Hutt St Centre improvements given the go-ahead

Hutt St Centre is pleased that the Adelaide City Council has approved a Development Application for improvements to its Hutt St premises at an Assessment Panel meeting this evening.

The centre provides a range of wellbeing services to people experiencing homelessness and has been operating from its current location in Hutt Street for 65 years. The centre assists close to 3,000 people experiencing homelessness each year with housing, employment, education, nursing, meals and case management.

Hutt St Centre Chief Executive Chris Burns said the improvements would allow it to better help clients out of homelessness and cater for the growing number of women and young families it supports by improving access to, and increasing space, within its existing premises. Minor alterations will be made to the centre’s entry and façade.

“This is not an expansion, but an internal improvement to a well-used building that has needed a long-overdue upgrade,” Mr Burns said. “The upgrade will improve the quality of services and facilities for our clients and help with the critical process of assisting them out of homelessness into housing, education, employment and where appropriate, reconnection with families and communities.”

Mr Burns said the improvements would ensure the building would be more aesthetically pleasing from the outside and provide more areas for people to be active inside rather than congregating on the footpath.

Hutt St Centre has seen a significant increase in women, including those with children, experiencing domestic violence and homelessness accessing its services. Mr Burns said a key feature of the redevelopment would be much-needed separate private areas for woman and children, including an internal play area.

“We are very proud of the centre’s redesign, which we finalised after extensive and positive consultations with residents and traders,” Mr Burns said. “We have incorporated many of their suggestions in the design, and we believe it is a win-win for everyone in our community.

“We are very grateful to the Council for approving our redevelopment and we look forward to getting on with what we do best – providing essential services to some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our community.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Verity Edwards on 0412 678 942