Outside BrisbaneCity Hall on a Thursday nightpeople wait for buses or dart across King George Square on their way home.
All thewhile a growing queue of young people, some on scooters, some in groups, congregate down the side of the iconic building and wait for the Night Cafe to open its doors.
Waiting inside, at the bottom of a staircase that leads into City Hall's basement, is a team of youth workers, doctors, nurses, and other volunteers.
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
"Here at the Brisbane Night Cafe we provide young people aged 12 to 25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessnessa safe space to come and get a hot meal, clothing, hygiene products, have a shower, or speak to our volunteer nurses or doctors" Red Cross youth worker Eboni Frankel told ABC Radio Brisbane.
The Red Cross's Night Cafe opens onTuesday and Thursday evenings, and this yearmarked 20 years of operation.
Aside from the two youth workers and a supervisor, the team is made up of volunteers.
"We have a huge team of amazing volunteers who donate their time to assist the young people in the community who are in need," Ms Frankel said.
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
When the doors open and the smell of roast beef and potato bake wafts out onto Adelaide Street, the young people trickle down the stairs into the bright, welcoming space and take a seat at a booth or gather around a table.
Some, who look cold and tired, come in, eat in silence, rest for a moment and leave.
Others are in and out within minutes, grabbing a meal to go, a few items ofclothing and hygiene products.
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
And then there are those who come with friends. Tight-knit groups who look like they are at a school cafeteria, laughing and talking as they eat around the table.
The overwhelming majority of the young people on this night were under 18 and ofIndigenous orPacific Islander background.
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
Ms Frankel says the young people who come through the door are all different and each is dealing with a different set of circumstances.
"When we think of the word homelessness, the first thing that comes to our mind is someone on the street, living out of a bag but that's not always the case," Ms Frankel said.
"We have a lot of young people here who identify as homeless they could be sleeping on a friend's couch, so sleeping anywhere that they find with a roof.
"It doesn't just have to be someone sleeping on the street, it's someone who just doesn't have a stable, secure home that they can go home to."
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
With that comes a wide rangeof health concerns according toSunny Street volunteer nurse Elise Hicks who helps operate a clinic at the Night Cafe.
"A lot of these kids are on the streets because sometimes they are safer than home," Ms Hicks said.
"So there's a lot of trauma, whether it's physical or emotional.
"We see issues here like self-harming, overdoses from different substances, and sometimes wounds from being barefoot.
"They are sleeping in the garden so they've got multiple infected midge bites and stuff like that."
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
For 18-year-old man Suli, the Night Cafe is as much an opportunity to connect with people as it is to have a hot meal.
The Sudanese refugee who lost a lot of family to warsays he has been coming here most of his life.
"I really value community and trust in an organisation [such] as [the Red Cross]," he said.
"And to be groupednot by other things, but by what we have inside.
"I feel very strongly connected to everybody herewho has been a part of my experience, of growth."
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
For the youth workers like Ms Frankel, that is why she does what she does.
"We like to provide just an overall safespace, judgement-free zone for these young people to come in and feel they are loved and know that they are cared about," she said.
"We help to link them in with services they need, when they are ready.
"They talk about us and they're excited to come to us every Tuesday and Thursday, and we really pride ourselves on knowing that we're something that they can look forward to in their day."
ABC Radio Brisbane: Edwina Seselja
Twenty-nine-year-old Marissa Bercolliembodiesthat pride as one of the volunteers who make the service possible.
"I always thought about wanting to give back but I never really made an effort to do it," she said.
After finding out about the Night Cafe, she now wonders why she waited so long.
"Jump online, find out what's happening and what's available in your community," she said.
"Just do it and make a commitment to positive change in your community."
Read this article:
Brisbane's Night Cafe has been a constant that homeless youth have relied on for 20 years - ABC News
