Dignity First Fund
From 2016-2020, the Dignity First Fund provided one-off funding to support new and innovative ideas from non-government providers that:
- prevent and reduce homelessness
- help people experiencing homelessness live with dignity.
The Dignity First Fund was a key action of the Queensland Housing Strategy 2017–2020 Action Plan. It provided a range of essential services to support people in our community who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The Stay Connected Fund replaced the Dignity First Fund in 2022.
Previous recipients
Expand allDignity First Fund COVID-19 Response recipients
Althea Projects Inc.
Althea Projects Inc. received $90,300 to employ 2 cooks over 6 months to prepare and deliver meals to rough sleepers and vulnerable tenants in Townsville. The funding will also support an engagement service that connects isolated people to health, housing and community support.
Anglicare North Queensland Ltd.
Anglicare North Queensland Ltd received $205,000 to employ 2 staff members over 6 months to prepare up to 100 meals every day for rough sleepers in Cairns.
Australian Red Cross Society
Australian Red Cross Society received $80,000 to employ a health outreach worker for 6 months to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing homelessness in Townsville due to the impact of COVID-19.
Base Services Inc.
Base Services Inc. received $79,000 to support the delivery of meals to vulnerable people and rough sleepers in Toowoomba for 6 months. The funding will enable the purchase of food takeaway containers and personal protective equipment and cover the operating and cleaning costs of delivery vehicles.
Beenleigh Housing and Development Company Ltd (Warril Yari-Go)
Beenleigh Housing and Development Company Ltd (Warril Yari-Go) received $90,000 to assist vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and families in quarantine or isolation in Logan. The funding will employ 2 staff members for 6 months to help with transport and food hampers.
Brisbane Youth Service
Brisbane Youth Service received $50,000 toward the distribution of digital response kits for young people and families affected by COVID-19 in Brisbane. The kits will aim to reduce social isolation and connect young people to necessary support.
Full Circle Projects Inc.
Full Circle Projects Inc. received $35,000 to assist people staying in short-term accommodation in the Moreton Bay and Redcliffe areas. The funding will help people secure long-term housing and provide furniture, white goods and emergency brokerage.
Havafeed Community Relief Ltd.
Havafeed Community Relief Ltd. received $45,500 to provide groceries and food parcels over 6 months to people affected by COVID-19 in the Gold Coast.
IFYS
IFYS received $35,000 to provide access to personal care items, food and shower facilities for people on the Sunshine Coast affected by COVID-19.
IMPACT Community Services Ltd
IMPACT Community Services Ltd received $99,909 to employ 1 fulltime staff member and 1 part-time staff member for 6 months to support vulnerable people affected by COVID-19 in the Bundaberg region. The funding will provide access to essential items, welfare checks, mental health and other support services, laundry facilities, education/activity kits for families in isolation and assistance for people facing eviction or homelessness.
Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd and Micah Projects Ltd
Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd and Micah Projects Ltd received $120,000 to support vulnerable people in Brisbane affected by COVID-19. The joint funding will provide nursing support over 6 months for people living with medical or mental health conditions, or who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The funding will also support the purchase of iPads and data to enable access to telehealth services.
Krurungal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare, Resource and Housing
Krurungal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare, Resource and Housing received $48,000 to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Gold Coast during COVID-19. The funding will provide food and fuel vouchers and deliver a culturally appropriate one-stop-shop to the community for six months to ensure access to community services and connections.
Maryborough Aboriginal Corporation for Housing and Cultural Development
Maryborough Aboriginal Corporation for Housing and Cultural Development received $60,000 to employ 1 full-time staff member for 6 months. The staff member will coordinate appropriate COVID-19 responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the Fraser Coast, including the delivery of essential items and care packages to vulnerable peoples.
Mindle Bygul Aboriginal Corporation
Mindle Bygul Aboriginal Corporation received $80,000 to employ an outreach worker for 6 months to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Moreton Bay region affected by COVID-19. The worker will support peoples experiencing housing stress or facing homelessness, link vulnerable people to support services and deliver essential items such as food parcels and mobile phones.
Nerang Neighbourhood Centre Foodbank Inc
Nerang Neighbourhood Centre Foodbank Inc received $72,268 to expand their existing community service for 6 months to support vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness in the Gold Coast region. The funding will support the provision of free or low-cost supplementary food boxes for 4,500 vulnerable people and supply free meals and beverages to 250 people experiencing homelessness and isolation every month.
Orange Sky Australia
Orange Sky Australia received $520,000 to operate 7 existing mobile laundry and shower vehicles to support people experiencing homelessness in 9 priority locations across the state over 6 months. The service will support 2 vans in the Brisbane CBD, Logan, Redlands and Moreton Bay areas and 1 van in the Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast areas.
QShelter (in partnership with Communify and Acacia Ridge Community Centre)
QShelter received $300,000 to employ 3 staff members for 6 months to supply food to people living in north and south Brisbane. The partnership with Communify and Acacia Ridge Community Centre will supply donated food to people experiencing homelessness as a result of COVID-19.
Regional Housing Limited
Regional Housing Limited received $75,000 to employ 2 part-time staff members for 6 months to deliver an integrated outreach service to rough sleepers in the Bundaberg and North Burnett region. The service will support the immediate needs of rough sleepers, help them find housing solutions and provide ongoing case management.
Roseberry Qld
Roseberry Qld received $46,000 to employ 1 staff member to operate the Dignity Hub and Dignity on Wheels services in Gladstone for 6 months. These services support people affected by COVID-19 and had been closed to protect volunteers during the first outbreak of the virus.
Set Free Ministries
Set Free Ministries received $77,300 to expand their current service in the Gold Coast for 6 months. The funding enables the organisation to prepare and distribute take-away meals, pantry packs and shower and toilet facilities for people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The funding will also support the upgrade of an existing cold room, freezer and bathroom facilities to help the service cope with new demand.
Shelter Housing Action Cairns Association Inc.
Shelter Housing Action Cairns Association Inc. received $95,000 to support vulnerable people affected by COVID-19 in Cairns for the next 12 months. The funding will help with the distribution of groceries and other essential items and transport people to and from hospital.
The Lady Bowen Trust
The Lady Bowen Trust received $120,000 to enable the delivery of immediate services to people across Queensland affected by COVID-19. The Trust will distribute the funds to the 15 organisations it already supports:
- BABI Youth and Family Services in Redlands
- Beaucare in the Beaudesert region
- Chameleon Regional Housing Accommodation and Welfare Association in Redcliffe
- Coast2Bay Housing Group in the Central Coast
- Community Accommodation and Support Agency in Mackay
- Inala Youth Service in Inala
- Laidley Crisis Care - Wesley Mission Queensland in Laidley
- Lawright Inc in Brisbane
- Murri Watch Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation in South Brisbane
- North West Youth Accommodation Service in Brisbane
- Uniting Care Community for Domestic and Family Violence shelter
- Whitsunday Housing Company in Whitsunday
- Youth Advocacy Centre in the greater Brisbane region
- Youth Housing Project Association in Brisbane
- Zig Zag Housing in Brisbane.
Toowoomba Women’s Collective Inc.
Toowoomba Women’s Collective Inc. received $40,000 to support vulnerable women in the Toowoomba region during the COVID-19 response. The funding will allow for welfare checks and the delivery of essential items to women isolated in their homes. It will also enable the centre to increase its opening days to support vulnerable women to access phones, meals, shower and laundry facilities.
YFS Ltd
YFS Ltd received $35,000 to expand their existing service in Logan, funded under Dignity First Fund Round 4. The service will support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness with support to apply for jobs, assistance with accessing support payments online, access to transport to attend training or employment, assistance with the cost of work clothes and guidance on presentation requirements for work.
Round 4 recipients - 2019
Access Community Housing Company Ltd
Access Community Housing Company Ltd received $97,557 to deliver a 6-week cooking and nutrition program for social and affordable housing tenants in the Cairns region. The Better Choices in Health, Education, Food and Support (Better CHEFS) program builds skills around healthy living, cooking, and improving health and nutrition.
ACRO Australian Community Safety & Research Organisation
ACRO received $30,000 to help relieve financial stress by covering the cost of school items like textbooks and uniforms. The program supports Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness in the Inala region.
Anglicare Central Queensland
Anglicare Central Queensland received $100,000 to support people sustain tenancies by exiting homelessness and moving into secure, affordable accommodation by providing essential household items.
Anglicare Southern Queensland
Anglicare Southern Queensland received $73,732 for the Good Grub Club, which provides meaningful opportunities for young people and helps build life-long skills around nutrition. Homeless and vulnerable youth will be trained in food preparation and cooking through the expansion of a mobile kitchen in Brisbane, Logan and Redlands regions.
Australian Red Cross Society
Australian Red Cross Society received $129,753 to support people experiencing homelessness in Bowen Hills and the greater Brisbane area through Community Kitchen workshops teaching tenancy and life skills.
BABI (Bayside Adolescent Boarding Inc)
BABI received $55,000 to provide young people and families in the Bayside and Redlands areas with household items, to help them transition from homelessness to their own home.
Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation Pty Ltd
Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation Pty Ltd received $20,280 to deliver targeted training workshops to help build the life skills of First Nations women experiencing domestic and family violence and homelessness in the Douglas Shire.
BASE SERVICES INC
BASE SERVICES INC received $93,000 to provide wrap-around support for people experiencing homelessness in Toowoomba. 2nd Shot mobile coffee vans provide training and employment opportunities, as well as support for people transitioning to new employment.
BEYOND DV LTD
BEYOND DV LTD received $65,600 for the Hope 4 Life Youth Program, which improves life, education and tenancy skills of young people in Brisbane who have been affected by domestic violence and are at risk of homelessness.
Brisbane Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Housing Authority (BATSICCHA)
The Brisbane Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Housing Authority received $117,700 to provide comprehensive case management and coordination services to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members experiencing housing insecurity. It will support them to obtain and maintain community housing tenancies, as well as progress to the private rental market or home ownership.
Carinity (The Baptist Union of Queensland)
Carinity received $2,500 for the Veggie Garden to Plate program that develops life skills for young people by teaching them how to grow and eat healthy food.
Centacare
Centacare received $33,231 to support people to sustain tenancies by addressing factors that lead to hoarding and squalor through workshops in Darra.
Emerge Toowoomba Inc
Emerge Toowoomba Inc received $39,300 to support young people experiencing homelessness with life and employment-ready skills through the operation of the Toowoomba Youth Hub. The Hub provides training pathways and employment experience through Emerge Café.
Friends with Dignity Limited
Friends with Dignity Limited received $20,800 to help ease the financial burden of sustaining tenancies for people who have escaped domestic violence, by providing practical support to collect donated goods and deliver them to their new accommodation.
Full Circle Projects Inc
Full Circle Projects Inc received $125,000 to support people experiencing homelessness in the Moreton Bay area through outreach services and intensive case management, including helping people to establish a new home by collecting and distributing donated household goods.
Gallang Place Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation
Gallang Place Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation received $147,780 for a pilot program that supports the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the Ipswich region. It will provide drop-in and outreach counselling services, to support physical and mental health, access to employment, secure accommodation and education and training opportunities.
Horizon Housing Company Ltd
Horizon Housing Company Ltd received $50,000 for the Home Sustain program, which provides household goods to help new tenants establish and maintain their new homes.
IMPACT Community Services Inc
IMPACT Community Services Inc received $35,000 to create a training facility that will support young people in the Bundaberg area to develop the skills needed to gain and sustain a private rental.
Inala Family Accommodation & Support Service Inc
Inala Family Accommodation & Support Service Inc received $30,000 to relieve the financial stress associated with a new tenancy and increase the chance of children engaging in education, by covering the cost of school-related expenses and providing clothing packs to families in the Inala area.
Jaydon Adams Memorial Foundation
Jaydon Adams Memorial Foundation received $150,000 for a community-based service to improve social connections and increase the opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Toowoomba to obtain and sustain tenancies.
Kirrawe Indigenous Corporation
Kirrawe Indigenous Corporation received $129,756 for a mentoring service to improve social connections by linking Indigenous young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Logan with family, community, culture, education and employment.
Koongoora Inc
Koongoora Inc received $30,000 to ease the financial burden of women and children experiencing domestic and family violence in the Logan area by providing household goods and support to help them sustain their tenancies.
Lowanna House
Lowanna House received $5,000 for the Home Start project to support women exiting crisis properties in Mackay to establish their own tenancies, by providing essential household goods.
Maleny Neighbourhood Centre Assoc Inc
Maleny Neighbourhood Centre Assoc Inc received $20,000 to provide furniture packages to assist women and children on the Sunshine Coast moving from temporary accommodation to more permanent housing.
Maryborough Aboriginal Housing Corporation & Cultural Development
Maryborough Aboriginal Housing Corporation & Cultural Development received $148,000 to improve social connections and increase employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, by providing training and work opportunities at three social enterprises.
Mindle Bygul Aboriginal Corporation
Mindle Bygul Aboriginal Corporation received $127,867 for the Nguram-bung (Home/place/country Wiradjuri Nation) project. It provides intensive case management, with a focus on identifying and securing residential tenancies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are experiencing housing stress and homelessness in the Deception Bay area.
Mount Isa Family Support Service & Neighbourhood Centre Inc
Mount Isa Family Support Service & Neighbourhood Centre Inc received $50,000 to support people exiting homelessness in Mount Isa to establish or maintain a home through the provision of household goods.
NPA Family and Community Services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation
NPA Family and Community Services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation received $138,000 to assist First Nations young people in the Northern Peninsula Area to sustain tenancies, through a pilot program that teaches budgeting and home maintenance skills.
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology received $149,959 for a project that aims to prevent homelessness for women aged over 55. It supports first responders to have preventative conversations, to help women retain or attain a safe and appropriate tenancy through a toolkit resource.
Regional Housing Limited
Regional Housing Limited received $80,000 for the Head Start Essential White Goods Program that helps people transitioning from homelessness to independent living in Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and Kingaroy.
Sandbag (Sandgate and Bracken Ridge Action Group Inc)
Sandbag received $15,473 to enhance support provided to people experiencing homelessness accessing the Sandgate Community Centre, by upgrading the kitchen equipment, laundry and shower facilities and providing computers.
Sharehouse Youth Programs Inc
Sharehouse Youth Programs Inc received $100,000 to support Townsville young people to secure and sustain long-term tenancies by providing essential items for the home, like furniture and white goods.
Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre Inc
Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre Inc received $79,475 for the Meaningful Engagement with Community and Family project. It aims to improve the lives and social skills of families living in emergency housing and offer an opportunity for families to participate in positive activities.
South Burnett CTC Inc
South Burnett CTC Inc received $40,000 for the My Home For Keeps project that relieves the financial stress for people transitioning out of homelessness into stable accommodation by providing essential household goods.
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland received $5,729 to deliver a youth housing tenancy education program in local schools and community youth organisations in the Warwick area.
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland Housing Limited
St Vincent De Paul Society Queensland Housing Limited received $9,000 to support people on the Sunshine Coast to maintain their tenancies, by providing digital literacy workshops that target gaps in skills including banking, accessing government services and job applications.
St Vincent De Paul Society Queensland Housing Limited
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland Housing Limited received $80,532 for the Community HUB project in Mackay, which aims to improve tenants’ physical and mental health. It empowers people to maintain stable housing by providing material assistance, fitness sessions, counselling and community nurse services.
The Lodge Youth Support Service Inc
The Lodge Youth Support Service Inc received $40,800 to support disadvantaged young people in Brisbane to attain their driver’s licence, which in turn will help them to live independently and obtain employment.
Womens Centre Cairns Inc
Womens Centre Cairns Inc received $15,000 for Household Establishment Packs that relieve financial stress for women experiencing domestic violence by providing items like kitchen appliances, linen, and cleaning utensils.
YFS Ltd
YFS Ltd received $120,000 for an employment and participation program that recognises the complexities and barriers experienced by people who have recently experienced homelessness in the Logan area. It supports them to build their skills, confidence and connections to engage with work, volunteering, training or micro-business development through coaching services.
Youth Advocacy Centre Inc
Youth Advocacy Centre Inc received $79,500 to improve social connections by addressing the needs of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Moreton Regional Council area through support, and by connecting them with cultural mentors and activities within their community.
Yumba-Meta Housing Association Ltd
Yumba-Meta Housing Association Ltd received $90,000 to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Townsville to obtain and sustain their tenancies, through the creation of a culturally appropriate counselling role across its services.
Zig Zag Young Women's Resource Centre Inc
Zig Zag Young Women's Resource Centre Inc received $60,000 for Young Women ASSIST (Accessing Support, Sustainability In Successful Tenancies). This program helps relieve financial stress for young women in the Brisbane area moving into supported accommodation or independent living by providing material assistance and goods.
Round 3 recipients - 2018
ACRO Australian Community Safety & Research Organisation
ACRO Australian Community Safety & Research Organisation received $30,000 to provide direct education costs (such as uniforms, school books, laptop and levies) for children of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse clients who are homeless and accessing crisis housing support to enable them to meet the costs without the need for loans.
BABI Youth & Family Service
BABI Youth & Family Service received $40,000 to purchase furniture, white goods, household items and computers to assist 50 young people and families in the Brisbane Region transition from homelessness to supported accommodation or independent living.
Beaucare Inc
Beaucare Inc received $12,000 to upgrade the bathroom facilities at the Beaudesert Community Centre to provide safe, secure and clean facilities for the community.
Communify Qld
Communify Qld received $110,000 to upgrade kitchen facilities and purchase of equipment to support the preparation of rescued food into pre-cooked meals. These meals are distributed to families escaping domestic and family violence who are living in temporary accommodation across the greater Brisbane region. Meals will also be distributed to older people living in boarding houses.
Community Accommodation and Support Agency Inc
Community Accommodation and Support Agency Inc received $18,900 to provide packages that include food vouchers, a microwave oven and bathroom, kitchen, toiletry and cleaning products to individuals and families in Mackay who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness, to support their transition to safe and sustainable accommodation.
Domestic Violence Action Centre Inc
Domestic Violence Action Centre Inc received $17,640 to purchase mobile phones, SIM cards, Go Cards and food vouchers for women and children escaping domestic and family violence.
Douglas Shire Community Services Association Ltd T/A Mossman Support Services
Douglas Shire Community Services Association Ltd T/A Mossman Support Services received $153,702 to construct a purpose-built activity HUB within the Douglas Shire to act as an entry point to connect people who are homeless or impacted by homelessness to existing services provided by the Neighbourhood Centre. The HUB will include a commercial kitchen, activity room, shower, toilet and laundry area.
EDON Place Domestic and Family Violence Centre
EDON Place Domestic and Family Violence Centre received $100,000 to provide furnishing packages to assist a minimum of 20 families who are exiting into long-term accommodation. The packages include bedroom suites, mattresses, dining suites, washing machines, lounge suites, drawers, fridges and minor household items.
Gold Coast Homelessness Network Inc
Gold Coast Homelessness Network Inc received $15,000 for the extension of the 7 Care Connect (7CC) Navigation Tool - A mobile phone app that provides real time information about services' locations and availability on the Gold Coast with push notifications and maps.
Gurriny Yealamucka (Good Healing) Health Service Aboriginal Corporation
Gurriny Yealamucka (Good Healing) Health Service Aboriginal Corporation received $94,568 to purchase furnishings, whitegoods, computers and equipment for the mental health service and Youth Hub in Yarrabah.
Hannah's House
Hannah's House received $73,424 to purchase a new vehicle, bedroom and kitchen items, food hampers and wages for support worker as part of the Host Home Program in the South West Region. The program provides a self-paced accommodation arrangement for young women aged 15-17 (not in care) to transition from Hannah's House Crisis Accommodation or Mobile Support Program to a home environment where a family or community member provides accommodation until they can relocate to independent accommodation.
Help A Friend Club Toowoomba Inc
Help A Friend Club Toowoomba Inc received $30,791 to upgrade bedroom furnishings for the organisation's crisis and Residential Services properties in Toowoomba.
Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre Inc
Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre Inc received $195,000 to upgrade the Comfort Kitchen at the Wandering Teapot social enterprise cafe that provides free meals to people experiencing homelessness in Hervey Bay. The funding will also be used to launch a community magazine, purchase a tea bagging machine and recruit and train young people in WHS and food safety, sales and ongoing marketing of Wandering Teapot Black Tea.
Horizon Housing Company Ltd
Horizon Housing Company Ltd received $65,000 to provide approximately 100 households with assistance into sustainable long-term housing through the purchase of essential household items to establish their new home without debt.
Impact Care Services Ltd
Impact Care Services Ltd received $31,644 to upgrade an existing Community Food Co-op Shop in Slacks Creek. The shop will provide vulnerable families a more dignified experience when shopping for highly discounted groceries.
Inala Family Accommodation & Support Service Inc
Inala Family Accommodation & Support Service Inc received $30,000 for a minimum of 30 Essential Tenancy Establishment Packs to assist families exiting transitional housing to live independently. Packs will include items such as linen, kitchen and laundry items, cookware, white goods, mattresses and a pantry pack.
Inala Youth Care Community Inc
Inala Youth Care Community Inc received $26,800 to provide access to the service's bathroom and laundry facilities with a dedicated supervisor providing a welcoming service, assisting people to use the facilities, ensuring cleanliness of the facilities and connecting to other services if appropriate. Laundry and/or shower packs will also be provided along with a towel, a blanket and a drawstring bag to hold the goods.
Inala Youth Care Community Inc
Inala Youth Care Community Inc received $5,000 to provide packs of various hygiene products to young people accessing crisis accommodation.
Kalyan Youth Service Inc
Kalyan Youth Service Inc received $8,000 to provide 100 backpacks to improve the health and hygiene of young people experiencing homelessness. Backpacks consist of toiletries, hygiene products, basic clothing, underwear, shoes, towel and a jumper in winter.
Knitting 4 Brisbane’s Needy
Knitting 4 Brisbane’s Needy received $42,823 to purchase a new vehicle to collect donations from over 500 people who donate items that they knit, crochet and sew. Donations are distributed to homelessness organisations, domestic violence shelters, Indigenous communities, street feeds for the homeless, hospitals, ambulance services and youth services from Brisbane to the Bundaberg region, west to Roma and south to the Tweed.
Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre Inc
Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre Inc received $42,937 to purchase a vehicle to transport clients to and from allied service appointments and relocating persons escaping domestic and family violence. This funding also includes the purchase of 12 large outdoor lockers to provide secure temporary storage of belongings for clients.
Micah Projects Limited
Micah Projects Limited received $99, 899 to fund Community Connections and Employment Mentoring Pathways for people attending the Hope St Café at South Brisbane. The project will consist of the co-design and delivery of training to cafe team members, volunteers and mentors and direct community connections and employment mentoring pathways to a minimum of 50 people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
North West Youth Accommodation Service
North West Youth Accommodation Service received $12,000 to delivery an intervention program for 30 young people through the provision of household set-up packs and education and skill development workshops.
Nundah Community Support Group Inc
Nundah Community Support Group Inc received $45,500 to upgrade the Nundah Neighbourhood Centre community kitchen to provide meals and community lunch to people attending the Centre for social inclusion and food relief programs. The upgrade will allow the service to prepare and cook 50-60 meals at a time.
Purpose Enterprises Ltd
Purpose Enterprises Ltd received $173,000 to provide a Youth Employment Pathway Program specifically for disadvantaged and ‘at risk’ young people at the Vanguard laundry facility in Toowoomba.
Regional Housing Limited
Regional Housing Limited received $24,100 to purchase a vehicle to transport homeless young people, residing in RHL's Youthcare Homeless Youth Shelter to welfare and counselling appointments, education and training, employment, doctors’ appointments and recreational activities and events.
Roseberry Qld
Roseberry Qld received $92,300 for the purchase and fit out of a van for the Dignity on Wheels program that provides mobile homelessness support services in the Rockhampton/Gladstone region. Services include information and referrals, free Wi-Fi, mobile phone recharging, food parcels, toiletries and the Adaptable Living Program, which is an early intervention program with preventative strategies to reduce the risk of homelessness and assistance to maintain and sustain tenancies.
Set Free Ministries
Set Free Ministries received $45,000 to purchase a mobile kitchen trailer to provide hot meals for those in need. Meal and food services will be used as an opportunity for people to network/socialise in a respectful and safe environment and to link-up with government/community services.
Share the Dignity Ltd
Share the Dignity Ltd received $100,000 to increase the number of Dignity Pack vending machines throughout Queensland through the installation of 10 vending machines at various locations across the State. The vending machines provide free sanitary products for women experiencing homelessness.
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland received $15,660 to provide packs for clients of the Youth Homelessness Service (YHS) in Townsville who are transitioning into long-term housing. Packs will include a mattress, small fridge and washing machine.
Support The Girls Australia Ltd
Support The Girls Australia Ltd received $66,700 to purchase a vehicle to provide a mobile support, distribution and outreach service to women and girls experiencing homelessness on the Gold Coast who require sanitary products, underwear and toiletries. The van will be fitted with a seating area, fitting room and stock storage area to provide a safe and private space to access the service.
The Baptist Union of Queensland
The Baptist Union of Queensland received $2,025 to provide 15 household packs for young people transitioning out of crisis accommodation into long-term accommodation.
The Baptist Union of Queensland
The Baptist Union of Queensland received $3,000 to provide rotating gym membership for six homeless young people in the greater Brisbane region to encourage healthy eating habits, fitness and well-being.
The Bur-Del Co-operative Advancement Society Limited
The Bur-Del Co-operative Advancement Society Limited received $113,266 to upgrade a property to provide a Hub Drop-in Centre in Ayr. The upgrade will include a commercial kitchen, showers, bathroom and laundry facilities, storage, furniture and whitegoods.
The Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane T/A Anglicare Southern Queensland
The Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane T/A Anglicare Southern Queensland received $177,154 to purchase a food van to teach homeless and vulnerable young people to prepare and cook nutritious food for distribution to a range of community-based organisations and events. Partnering with TAFE, Anglicare SQ will support young people to access training, education and employment opportunities through utilising this van.
The Lodge Youth Support Service Inc
The Lodge Youth Support Service Inc received $40,800 to fund 10 disadvantaged young people to attain their full provisional driver's licence through accessing 100 logged hours of driving lessons with a professional driving school.
Tivoli Social Enterprises Limited
Tivoli Social Enterprises Limited received $76,220 to purchase a refrigerated Food Truck to expand capacity providing pre-prepared ready to eat or frozen meals to assist approximately 480 individuals and families from across the Ipswich, Lockyer Valley and Brisbane Valley region each week.
Twin Rivers Community Care Limited
Twin Rivers Community Care Limited received $80,000 to prepare and distribute quality, nutritious chef-prepared meals with the help of volunteer community members. The kitchen will operate four days a week, and meals will be delivered daily to partnered service providers in the Eagleby and Beenleigh areas.
Windana Support Centre Inc
Windana Support Centre Inc received $20,000 to provide 50 families essential white goods and removal and relocations costs. This funding will assist women and children escaping domestic and family violence to transition from the women's refuge to longer-term accommodation.
Womens Centre Cairns Inc
Womens Centre Cairns Inc received $40,580 to install two children’s outdoor play areas within the Atherton Women's Shelter and Cairns Office to encourage social interactions for both adults and children escaping domestic and family violence.
Women's Health Centre, Rockhampton
Women's Health Centre, Rockhampton received $26,539 for the conversion of a storage room into a laundry, as well as the upgrade of bathroom and toilets facilities.
Youth Housing Project Association Incorporation
Youth Housing Project Association Incorporation received $15,000 to provide home set-up packages (white goods, furniture, etc) to assist young people transitioning from the organisation’s accommodation into long-term accommodation.
Round 2 recipients - 2017
Aboriginal and Islander Development and Recreational Women's Association
Aboriginal and Islander Development and Recreational Women's Association received $13,354 to provide basic ‘household items’ kits to families transitioning to independent living in Mt Isa.
Adventist Development and Relief Agency Australia Ltd
Adventist Development and Relief Agency Australia Ltd received $74,006 to install an industrial kitchen at its Community Centre in Logan. People experiencing homelessness will be able to participate in the preparation of meals for themselves and for distribution to others in need in the community.
Centacare North Queensland
Centacare North Queensland received $236,875 to construct two modular buildings at the rear of its community centre in Mt Isa. The buildings will be utilised as a community hub for people experiencing homelessness and will provide bathroom, laundry, kitchen and storage facilities and a space for workshops.
Clermont Community Housing and Other Services Inc.
Clermont Community Housing and Other Services Inc. received $6,500 to provide “Care Packs” to people within Clermont and surrounding districts who are experiencing homelessness or escaping domestic and family violence.
Family Emergency Accommodation Townsville Inc.
Family Emergency Accommodation Townsville Inc received $19,620 to provide bed linen and towel packs to families entering its social housing accommodation in Townsville.
Horizon Housing Company Ltd
Horizon Housing Company Ltd received $50,000 to provide household and personal items to people who are entering its social housing properties, to assist them to establish their new home.
Inala Family Accommodation & Support Services
Inala Family Accommodation & Support Service Inc. received $12,000 to provide essential home packs to families in crisis accommodation. Packs include linen and kitchen and laundry items.
Jack Reed Barber Shop
Jack Reed Barber Shop received $3,409 to provide three barber chairs that will remain in hospital wards, facilitating delivery of Jack Reed barber services to people experiencing homelessness that are receiving treatment in the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
Kalyan Youth Service Inc.
Kalyan Youth Service Inc. received $8,000 to provide backpacks that include products to improve the health and hygiene of young people experiencing homelessness in Mackay.
Livingstone Shire Council
Livingstone Shire Council received $30,191 to upgrade the Community Centre in Yeppoon to enable people experiencing homelessness access to safe and private laundry, shower and wash-room facilities as well as to access information about homelessness services.
Mission Australia
Mission Australia received $138,000 to increase operations of its Café One mobile coffee van from two days per week to five – seven days per week for 12 months. The Café One is a social enterprise that offers training and employment for vulnerable people in Cairns.
Mount Isa Family Support Service & Neighbourhood Centre Inc.
Mount Isa Family Support Service & Neighbourhood Centre Inc. received $11,364 to provide home packs for those establishing a new home so they can live independently.
Murilla Community Centre Inc.
Murilla Community Centre Inc. received $30,000 to provide emergency essentials relief in the form of food, temporary accommodation, hygiene products and a free small white goods loan system, for people experiencing homelessness in Miles.
North West Youth Accommodation Service Inc.
North West Youth Accommodation Service Inc received $6,450 to provide cleaning, pantry and kitchen items for young people moving into its supported accommodation.
Open Doors Youth Service Inc.
Open Doors Youth Service Inc. received $65,000 to undertake an upgrade of its premises to provide a drop-in centre for LGBTI+ young people who are sleeping rough or couch surfing. The upgrade will include a kitchen, shower facilities, laundry, storage and "chill out" zone.
Orange Sky Australia Limited
Orange Sky Australia Limited received $115,770 to fund the purchase and 12 months operational costs of a mobile laundry/shower van to be based in Townsville. The van will provide free laundry, warm showers and non-judgemental conversation to people who are homeless or in crisis. The van will also support people experiencing temporary homelessness through natural disasters in the region.
OzHarvest Limited
OzHarvest Limited received $294,440 to purchase four refrigerated vehicles for its food rescue/distribution program across the State. (Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Cairns). OzHarvest delivers rescued food to various charities and services, who in turn provide nutritious meals and food items to people who need it.
Palm Beach Neighbourhood Centre Inc
Palm Beach Neighbourhood Centre Inc received $76,450 to provide services to women on the Gold Coast experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including financial counselling, crisis intervention and support, life-skills program and referrals to appropriate services. The grant will also enable the preparation and distribution of women’s packs, USB’s and a Gold Coast Homelessness Emergency Relief Support brochure.
Rizeup
Rizeup Limited received $157,490 to purchase two vehicles to collect and move donated furniture and household items for families in South East Queensland who have escaped domestic and family violence and are moving into a new home.
RSLA (Qld Branch) Bundaberg Sub Branch Inc
RSLA (Qld Branch) Bundaberg Sub Branch Inc received $142,340 to upgrade its facility in Bundaberg to provide drop-in hub services to homeless ex-service persons and their families. The upgrade will include interior renovations, commercial kitchen, air conditioning, lighting, carpets, blinds, tiles and white goods.
Second Shot Pty Ltd
Second Shot Pty Ltd received $179,315 to purchase, fit out and operate 2 mobile coffee vans and one supply car that will be used to train and employ young people experiencing homelessness. The vehicles will operate in the Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Logan and Redlands LGA's.
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland received $27,750 to support the implementation of a Hub at its social housing property in Mackay. Hub activities include a healthy meals program, community nurse visits and communal events.
The Gold Coast Suns Football Club
The Gold Coast Suns Football Club received $57,500 to establish a youth well-being and leadership program with integrated large and small-scale community events for young people affected by homelessness on the Gold Coast.
The Nundah Community Support Group Inc.
The Nundah Community Support Group Inc. received $72,730 to provide food relief, social support and community inclusion to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. A Project Worker will be engaged to assist people who access the Nundah Community Centre and will particularly target older people, people with mental health issues and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
United Synergies
United Synergies Ltd received $174,398 to provide equine therapy (horse trek camps) near Esk for young people experiencing homelessness. The camps will provide young people with self-esteem and practical life skills to break the cycle of homelessness. Skills workshops and ongoing mentoring will also be provided to young people in the broader South West Queensland regional areas.
UnitingCare Community
UnitingCare Community received $229,000 to provide a variety of welcome packs to clients that pass through the UnitingCare Community shelters and refuges across Queensland for 12 months. There will be six types of packs - Food, toiletries, cleaning items, linen, school and baby packs.
Warringu Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Corporation
Warringu Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Corporation received $15,100 to upgrade the outdoor space at its facility in Cairns.
Youth Housing Project Association Inc.
Youth Housing Project Association Inc. received $15,000 to provide home set-up packages to assist young people transitioning from the organisation’s accommodation into long-term accommodation.
Zig Zag Young Women's Resource Centre Inc.
Zig Zag Young Women's Resource Centre Inc. received $30,000 to provide starter packs to assist young women transitioning from Zig Zag's supported accommodation to long-term housing. The starter packs include household utensils, white goods and incidental items.
Round 1 recipients - 2016
139 Club
139 Club received $235,454 to upgrade the existing 139 Club kitchen and transform it into the 3rd Space Cafe—providing a warm, attractive cafe that offers healthy, low-cost meals as well as the opportunity for engagement and interaction.
Access Community Housing Company
Access Community Housing Company (AHCH) received $61,800 to provide 350 dignity bags to be distributed across homeless and support services in the Cairns region. The bags will contain basic hygiene products for people experiencing homelessness, as well as contact information about housing and other available support services. ACHC see the project becoming community supported as benefits roll out.
Anglicare North Queensland
Anglicare North Queensland received $42,000 so its Helping Hand Community Outreach program in Cairns can establish laundry and bathroom facilities at a local drop-in centre. The new services will provide people experiencing homelessness with increased dignity and access to personal hygiene, clean clothing and a haircut.
Base Services Inc
Base Services Inc received $196,363 to buy and fit-out a food van to extend its food service to people experiencing homelessness in the Toowoomba region. The Soup for a Soup Kitchen initiative is also an employment program which will provide people experiencing homelessness with training and employment opportunities.
Communify Qld Ltd
Communify Qld Ltd received $118,765 to upgrade the kitchen at the New Farm Neighbourhood Centre to deliver its Let’s Eat Together service, replicating a home meal setting. It plans to initially provide one dinner and two lunch sessions a week, as well as a traditional Sunday lunch. Each session will cater for 40-50 people experiencing homelessness.
Footprints In Brisbane
Footprints In Brisbane, with project partners Sandgate and Bracken Ridge Action Group Inc and One Voice Inc, received $277,272 to buy and convert a bus so it can be used for a mobile shower and laundry service. The service will be provided in north Brisbane, covering areas such as Sandgate, Aspley and Geebung.
HAV’A’FEED Community Relief Ltd
HAV’A’FEED Community Relief Ltd received $57,273 to reconfigure space it is using at the Mermaid Beach Community Centre to accommodate the growing demand for essential wrap around care and advice services it provides to people experiencing homelessness or people in danger of becoming homeless. The changes will also provide a secondary access to public toilets.
Marist Youth Care
Marist Youth Care received funding of $37,600 to organise and host a Queensland Homelessness Hackathon. This event will bring together people experiencing homelessness and like-minded people from the technical and business community to design and develop sustainable solutions for issues that affect homeless people.
North West Youth Accommodation Service
North West Youth Accommodation Service (NWYAS) received $8,181 to provide Home Packs containing items such as bed sheets, towels and homewares for 30 young people entering NWYAS transitional housing in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. The home packs are not only practical, they are a symbolic starting point for young people starting to live independently from charities and hand-outs.
Orange Sky
Orange Sky Laundry Inc. received $150,727 for a mobile laundry van to operate in south east Queensland and $120,000 for a van fitted with two showers to service the Brisbane area.
Roseberry Community Services Ltd
Roseberry Community Services Ltd received $59,660 to set up a new Community Dignity Hub in Gladstone, providing free private showers, laundry and tea/coffee facilities for people and families experiencing homelessness. The hub will also provide an early intervention program to help people reduce their risk of homelessness.
SecondBite
SecondBite received $281,818 for a van and truck to expand its food rescue operations and deliver approximately 1.2 million more meals annually for people experiencing homelessness, women and families in crisis, and youth at risk in Queensland.
Share the Dignity Ltd
Share the Dignity Ltd received $54,545 to install Dignity Pack vending machines to provide free sanitary products for women experiencing homelessness. The 10 machines, which have an innovative timing security feature, will be placed in a variety of appropriate locations throughout Queensland.
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club received $41,982 to buy a van so that it can help people experiencing homelessness or in danger of becoming homeless in Redcliffe. The Club will use the van for a variety of jobs including collecting and delivering donated furniture and bedding, assisting clients to move possessions as they find accommodation, and moving food from shops to the local CWA Hall to be stored prior to distribution or use.
The Gold Coast Homelessness Network Inc
The Gold Coast Homelessness Network Inc received $60,000 to produce a mobile phone app for people experiencing homelessness and those in danger of becoming homeless. The app will provide real-time information about services’ locations and availability on the Gold Coast, and will include push notifications and maps.
The Haven Association
The Haven Association received $52,900 for two initiatives to help those experiencing homelessness or in danger of becoming homeless. With Dignity Drivers, Haven plans to buy a second hand car and use it to help up to 10 young people learn to drive and get their driver’s licences. With Dignity Camp, it will provide opportunities for four to eight young people in transitional housing to develop life skills and build self-esteem through adventure-based camping activities in a supported environment.
The Jack Reed Barber Shop
The Jack Reed Barber Shop on the Redcliffe Peninsula received $66,520 to provide 1000 haircuts for the homeless across north Brisbane and the Moreton Bay regions. The initiative is based on the premise that a good haircut can build self-image, and foster self-worth and dignity. Barbers will operate from a mobile trailer at regular, selected sites across the region.
The Lady Musgrave Trust
The Lady Musgrave Trust, the State’s oldest charity, received Dignity First funding of $45,454 to help women experiencing homelessness to more easily find the essential services they need. The Trust will use the funds to develop and deliver an information app for the Handy Guide for Homeless Women, as well as to help expand the annual circulation of the booklet from 7,000 in Brisbane only to 18,000 across the state.
The Salvation Army’s Samaritan House Shelter
The Salvation Army’s Samaritan House Shelter received $15,799 in Dignity First funding to help provide a covered outdoor barbecue and dining area in which homeless woman and children escaping domestic and family violence can safely gather in Mackay. The shelter promotes dignity and empowerment for women and children in need through shared meals, social activities and life skills training.
Volunteering Qld
Volunteering Qld received $82,722 to establish a Wynnum Community Hub at the Wynnum Community Centre. The hub is to be a “one-stop shop” to provide services to homeless people and people in danger of becoming homeless as well as to provide paths to social and community support networks.
We Care 2 Inc
We Care 2 Inc received $31,818 in Dignity First funding to help to double its daily capacity to serve hot breakfasts to homeless people in Hervey Bay, with a new mobile food service van.
Wesley Mission Qld
Wesley Mission Qld received $30,156 through the Dignity First fund to enable socially isolated and vulnerable people to charge their phones, use the internet or read a magazine or book at its Logan Street Library trailer. The library is an initiative of Wesley Mission Qld and Logan Housing and Homelessness Network.
YFS Logan
YFS Logan received $50,000 to develop and deliver 8 secure mobile phone charging stations for use by people experiencing homelessness. The charging stations will be placed in homelessness services, homelessness hubs and outreach venues, enabling people to leave their mobile phones to charge while they undertake other activities such as seeing a support worker or having a health check.
What we funded
The Queensland Government established the Dignity First Fund in 2016.
In each round, $2.5 million was allocated across multiple approved applications. From 2016-2020, 162 projects were funded:
- 24 projects in 2016
- 29 projects in 2017
- 42 projects in 2018
- 43 projects in 2019
- 24 projects in 2020.
Brisbane Youth Service used Dignity First funding to help young people and young families at risk of homelessness or disadvantage.
Logan-based not-for-profit organisation YFS helped Donna find employment, thanks to support from the Dignity First Fund.
The Inala Family Accommodation and Support Service used Dignity First Funding to provide tenancy establishment packs for families leaving transitional housing.
Dignity First Fund recipient, 2nd Shot, used coffee to give people experiencing homelessness employment opportunities and a second shot at life.
The Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre used Dignity First Funding to help young people experiencing homelessness improve their lives through access to training and employment.
- Last updated:
- 27 October 2022