Homelessness in Queensland has risen by 22 per cent since 2017, compared to only 8 per cent across Australia. This has been most marked in regional Queensland, where demand for specialist homelessness services increased by 29 per cent in the past five years.

Mackay Corporate Satellite Club Rotarian Belinda Hassan visited Launceston in Tasmania and noted a novel approach to providing a longer-term storage solution for the belongings of Launceston’s homeless people.

The “Strike it Out” group in Launceston had provided lockers on a trailer that could be accessed by the homeless 24 hours a day. Belinda brought the idea back to the Mackay Corporate Satellite Club as a way to help the homeless people in Mackay.

Homeless people normally carry all their positions with them, however there are times when they must leave the possessions unattended. The unattended possessions can get stolen or damaged; this adds to the mental health issues and stress of being homelessness. Kayleigh Brewster, Director of the Australian Street Aid Project (ASAP) and Chances Op shop and Coffee Shop verified the need for the lockers. ASAP provides 40 to 60 breakfasts to the homeless every day, so they have a strong connection to this group of people. Kayleigh had a spot to locate the lockers.

ASAP was endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient. This allowed the corporate club to apply for some grants that required Deductible Gift Recipient status, on behalf of ASAP. This also allowed the sponsors to receive a tax-deductible receipt if the donation went to ASAP. The corporate club and ASAP formed a partnership to deliver the locker project.

The club prepared a budget to fit out two sets of 12 lockers, 24 in total, then applied for several grants to fund the project. The club was successful with grant applications to Rotary District 9560 Foundation District Grants; Macrossan and Amiet; and Mackay Club Rotarian Michael Wright. Corporate Club Rotarian Dean Kirkwood used his industry connections to convince DGH Engineering to build the aluminum bases for the two sets of lockers free of charge.

A working bee of Rotarians from Mackay Club and the Corporate Satellite Club assembled the lockers to the bases at the Resources Centre of Excellence and they were transferred and installed at Chances on 24 November 2023, one year after Belinda brought the idea to the Satellite Club.