Homeless mother's baby taken away while waiting for social housing

Homeless mother Hannah had her two-day-old baby taken away by Child Safety officers while she was waiting for social and emergency housing. Hannah, who has lived in a tent for the past two-and-a-half years, is still waiting for adequate housing after applying for both social and emergency options. The Department of Child Safety will prepare an assessment report, but Hannah has not yet received written reasons for her baby's seizure.

At the Redcliffe Hospital, Hannah was devastated to see her baby taken away, weeping for several days. The Queensland Government has cut $42 million from the emergency housing program, and there are currently 56,680 Queenslanders on the social housing waiting list. Charities like Neighbours4Neighbours provide food for homeless individuals, but the building industry is struggling to meet demand in anticipation of the upcoming Olympics.

Both housing and child safety departments declined to comment on Hannah's case due to privacy laws, but the Queensland Government has pledged to deliver $1 billion in homelessness services over four years and committed to a $450 million increase in funding for Specialist Homelessness Services.