HOMES FOR $750
Radical pod plan to ease city’s homeless crisis
A PEOPLE pod – or home on wheels – is set to ease the Glitter Strip’s homeless crisis and potentially save lives, for just $750 a pop.
Made of plyboard and fibreglass, these 2mby-1m boat-shaped miniature campers on wheels hooked up to a bike are going through the final approvals by council safety officers.
Councillor Dawn Crichlow has thrown her support behind the concept, which is the brainchild of Southport community and opportunity manager Peter Whiffin.
Charity worker Brendon Fiander believed the homeless would embrace the people pod, which can lengthen lives by improving health during the tough winter months.
A GOLD Coast home by the Broadwater for just $750.
Welcome to the people pod, designed to ease the Glitter Strip’s homeless crisis and save lives during the cold winter.
Made of plyboard and fibreglass, these 2m-by-1m boat-shaped miniature campers on wheels hooked up to a bike are going through the final approvals by council safety officers.
Southport community and opportunity manager Peter Whiffin gained the support of veteran councillor Dawn Crichlow after she took a ride with the pod.
A qualified builder who built the company Cavalier Homes, Mr Whiffin has been hugged by the homeless after presenting his latest invention which costs about $500 to build. Cost of the bike would be another $250.
“People would come into the shop and they had been sleeping rough, and all their belongings were stolen,” he told the Bulletin.
“We would be giving them shoes and clothes, and maybe sometimes they would stay in the back car park. It really worried me. Then it dawned upon me that if they had a little camper, they could sleep in that and keep their stuff.”
Mr Whiffin used a “stitch and glue” method to put the frame together, created two small windows on the side which can be opened, and included yellow reflectors for safety.
The people pod can be removed from the bicycle and sits on its own stand. The back window opens and provide a cover from the rain. A mattress can fit inside. Future options include solar panels so users can recharge their mobile phones, and a tracking device installed to prevent theft.
“To get off the bottom, when there’s nowhere to stay – it’s hard to get up. They’re tired, and their mind and body goes.
“Yes, some people will abuse it, take advantage of it. But we are going to help someone.”
Charity worker Brendon Fiander believed the homeless would embrace the people pod which can lengthen lives by improving health during the tough winter months.
“I lived on and off for four-and-a-half-years under a tarp in the lower Blue Mountains,” he said. “The Sydney Harbour Bridge – it does get cold, it gets noisy, you can’t sleep properly because you don’t know who is about.
“It does get scary at times. The pod is an excellent idea. It gives you more security. You are out of the rain and winds, and protected a lot more.”
More than 1700 people are homeless on the Coast, an increase of 14 per cent in the five years from 2011. It compares to 1205 in Logan and about 5800 in Brisbane.
Volunteers from the Southport Uniting Church and Encounter Church are feeding about 100 people each week in the CBD. “We see about 35 to 40 people living on cement,” a volunteer said.
Mr Whiffin said he was both stunned and overwhelmed after Cr Crichlow approached council to get approval for the pods to be placed overnight in the Mal Burke car park.
Cr Crichlow said her plan was for pods to be loaned to the homeless. They could park the pod and bikes late at night, use the shower facilities and leave by 7am. At present they sleep in the stairwells.
Approval of the pods would not require a vote by councillors at full council but safety officers need to conduct an investigation or audit which could take time.
“I’ve been approved by local law for them to be there (in the car park),” Cr Crichlow said. “Hopefully council will get on board.”