The Logan-based Program Coordinator has been working on establishing this innovative short-term accommodation project for almost five years.
“I loved the fact that Mission Australia saw the project for what it was and knew it would work,” she said. “They really are interested in the bigger picture.”
Nightspot relies on volunteer drivers and families who are trained to host young people at risk of homelessness for up to seven nights. The only service providing emergency accommodation for young people in the region, it ensures people aged 16 to 21 have a chance to work through issues within their safety of their own community.
Volunteers undergo extensive training that is tailored to each family.
“One of the reasons it took a while to set up was that every risk assessment had to be perfect. Everyone involved understands that we have to protect our kids,” said Bridget. “Our host families are like our diamonds.”
Most of the young Nightspot clients are referred to the service by youth support workers, employment services and schools.
“Amazingly, despite the turmoil in their lives, they’re still going to school,” said Bridget. “They’re jumping over 10-feet high hurdles to get there.”
While Nightspot doesn’t provide mediation and counselling, Bridget and her part-time colleague, Lucy Rangi, facilitate this support.
“The idea is to give teenagers time out, to surround them with everything they need to keep going – like pyjamas and toiletries – while we surround them with services.
“We try to catch them when things are starting to go wrong. We are planting a seed in these young people that we hope will blossom. Just to have someone show they’re interested makes a huge difference – I’ve seen it more than once even after a night’. There’s a sense of possibility the next day.”
Bridget recently teamed up with Bridges Reconnect's Allan Cooper to form the Youth Homelessness and Early Intervention Working Group. This collaborative group is designed to prevent youth in the Logan area from becoming homeless.
"Traditionally there is very little in terms of intervention (in Logan)," she told The Reporter newspaper this week. "Instead of seeing it at the crisis end (when they are homeless), there's a potential to intervene at a much earlier stage. These kids on the street can be the kid next door, they're a very misunderstood group of kids."
She added that while homeless youth may not be immediately visible in Logan, this was because many choose to couch surf or catch a train into central Brisbane to sleep rough.
You can read more about this initiative at: www.thereporter.com.au/story...
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