Photo Jeff Dawson
Melbourne-based rock and folk singer Liz Stringer is currently completing her Australia-wide tour ‘To Survive,’ to raise awareness about the public housing crisis and raise funds for grassroots campaigns supporting local homeless communities.
The Bruns Brekkie – a volunteer-led initiative that supplies communal toasties and barista coffee, every Tuesday and Friday from 7 to 9 am in the backyard of the ‘Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church’ at 50 Mullumbimbi Street, Brunswick Heads – is one of the organisations supported by Stringer’s tour.
Melissa Barnes, a Bruns Brekkie volunteer said that this initiative is all about ‘community connection’.
‘We get pensioners, single mums, and especially isolated seniors who like to come down, grab a toastie, a coffee and have a chat,’ Ms Barnes said.
‘On Friday mornings, the Orange Sky van comes down and offers its services, as well as paid mental health and housing support services. Orange Sky was started years ago by two altruistic 20-year-olds with a vision to improve the health and wellbeing of rough sleepers. It is a big orange van equipped with washing machines, dryers, and a shower.
‘We also offer frozen dinners supplied by Liberation Larder – a massive kitchen that cooks up mass dinners for the homeless around Byron. We want to be inclusive as an organisation. Our services aren’t limited to rough sleepers – the King of England can come for coffee if he wants,’ Ms Barnes said.
This attitude towards inclusivity helps to unite people across various demographics, and can help to alleviate social prejudice.
‘One of our guests – this time last year – he was married, had a professional career, and a house, but now he is living in his car,’ Ms Barnes said. ‘It shows, it can happen to anybody, and no one is altogether exempt from the rollercoaster of life’.
Volunteer Patricia Warren highlighted their appreciation of the Catholic Church for the space as well as the food suppliers.
Liz Stringer’s ‘To Survive’ tour
Stringer has spent a lot of time finding grassroots champions to support in each stop of the tour and she said the ‘Bruns Brekkie’ was a ‘no brainer.’
‘There are plenty of Australia-wide organisations that get the lion’s share of government funding, but we really wanted to find people embedded in their communities, who understand local personalities on the ground,’ Stringer said.
‘My passion for equity and social justice has expanded as the years spent touring Australia and overseas have subjected me to the affordable housing struggle felt by many communities.
‘The motivation for this tour started at a hometown show four years ago when I put a call out to the audience asking for support for a chronically underfunded homeless charity called Wombat.
‘This single appeal generated $12,000 dollars for the ‘Wombat’ charity in one night, and from there I realised that I could use the power of my platform on a national scale.
‘We are six shows into this tour and so far, we’ve raised $11,000.
‘We’re hoping to build a groundswell by the time we reach our Bruns show at the Picture House on 28 November.
‘We just want to rally around these smaller organisations powered by people with good will and big hearts,’ Stringer said.
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