BEROS (formally known as Brisbane Emergency Response Outreach Service) has been operating in the Child Safety Brisbane District for 4.5 years with a current contract until June 2021. BEROS supports young people 12-18 years old in the care of Child Safety who are identified as self-placing which may include couch surfing and sleeping rough.
BEROS provides a 24/7 service model including:
- Case Management (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)
- Overnight support (2 night stay)
- BEROS street to home (after hours outreach 7 nights a week 6pm to midnight)
In October 2019 BEROS was approached by Moreton Region Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women to expand BEROS services to the Lower North Coast district service centres.
By mid-December BEROS had recruited 2 new case managers, 4 new BEROS street to home workers and made a commitment to rent a second overnight support space in the North Coast region by mid-January.
The expansion has seen 12 new workers come on board for BEROS across the 2 districts – increasing the team to 23 workers across Wavell Heights and Kallangur.
The uptake of the BEROS service has been consistent in the Lower North Coast district with 20 young people referred in the first 2 weeks and 70% engagement in the service by young people, utilising all aspects of the service.
BEROS service centres now include:
Brisbane- Alderley, Chermside, Mt Gravatt, Cannon Hill, Inala and Forest lake
Lower North Coast- Redcliffe, Strathpine, Caboolture and Morayfield
BEROS is incredibly excited to be working in the broader Moreton Region and looks forward to establishing the service and new relationships in North Coast.
If you have any questions in relation to BEROS please don’t hesitate to contact Chloe Warrell on 0447 385 199 or cwarrell@communityliving.org.au