Red Cross café needs new home

NEWS

Closure of City Hall for major structural repairs means the popular Red Cross night café for homeless young people is looking for a new home.
Currently housed in the basement of City Hall, the café has put out a call to business and property owners in the CBD for a new space, preferably close to the Queen Street mall.
In its ninth year of operation, the cafe rovides a range of essential services to homeless and vulnerable young people in the inner city and offers a safe space where vulnerable young people can escape the streets for at least a few hours three days a week.
Red Cross executive director Greg Goebel says most young people who hit the streets for the first time end up in the CBD and the Queen Street mall.
"We want to keep the Night Café program as close as possible to this hotspot so that we can make contact with these young people early on and get them off the streets before they get stuck."
Red Cross Group Manager Community Services Matthew Cox says the night café was first developed in response to the large number of homeless young people congregating in the CBD and King George Square.
"These young people were accessing the free food vans alongside large groups of older homeless people," Mr Cox said. "It was decided that a specific space just for young people aged 25 years and under would be a safer and more effective way to engage with this particular target group."
Supported by Brisbane City Council and a range of corporate sponsors, the night café provides free meals, hot showers, health and hygiene products, blankets, clothing, activities and connections to other services three times per week. It is open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm and on Sunday afternoons from 3pm to 6pm.
The night café needs a safe, well-lit, open space that can seat up to 60 guests, has a kitchen and serving area for reheating meals that are cooked off-site, showers, toilets and adequate storage for blankets, clothing and other supplies.
If any group or business has or knows of a space in the CBD which may be suitable for the Night Café program, please contact Red Cross Night Café Youth Wellbeing and Homelessness Project Officer Kathy Dytor, on 3367 7455 or email kdytor@redcross.org.au.