Hobart City Mission is pleased to announce that the State Government has committed to a further 18 months of funding for the Safe Space program, which provides shelter and support for people experiencing homelessness.

The State Government has committed $16.8 million in the budget to continue the 24/7 Safe Space program in Burnie, Launceston and Hobart.

Safe Space was developed in late 2019 by Hobart City Mission and The Salvation Army as an overnight shelter in Hobart. During the COVID-19 crisis, the State Government increased its funding of the program to incorporate a 24-hour service and expand the program to locations to Launceston and Burnie (run by Launceston City Mission and The Salvation Army respectively).

CEO of Hobart City Mission, John Stubley, says that the funding announcement is a welcomed by both Hobart City Mission and the clients who use the Safe Space program.

“Safe Space truly is a life-changing program”, says John. “This is a group of clients who often slip through the cracks in service delivery. It’s encouraging to see that the State Government recognises the value of Safe Space and the support it provides to this client group”.

John says that the future of the Safe Space program was uncertain before today’s announcement. 

“We were determined to continue to provide the service in some way, but without the funding that might have been at a reduced capacity. We are thrilled that we will be able to continue to help these clients at full capacity”.

“For many of these clients, finding permanent housing is a long process and there many barriers to overcome first. Knowing that we can continue to provide this service for a further 18 months, means we can work with them step-by-step and achieve some really positive outcomes”.

The Safe Space program provides food and shelter for clients, as well as access to various support services such as medical services, Housing Connect, The Salvation Army Streets 2 Home program, mental health and drug and alcohol services, legal services, counselling services among many others.

In Hobart, Safe Space is split into Day and Night programs. The Day program operates out of the upper level of Hobart City Mission’s main office at 50 Barrack St, Hobart, and the Night program operates out of a Hobart City Council space at 44 Collins St.

Between 20 – 30 people access the Safe Space Day program in Hobart every day, with the Night space in Hobart reaching capacity of 18 people most nights.

Thank you to all of our wonderful donors who have supported Safe Space through monetary and in-kind donations to the program.