Call for Redcliffe sleepbus volunteers

Volunteers are needed for the Redcliffe sleepbus service, which started in September, with a range of roles on offer to suit all levels of commitment and involvement.

sleepbus founder Simon Rowe says the new service, which is one of six across Australia and three in Queensland, is off to a good start with a core group of volunteers enabling it to run three nights a week.

Simon says about 70 people have registered as volunteers, with 30 active or training volunteers at present.

He says sleepbus needs about 50 active volunteers to ensure there is cover for team members when they are sick or on holidays and to ensure people don’t get burnt out.

“There are about nine spots to fill every night/day, so that’s about 30 over a week. We do get people who double up,” he says.

Some volunteers at its Queanbeyan service are approaching 2000 volunteer hours with sleepbus in three years.

“There’s certainly some dedicated people around. We have that at all our services. You get that core group of people you rely on a little bit to be those people on the ground and then they train up the next group and they enjoy that as well,” Simon says.

Sleepbus provides free and safe temporary accommodation for vulnerable people, in buses that have been custom renovated.

The Redcliffe sleepbus can accommodate up to 16 people in individual sleep pods, which have a bed with a memory foam mattress, clean bedding, ducted heating and cooling, a toilet, iPad, and USB charging port.

There is CCTV surveillance to keep sleepers safe and they can store their belongings under the bus.

Guests don’t have to book - they can board the bus at 8.30pm, with doors closing at 10pm and reopening at 7am the next day before the bus departs at 8am.

Volunteer roles on offer

Bus driver – needs a Medium Rigid Truck Licence. They drive the bus to its nighttime location and return it to its daytime location the next morning.

Driver’s driver – Collects the driver from the nighttime location and takes them to their car and delivers the driver to the location the next morning so they can retrieve the bus.

Service volunteer – Provides 90-minute service from 8.30-10pm. They help guests get settled for the evening.

Caretaker – This person volunteers for a 12-hour shift, sleeping on the bus overnight in a private Caretaker’s Cabin and making sure everyone is OK.

Housekeeping – Volunteers remake the beds and give the bus a clean for an hour or two from 9am.

Simon says volunteering, particularly as a housekeeper has become an opportunity for social connection with some people enjoying a coffee and chat while they work.

“There’s a good, broad volunteer range that people can dip their toes in. We have a lot of people who start off in housekeeping, then become service volunteers, then service volunteers quite often become caretakers,” he says.

sleepbus has an online rostering system, which is flexible. Volunteers receive training on the job, with new volunteers mentored for three to four shifts.

“We don’t get too involved with our guests. We’re not counsellors, we don’t provide food or clothing or any of that sort of assistance. Our focus is purely safe sleeps,” Simon says.

“We tuck people into bed, make sure they have a good night’s sleep and then we refer them to places like The Breakfast Club in the morning who are tasked with the longer term solutions.”

Simon doesn’t want guests to rely on sleepbus or volunteers long term.

“We just focus on safe sleeps and make sure people are off the street and kept safe and warm. I think that’s a really important thing to do,” he explains.

Redcliffe sleepbus is operating three nights a week - Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Simon hopes to offer more nights as the volunteer base grows and he has connected with community services and organisations on the Peninsula in a bid to spread the word to people in need of a safe place to sleep.

“It is first-come, first-served. If it looks like we’re going to be full, we’ll look after the most vulnerable first and have a chat to the others,” he says.

“Just rock up if you don’t have a safe place to sleep. We don’t ask any questions, there’s no criteria.”

The Redcliffe sleepbus is parked at the corner of Fisher and Creek St, Redcliffe.

People wanting to volunteer can visit sleepbus.org for information about the roles and to register.