One of the Rapid Response Mobile Accommodation Units

Container of Dreams has developed an innovative solution to help those hit by disaster. With the support of a NRCF Recovery and Resilience Grant and the Yulgilbar Foundation, they are building a fleet of Rapid Response Disaster Relief Mobile Accommodation Units.

“After the catastrophic bushfires, we learnt that we need to have capacity to immediately respond to these types of crises from within our community, as assistance is often a long way away and can take several hours, days, weeks or even months to appear,” said Dr Clare Urquhart, CEO Container of Dreams.

“We have learnt that people need to be housed in accommodation immediately. With the help of the NRCF, our community will now have a small fleet of Rapid Response Mobile Accommodation Units to respond to this need,” she said.

Based in Tabulam, the organisation is focused on providing emergency housing relief to Communities in the Clarence Valley, Richmond Valley and Kyogle Shire.

Clare picked up the first mobile unit for their fleet from Anarchy Custom Trailers & Fabrication in February. A further three units are due to be collected at the end of this month. Intended for use as rapid response temporary accommodation, the interior of the units will be basic, containing essentials like a sleeping area, small kitchenette and a cassette toilet. Each unit will be fitted out individually. There will be two family units, one unit for couples and one will be fitted to suit an individual, providing flexibility to respond to different needs.

The units are initially being utilised to assist the victims of the Black Summer bushfires. The team are currently reviewing applications for the first unit and expect it to be deployed in a matter of weeks as temporary accommodation for a member of the community suffering housing disadvantage.

The mobile units will then be retained by the organisation to deploy in future natural disasters, such as floods, fires, or in any case of need in our community, such as fleeing violence or homelessness.

“Currently we are conducting ‘Tiny House’ building workshops at our premises outside of Tabulam. These are a whole lot of fun and everyone is enjoying the teamwork and camaraderie,” said Clare.

“These workshops were conceived to assist in the post-trauma recovery of the community. They are being run as a community building experience and are promoting resilience, social cohesion, connectedness and emotional wellbeing and are certainly proving to be a success in that regard. Once complete, these ‘Tiny Houses’ are being gifted to people who lost their homes in the bushfires,” she said.

If you are interested in volunteering with Container of Dreams and getting involved in the community workshops, visit containerofdreams.org.