supportive Housing model works and our organisation has the procedures, processes and relationships in place to act immediately and develop new major projects to address homelessness.”
Common Ground Queensland’s successful supportive housing project at 15 Hope Street, South Brisbane is now home to more than 140 formerly homeless and low income tenants, and has been independently proven to help improve quality of life while also saving the Queensland Government $13,100 a year for every formerly homeless person who resides there.
“The Queensland Government recently released the evaluation report of our Brisbane Common Ground project, which the research conducted by the University of Queensland’s Institute for Social Science Research.
“The report offers evidence of the success of the model while clearly showing it saves the government thousands of dollars every year.”
Brisbane Common Ground offers a combination of long term affordable housing with on-site support services to people who have experienced chronic homelessness. The building is a 14-storey apartment complex comprising 146 pleasant but modest studio and one bedroom apartments, with a front-desk concierge service to provide a safe and secure environment.