Congregation makes a stand with the homeless 18 November 2009

Good Samaritan Ministry Centre Media Statement - Friday 18th December 2009: 12: 00 p.m. from Emmanuel Church Council on behalf of the Emmanuel Uniting Church in Australia.

Today, we, as the Emmanuel Uniting Church in Australia, will make a stand for the Good Samaritan Ministry Centre and homelessness as a whole here at Elim Court [1].

We do so for the following reasons:

  1. We are committed to continue to walk the path that God has been showing us, that is to show His love and compassion to the needy in our community, and to make use of the valuable resources He has provided through His people.
     
  2. We are committed to our residents who have found a place of safety, security and healing at Good Sam and for whom eviction will ultimately mean a return to homelessness on the streets of Cairns. Some have not been able to find suitable alternative accommodation.
     
  3. “Good Sam” as it is affectionately known is an initiative and project run by our congregation in response to the homeless situation. Cairns has the second highest rate of homelessness in Queensland after Brisbane [2].
     
  4. The centre has been operating successfully for over 3 years and has seen over 300 residents transition back into society.   The centre is totally self-funded without church or government assistance up to this time. 
     
  5. The eviction notice is based on building compliance and fire safety issues that have been completely blown out of proportion. “To say”, as the Cairns Post has rightly put it that “the move has been brought on by fire safety and building regulations….. is simplistic to the point of being insensitive” [3].
     
  6. All the fire safety ‘requirements’ for Elim Court have been met and because it has coverage from three (3) fire hydrants in Gatton Street, the major impediment to ensuring the ongoing safety of Good Sam residents is removed.   
     
  7. To close yet another facility like this in Cairns should be of extreme concern and should be looked on like a “disaster” that needs instant community action by all agencies of government, the church and the community instead of allowing the closure to happen.
     
  8. We invite and encourage the community to come and see for yourself at what, we believe, the High Commissioner for Human Rights would consider “adequate” [4]. facilities for the homeless.  Elim Court is a readymade  facility. We are calling on the will of the Federal, State, local government and the church to come together to build on what is already here.  We know, that “where there is a will there is a way”.

[1] Exodus 15: 27.

[2] REPORT released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (9 July, 2009). 

[3] The Cairn’s Post - Our Say Wednesday December 16, 2009.  Community’s Faith Shaken.

[4] Adequate shelter, according to the High Commissioner for Human Rights   “means  …adequate privacy, adequate space, adequate security, adequate lighting and ventilation, adequate  basic infrastructure and adequate location with regard to work  and basic facilities – all at a reasonable cost”. (High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1991 The Right to Adequate Housing (art.11 (1), Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 4, Sixth Session, 1991, p. 2).

Members of the Congregation Making a Stand with and for the homeless in Cairns

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