By Carmen McIntosh
Published in the Canberra Chronicle 18/05/2010
From the article:
Tony’s Place, one of two homeless shelters in north Canberra, is not immune to the rental squeeze faced by most Canberans.
The shelter, currently operating out of a rented five bedroom home in scullin, is seeking the help of the Canberra community so they can buy their own property to house young homeless men.
Run by the not for profit Bridge back to Life Foundation, Tony’s Place provides supported accommodation to homelessmen aged between 18 and 25.
Residents are selected on a need basis, put through a basic living skills course and are then supported to find their own independent accommodation.
Bridge Back to Life Foundation manager Katherine Obad said the process took about three months.
“Sometimes they stay longer, but the ACT Government is already swamped, so a lot of our residents have finished their program and they remain on at the house until we find them a home.” she said.
“Many of them who have moved on independently are living normal lives and none have returned to homelessness.:
Ms Obad siad Tony’s Place could house five young men, a very small number compared to the need.
“We don’t have the room for any more in the house and I get phone calls all day, every day for me to take people, but we just don’t have the room unfortunately,” she said.
The foundation is seeking to get out of the rental game and purchase a property of their own, with the possibility of expansion down the track.
“That way we can’t get kicked out and we’re not paying someone else’s mortgage, it just gives us a bit of stability for them,” Ms Obad said.
Just last week the foundation was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Penguin publishers, an amount which Ms Obad said would make a big difference in their quest for home ownership.
While they continue to fundraise for the cause, they are seeking pledges from the community to present to the bank.
“We’re determined to get it one way or another and it would just be outstanding if organisations could consider committing to a donation,” she said.
“At the moment with the $50,000, we are sitting in a position where we will go to the bank and present them with our business plan and propose to grant us a mortgage.
“The people who live in the house at the moment, they make a financial contribution towards rent [so] that will cover the mortgage [but we need] commitments to present to the bank.
“We would appreciate if organisations would consider committing funds of any size and provide a letter of support to us that they will continue to do that for a number of years. Otherwise, what it will mean is if we don’t get any, we will have to continue to do the fundraising and that’s a really long process.”
Bridge Back to Life’s next fundraising event will be a trivia night on Saturday at the Magpies Club in Civic from 7pm.
Entry is $12 per person. The night will also feature a silent auction of items including wines and a framed Brumbies signed jersey.
For more information, or to book a table, contact Karen Bennett 0422 366 066.