About 600 homeless people are expected to take part in an expo in Whitmore Square in Adelaide’s CBD which aims to put them in touch with services they may need.
The Homeless Connect Expo has been organised by Shelter SA and more than 40 services across the health, homelessness and housing sectors will have a presence at the event, to be held between 10:00am and 2:00pm.
Shelter SA’s executive director Alice Clark said as well as free entertainment and food, there would be experts like physiotherapists and podiatrists on hand, as well as lots of giveaways including dental care products.
“Dental health is a really big thing for people sleeping rough and we know that people’s feet really need looking after so we have a podiatry service coming along to the expo,” she said.
“Things like having your blood pressure checked, perhaps your diabetes monitored, looking at your muscles, things that you would normally go and see a GP for … people can easily have those checks for free at the expo.
“We’ll have a physiotherapist there, pharmacy students — all from the University of South Australia’s health sciences school which is really great for people who may not have easy access to a GP or a health clinic or a nurse.”
Dr Clark said according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics about 8,000 South Australians are without a home and approximately 1,000 people sleep on the streets on any given night.
She said Shelter SA had been staging an expo for the homeless every year since 2003 and this year’s event would be the biggest to date with more than 600 people expected to take part.
“It’s a really special day for people who are homeless or who might be living somewhere that’s not affordable for them or that’s not safe or not appropriate for their needs,” Dr Clark said.
“It’s about accessing services but it’s also about having a bit of fun on the day.
“We put on a great day of free food, free entertainment by some fabulous South Australian performers and a range of different barista coffees, morning tea and a whole range of other things that we give away.”
The event is not for the general public but if anyone wants to volunteer for next year’s event they are urged to contact Shelter SA.