Reverend Charles Harris Diversionary Centre
Short-term care and recovery space for individuals taken into custody due to public intoxication.
About This Program
The Reverend Charles Harris Diversionary Centre provides a safe, short-term alternative to police custody for individuals at risk of incarceration due to public intoxication and public nuisance offences.
The service offers overnight supervised care in a culturally safe, non-judgmental environment.
By offering a supportive space for rest and recovery, the centre helps reduce incarceration of vulnerable individuals while ensuring they receive shelter, meals, hydration, and care. Trained staff oversee each client’s stay.
Key Features
Who was Reverend Charles Harris?
Reverend Charles Harris was a visionary leader, activist, and pastor who dedicated his life to advancing the rights and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
As a founder of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, he championed self-determination, spiritual strength, and social justice. His legacy continues to inspire Yumba-Meta’s commitment to community, culture, and empowerment.
Want to Know More About How This Service Works?
Our team can answer questions about the referral process, partnerships, and outcomes.
“We appreciate everything Yumba-Meta have done for us and we think of them more as friends than our landlord.”
Jedda & Alex Schwartz
Long-Term Housing Resident
Jedda & Alex Schwartz
Long-Term Housing Resident
When Jedda and Alex Schwartz decided to move to Townsville from Mt Isa in 1995, they were taking a big risk. Alex was earning a good wage in the mining industry and they didn’t have a house to move into.
“There were a lot of things happening in Mt Isa at that time and we didn’t like that environment for our children,” Mrs Schwartz said.
“We had a daughter (Jillian) in her early teens and we didn’t want her heading in the wrong direction.” And so the family (Jedda, Alex, 16-year-old Jillian, 10-year-old Stephanie and their little brother Alexander Jnr) made the move to Jedda’s brother’s house in Townsville.
“We needn’t have worried,” Mrs Schwartz said.
“My brother told us to put our name down for housing with Yumba-Meta, who he was with, and within a few months we had our own place.”
“We appreciate everything Yumba-Meta have done for us and we think of them more as friends than our landlord.”
The Schwartz family have been so happy with the community housing service provided by Yumba-Meta that they’ve been renting with them for close to 25 years.
“Our longest rental was a four-bedroom house in Rasmussen we had for 20 years,” Mrs Schwartz said.
“Yumba-Meta knew it would be perfect for our family so they called us when it became available. As well as the low rent, we had the peace of mind that we could keep the house as long as we wanted. Not like with private rental, when you have to keep moving when the house is sold.”
The house was only a few years old and very modern, with high ceilings and a big front and back yard. When the children moved out of home, it was time for Jedda and Alex to find something smaller. Having been diagnosed with bone cancer, and finding it difficult to walk, Jedda also needed a home that was disability friendly.
YML found the couple a two-bedroom apartment in Aitkenvale that ticked all the boxes.
“They actually did the shower up for us and put in rails,” Mr Schwartz said.
“We want to continue renting with Yumba-Meta for the rest of our lives.”
The spare bedroom for relatives to visit is also a bonus and, yes, the move from Mt Isa to Townsville all those years ago worked out well.
“Jillian now works with Fire and Rescue Australia, taking the 000 calls,” Mrs Schwartz said,
“Stephanie is a supervisor at Wulguru Child Care Centre and wants to study teaching and Alex is a concreter. It was a good move!”
“Red Cross and the people at Yumba-Meta helped get me off the street and I really love it in my new home,”
Lisa Kidner
Dale Parker Place Resident
Lisa Kidner
Dale Parker Place Resident
Not long ago, Lisa Kidner was sharing a single room lodging with her brother in Townsville’s CBD.
Today, she’s enjoying life doing the things she likes most… fishing, cooking and spending time with her family in her own home.
Born on Palm Island, Ms Kidner moved to the mainland when she was 25 years old. Ten years later, she evokes memories about her first few years in Townsville living rough in the city’s homeless hotspots.
“I spent a lot of time camping in Hanran Park and down the Strand, drinking and smoking too much, getting into fights in Dean Park and drinking under Victoria Bridge,” Ms Kinder recalled.
“I’ve been good for a couple of years now but up until September 2017 I was living with my brother in Sturt Lodge in the city and sharing a room. Red Cross put me in touch with Yumba-Meta and now I’ve got a unit on Bowen Road in Rosslea.”
Ms Kidner’s immediate family also live in Townsville but she’s very much enjoying her space and living her own life in her new home; spending time with her two sons Jack and Darryl who are also in Yumba-Meta housing as well as her nephews who live nearby and being able to help look after her brother who has epilepsy.
She said life is starting to change for her.
“Red Cross and the people at Yumba-Meta helped get me off the street and I really love it in my new home,” she said. “They take us fishing every Friday and we also do arts and crafts, beadings and paintings. I have my own space and I can relax back and do my own things.”
Making the transition to living in the Yumba-Meta community at Rosslea was easy for Ms Kidner, who enjoys the pace of life offered by the surroundings and the great service provided by the team. Apart from the occasional ruckus in the complex she said it’s a great little community where she’s even made some new friends. “Being so close to the river is great ‘cause I like my fishing too,” Ms Kidner said.
“I usually catch a few Mangrove Jacks and cook them up for dinner. The services here are good. We all go in for meetings and they treat us very nice and take us where we want to go in the car to get groceries or go to Centrelink if we need to. And if we want to move in the future they’ll help us apply for housing.”
