Time comes for The Breakfast Club to leave Pensioners Hall

After calling Pensioners Hall home for the past three years, the time has come for The Breakfast Club Redcliffe to pack up their belongings and move out.

The organisation, which provides free meals, food assistance and support to the homeless and those in need, will temporarily move out while Council completes a multi-million dollar refurbishment of the site.

Once complete, the building will provide more space and amenities for The Breakfast Club to continue their vital work in supporting the community. There will be a new commercial kitchen complete with cold storage facilities, a dining room large enough to cater for 100 people, plus new offices, bathrooms, showers, laundry and locker facilities.

Michelle Gilchrist from The Breakfast Club says the new hall would be a wonderful asset to The Breakfast Club and the people they help.

“The new hall will be a far cry from what we have here right now,” Michelle says.

“It will have two tenants – us and another homeless service, so it will be all about helping the homeless and housing.

“There will also be a provision in the car park for the sleepbus which will allow people who use the sleepbus to access our services the next morning.

“It’s going to be a wonderful thing and we can’t wait to see the finished product.

“I want to acknowledge the continued support and assistance we have received from the Moreton Bay Regional Council and our local State Member for Redcliffe Yvette D’Ath.”

It is not known when the building will be demolished, and when The Breakfast Club will be able to move back in.

Moreton Daily contacted Council for comment but did not receive a response before deadline. 

Above: The existing Pensioners Hall, which will be demolished to make way for a new building. 

Where to access services

During the rebuild of the hall, volunteers from The Breakfast Club will operate services in two separate locations.

Meal services and emergency food hampers will be available at the Clontarf Beach Community Hall in Cornelius Street. As the facility and kitchen is smaller than the Pensioners Hall, The Breakfast Club has purchased a food trailer that will allow volunteers to cook meals.

Meal services are held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7-8am, and Tuesday and Thursday from 4.30-5.30pm.

The team will be up and running in Cornelius Street from Monday, June 5.

Hub services include providing support for those experiencing homelessness or disadvantage, clothes, shoes, blankets, and small household items, as well as community outreach services such as Orange Sky, QuIHN Health care, Stand Up Step Out and Paddy’s Van Service Ministry. These will be available at will be available at 3/508 Oxley Ave. You will find them at the back of the building in Unit 3. 

These services will be operational from Tuesday, June 6. Hours of operation will be Tuesday from 9am-noon and Thursday from 11am-3pm.

The Footprints Community Stand Up Step Out Service will operate on Wednesday and Friday from 7.30-11.30am.

To help during the transition period, the Breakfast Club has asked the community to hold off any further donations until Tuesday, June 6. They will be able to accept donations on that day and Thursday, June 8 between 9am-1.30pm at the Clontarf Beach Community Hall.

Above: The Clontarf Beach Community Hall at 34 Cornelius St, where The Breakfast Club will run its meal services and emergency food hampers.

Committed to helping the needy

Volunteers from the Breakfast Club have been hard at working packing up the Pensioners Hall for the move, which will be held over multiple days.

While services and locations might be different in the short term, Helen Bambling from The Breakfast Club says the organisation is still committed to providing a service to those who are less fortunate.

“It is going to be hard for our volunteers and our guests during this time, but we are trying to make this move as easy as possible for everyone involved,” Helen says.

“But throughout this, we will be there to help those who normally visit us.

“There are some people who are anxious but have told us they will come to the new locations.

“Down in Clontarf we have also met some people, elderly people, who have asked if they can come down for dinner. This shows us there is a need in that area, and the fact they reached out to us is a good thing.”

The Breakfast Club have also printed letters and flyers and dropped them into people’s letterboxes around the Clontarf Beach Community Hall telling them they are moving into the area.

“We will make sure that we abide by our surroundings and keep the noise to a minimum,” Helen explains.