The new Townsville Housing Service Centre

Published: 

1 February 2021 12:42PM

The Townsville Housing Service Centre’s new home on Sturt Street has some great features that are making a difference for the local community.

The space has phone charging facilities for people experiencing homelessness, a children’s area and assisted-service kiosks to connect clients with a range of housing services.

“We’ve had lots of positive feedback from customers,” says Teannie, a housing officer at the centre.

“They say the new centre has a welcoming feeling, it’s easy to find and it’s refreshing and modern.

“It’s also very central to several services our customers may need, including public transport, the Townsville Drop In Centre, North Queensland Domestic Violence Resource Centre and temporary accommodation.”

The centre’s new location is on the ground floor of 101 Sturt Street, Townsville. Clients can access the entrance from Stokes Street, opposite Perfume Garden Park.

The redesign was a collaboration between centre staff, customers, community organisations, the Queensland Government Accommodation Office and the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy.

Steph, who supports project management at the Queensland Government Accommodation Office says the Townsville centre had outgrown its old location.

“What they needed was an open and welcoming entrance that was family friendly and could provide wrap-around support for customers during times of need,” she says.

“The major addition at the new centre has been the Innovation and Community Resilience Hub at the back of the staff area to extend housing help for the community.

“The Hub will be valuable during future disaster events because it can accommodate work groups from local organisations in one large space. This will enable us to better respond to community recovery efforts through integrated service delivery.”

Teannie says the centre’s design is already making a difference for customers.

“The new spaces allow me to be more personable with a customer, rather than talking to them from behind a desk,” she says.

“I can sit with the customer at a table, take them to a quiet room or even sit with them on a couch. The different options help them feel more comfortable.

“Customers can use the self-service area to contact support services directly, make maintenance calls, search for private rentals and more.

“I think this is a great way of providing instant access for our customers and also a way to educate our customers about services available to them.”

Improving housing service centres across the state is just one of the ways the Queensland Government is providing better housing outcomes for Queenslanders.

Learn more about our work to improve service delivery for customers.