Charity boss slams heartless trolls after tent city for homeless is wiped out in freak storm

Hundreds of rough sleepers have lost their shelters in a ferocious, sudden storm that struck right as a government agency shut down another nearby tent city.

A storm, likened to a mini-cyclone, hit south-east Queensland on Wednesday and caused widespread destruction including wiping out tents housing hundreds of homeless people at multiple parks in Brisbane’s south.

Bethania Community Centre helps those without homes in Bethania and surrounding suburbs.

Manager Ashleigh Hassell told the Daily Mail that the majority had their meagre possessions and shelters completely destroyed by the storm.

‘I was really shocked. They got completely smashed. Stuff was everywhere throughout the whole park, all blown far apart. Their marquees were all caved in,’ she said.

‘I just stood there just gobsmacked. It was incredibly sad to see.

‘There are people whose roofs blew off and lots of fences damaged. But nothing compares to what these people have been through, it’s so disheartening.

‘There were tents and whole setups where people had gotten comfortable. Now, every item has been saturated, damaged, flown away or ripped apart.’

Dozens of homeless camps in southeast Queensland were wiped out in a freak storm on Wednesday

Cyclonic winds of up to 100km/h swept through southeast Queensland on Wednesday downing trees and power lines

In a homeless camp in Bethania, the occupants’ belongings and tents were ‘saturated, damaged, flown away or ripped apart’

Volunteers began cleaning up the debris from several tent cities on Thursday and shared a message asking the community to donate supplies.

Ms Hassell was blown away by the huge show of support that quickly followed.

‘We had heaps of bottled water donations, people have donated money and lots of food,’ she said.

‘One guy went to Bunnings and bought $200 worth of stuff, including a 16-person tent. It’s humbling to see just how beautiful our community is.’

However, she also slammed trolls on social media who, rather than help, made jokes.

‘It was hurtful to read some of the comments on Facebook. They joked about ‘running down’ the homeless and questioned why they were worth the effort, it was disgusting,’ Ms Hassell said.

‘People were judging and assuming some of the homeless were addicted to drugs, which I read to one of the people we helped today and he invited them to come down and watch him do a drug test.

‘We help everyone. A lot of people volunteer to come check-in at the centre every day to show they’re doing something, not just sitting in a tent.’

Bethania Community Centre received an outpouring of support from locals who donated goods (above), shelters and money

As hundreds recovered their possessions from the storm, a state body demanded a tent city, permitted by a local council, be shut down

The storms swept through southeast Queensland and also hit those who are able to afford homes but likely have insurance

The centre had 12 groups of people it would help by the end of Friday.

‘On Friday we’ll be heading out to the remainder of the main spots we visit,’ Ms Hassell said.

‘We’ll make sure everyone’s okay and see what we can do. For the most part it’s getting muddy to help clean.’

Ms Hassell also addressed comments she’d seen under the centre’s post criticising the rough sleepers, saying those who seek help from the centre underwent regular drug testing and counselling.

Meanwhile in north Brisbane, the state government has intervened in a council’s decision to allow rough sleepers a designated tent city.

The City of Moreton Bay council turned Wyllie Park into a free, designated area for homeless people in August.

However, Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) this week threatened to take legal action over the site if the council did not meet a list of demands.

Those demands included barring anyone else from using the site and kicking current users out once their registration expired.