The new Townsville Housing Service Centre is making the most of its new home on Sturt Street, offering a range of features proving very popular with local clients.
According to Housing Officer at the Centre, Teannie, the new space features 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,” Teannie said.
“They say the new centre has a welcoming feeling, it’s easy to find and it’s refreshing and modern.”
She said it was also central to other services the customers often needed including public transport, the Townsville Drop In Centre, North Queensland Domestic Violence Resource Centre and temporary accommodation.
Teannie said the redesign was a combined effort between Centre staff, customers, community organisations, the Queensland Government Accommodation Office and the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy.
“The new spaces allow me to be more personable with a customer, rather than talking to them from behind a desk,” she said.
“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.”
She said customers used 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,” Teannie said.
