Otway TentCare bringing dignity, shelter to those awaiting housing relief
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
The Salvation Army in Colac, Victoria, has begun a drive to provide quality tent solutions for long-term homeless residents in the area.
Otway TentCare is an initiative begun in partnership with Vinnies Colac, Blue Sky Outdoor Experts, and most recently, 3rd and 4th Colac Scout Group.
Colac Salvos Community Engagement Coordinator Josiah Van Niekerk said the drive began mostly by chance. Colac Salvos volunteer and support worker Susan Perkins had been prompted to put out a call for tents on Facebook as a client of hers was facing homelessness without a suitable shelter.
Josiah said the reaction to her post was immense, with about 40 people offering to donate tents. Seeing the flood of responses, Josiah offered to get involved. The pair then quickly discovered that many of the donated tents were not in working order, so he got creative. He approached Blue Sky Outdoor Experts in Colac, and the owner agreed to donate a few two- and three-room tents to the cause.
Josiah said these larger tents offered much more dignity to those facing long-term homelessness due to substance addiction or mental health concerns than a standard single-room tent. He said the problem of long-term homelessness was so complex that it required creative solutions.
Colac Salvos hosted the first ‘Fixing Day’ on 15 November, where volunteers, including community members, came together to repair 10 donated tents. They still have 30 tents to sort and repair, and next time, they will have some extra help. The 3rd and 4th Colac Scout Group has agreed to involve their teenage Venturers group as volunteers in the TentCare program.
“It’s a great little collaboration between us and the 3rd and 4th Colac Scouts,” Josiah said. “It’s just been amazing how these things keep on popping up. You kind of stick your neck out, and different things keep on keep on turning up, which is amazing.”
Josiah said the fixing days would become a regular feature at Colac Salvos, depending on how much need there was. He said something that started as simply an addition to what the team was already doing was becoming much more effective than anticipated. He said that being a support worker and Salvation Army volunteer, Susan Perkins, who first began the drive, was also an industrial machinist capable of fixing broken zippers and patching holes.
“It’s just been very much a God thing, where [He] can turn a few fish and a few loaves into a feast,” Josiah said.
The tents are being distributed to community members most in need through not just The Salvation Army but also Vinnies and another independent charity, the Colac Kindness Network.
Josiah said Colac Salvos was simply a vessel for TentCare to function through community support, and the aim through all of their programs was to build trust and relationships to eventually see lives transformed.
“It’s [about] being able to work with these people and give them dignity, and be able to have a licence to work in their life to try to help them in their mental health or help them with their substance [issues] to potentially get them back on track so they can even be viable for a house.
“Through the power of God, we can have an impact in their lives.”
To learn more about Otway TentCare, contact Colac Salvation Army on 0484 935 165.
