A Logan charity says it may have only a tent and camping gear to offer someone fleeing domestic and family violence when it cannot afford a motel room and its backup van is occupied.
Defenders for Hope chair Kathy Smith said rising rents, living costs and limited accommodation forced confronting choices when the community-funded organisation’s budget ran dry.
“When our budgets allow, we can afford a couple of nights in a hotel,” Ms Smith said.
“When we don’t have the money—because it’s $200-and-something a night—we give them a tent and camping gear.
“At least it’s something and better than having nothing at all.”
A 2025 Queensland Police Service review found DFV accounted for about 70 per cent of calls for service in high-volume districts such as Logan.
QPS open data recorded 6445 alleged domestic violence order breaches in the Logan council area during 2025–26, up 4.3 per cent from 6181 a year earlier.
Ms Smith estimated Defenders for Hope received about 20 new enquiries or requests for help each day.
She said people escaping violence increasingly faced a rental market unaffordable on one income.
“Rental prices are out of reach for many people, even for families,” she said.
“The police go in and try to help when it’s unsafe, but where do they go?”
Established in 2021, Defenders for Hope now operates op shops at Logan Village, Hillcrest, Jimboomba and Beaudesert.
Ms Smith said it received no ongoing council or state operating funding, relying on its shops, donations and local businesses.
Volunteers provide food, clothing, furniture and household starter packs to people escaping violence or homelessness.
The Jimboomba outlet also offers a shower, laundry facilities, a food bank and free cooked meals.
Ms Smith estimated the charity prepared 200 to 300 meals weekly and supplied donated furniture and starter kits once clients secured accommodation.
“When our clients get a house, we help them through the process,” she said.
“We try to furnish it for them, and whatever we get in our op shops, we give out free.”
Larger organisations sometimes sought help supplying items beyond their funded programs.
“Their funding stops at a certain level, and then we help with school bags, clothes and bits and pieces,” Ms Smith said.
“It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a lot when you don’t have anything.”
About 75 volunteers worked across the stores, she estimated, some helping clients with housing and government forms or specialist referrals.
The charity also sought professional advice on complex cases.
Ms Smith said pressure on funded organisations flowed to community-backed charities meeting uncovered needs.
“I work with a few other charities in the area and we’re all feeling it,” she said.
“When they get reduced funding, we’ve got to work harder. There’s going to be more pressure on us.”
Her account comes as the Queensland Government faces scrutiny over a $38.5 million reduction in budgeted DFV prevention expenses.
Budget papers allocate $340.7 million for 2026–27, down from $379.2 million originally budgeted for 2025–26 and below estimated actual expenditure of $356.5 million.
The papers say resources shifted from long-term counselling to urgent crisis responses as demand increased.
The government has highlighted more than $50 million in separate investments: $40 million for specialist DFV practitioners in police stations and $10 million for mental-health workers in women’s services.
Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm said the investments would help services support women and children escaping violence.
Waterford MP and Shadow Minister for Women Shannon Fentiman said the deaths of four women and girls within four days showed DFV remained a crisis requiring urgent action.
“At a time when frontline services are reporting enormous pressure, the LNP Government has chosen to reduce funding for domestic and family violence prevention by almost $40 million,” Ms Fentiman said.
She said Logan services could not continue doing more with less.
Ms Fentiman said the government had refused to review funding indexation, leaving organisations to absorb rising wages and operating costs.
She said Queenslanders expected investment in frontline services, specialist responses and safe housing.
Ms Smith said greater investment in frontline services and affordable housing was needed to stop more people falling through the system.
Despite the charity’s limits, she said volunteers would keep finding practical ways to help.
“We’re here to pick up the pieces and help,” she said.
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