She has been a volunteer with the Caloundra branch of Rosies – Friends on the Street for 18 years and the majority of that time as the Co-ordinator.  Carolyn was acknowledged as a Life Member in November 2017 in recognition of her ongoing contribution to Rosies.   She has a passion for helping the homeless and those less fortunate than myself. 

 

Rosies reaches out to those most in need, those people who are abandoned, marginalised, socially isolated within our communities.  On The Street Volunteers are asked to commit to four hours once a month to outreach.  Each volunteer is assigned to a team and each team goes out on to the street once a month.  The location is always the same so that our patrons, friends on the street, know where we will be and when.

 

The team meets at the branch base at the designated time and over the course of an hour they catch up with each other to develop the sense of community and family that we take on to the street.  They prepare the van, share relevant information and review recent street reports so they know what has been happening on the street.  The Team Leader conducts a simple reflection with the team and leads the Rosies prayer, then the team travels to the outreach location together in the Rosies van.  The team spends two hours on the street sharing friendship with a simple drink and a bite to eat.  After two hours the outreach is concluded and the team travels back to base together in the Rosies van.  The team, unpacks, cleans up and has a debrief before leaving for home.

 

Points we noted: 40% of Rosies' patrons are under 25 and female; sharing friendship is the key; Rosies Caloundra/Sunshine Coast is the only branch between Caboulture and Mareeba; currently need a new van;  there is not enough affordable housing on the Sunshine Coast; to start in a new area requires an invitation from the local Council.