I am really, really frustrated right now. I have promised to be transparent from the start with @findabedAU, and I think part of that transparency has to include being honest about the frustration.
We are so incredibly flat out. I missed a meeting yesterday because i just forgot about it. Because taking the time to get organised and put stuff in my diary just isn't even possible at the moment. That isn't to complain, it's just an illustration of how busy we are.
And there is NO money. None. You'd think that given all the huge numbers we're seeing in donations, that there'd be plenty. We raised money for the generators, and that was great, but now we need resources for rebuilding and we just don't have them.
Families can't access money quickly enough to help them. Every service has barrier after barrier. And then there are the cases we're seeing now getting again and again of people who don't exactly fit what Find a Bed is offering but desperately need help.
The cancer patients (because it's plural) who need a place to stay near a hospital and can't afford to pay for hotels or a second lot of rent. The aged pensioner who was living on someone's property rent free before the fire came through, who literally has nowhere to go.
The family who were living in a bloody tent. Every one of these people has come to us needing support. We have done what we can, but we have such limited resources. We have tried referring them to more appropriate services (funded ones), only to be told they referred them to us!
I am exhausted and emotional. I am so tired of "we'd like to help you but...". Every one of our team is doing this as a volunteer. There was such good will when it first happened, but as the weeks drag on, it's getting harder and harder to get people to pitch in.
There is so much we need to do to make FInd A Bed more sustainable. For start, explaining how we're working with people who have been significantly affected by fires in an ongoing way. And also the important legal stuff (like, getting an ABN).
But it's really hard to be strategic and do the important-but-not-incredibly-urgent stuff when someone needs accommodation sorted NOW. It's really hard right now.
(I should add on the No Money thing- we have 6k in the GoFundMe, but it's locked up for another few days).
And it's not just us experiencing it. Every group I talk to who are on the ground, getting the work done, are finding the same thing.
