On Saturday, 28 July the Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre organised a localised Care Day for homeless and marginalised members of the community.
This was a great opportunity to give vulnerable populations more information about available health services in the Sunshine Coast area.
In total more than 150 community members attended the day and health providers delivered more than 130 basic health checks for a range of issues. These sessions included health checks by doctors, nurses, cardiologists, dentists and podiatrists. The day also saw community members given more than 200 items of clothing and a further 90 food and hygiene packs.
Homelessness is becoming more of an issue on the Sunshine Coast and there are limited services available for those at risk or currently homeless.
Currently there is no national policy around Homelessness and there are many contributing determinants that lead into being at risk of being homeless. The 2016 ABS data states that the employment rates on the Sunshine Coast is 7.1% with the Australian average unemployment rate being 6.9% in addition to this, the median rent price (2016 ABS) is $370 with the Australian median rental rate being at $335 per week.
Next year, the Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre is aiming to collaborate with more organisations on the Sunshine Coast, to inform all vulnerable populations about the available health services and provide more health checks.