Seeing hope in the dark places
The StreetWatch Project has been raised up in response to certain specific needs of Brisbane city’s ‘street people’ – the homeless, those sleeping rough and also persons feeling confused or isolated. It’s objective is to provide safety and general well-being especially but not exclusively after dark, through:
- Pro-active mobile patrol – patrolling the city and the city’s public spaces/parks overnight, actively watching out for those who are homeless, homeless with roofs, or just find themselves on the street
- On-call response – ‘On-call’ response for agencies, city stakeholder or the public needing late night welfare intervention or Chaplaincy care and assistance
- One on one support and assistance – a non-policing, non-authoritarian outreach, available for anyone seeking basic support, one on one care, mental health and other first aid care and/or spiritual care and prayer but only when requested by the individual
- Online directory – known as VAKS this is a unique and dynamic web site developed as an Australia-wide online directory to find a van or kitchen offering food, drink, and contact nearby. (see VAKS below)
Focusing on safety and well being
vaks.org.au is your one-stop online national directory to finding a Van or a Kitchen for anyone needing a feed and some TLC, nearby
vaks.org.au is the opt-in place to register your Provider service and promote the how, when, where, what and who you are doing your van or kitchen
vaks.org.au is the go-to volunteer spot for connecting directly with a Provider who unselfishly operate a van or kitchen near you.
Looking for a van or kitchen near you
To find where to get a meal on the streets — type in vaks.org.au
- the great search engine directs you to finding the who, when, where and what van or kitchen is operating near you
- it also gives you a Google map to help you locate exactly where the van or kitchen is located at the time you select
- all data is PDF printable
Are you a PROVIDER of a Van or Kitchen then vaks.org.au is for you
From those wonderful monthly park BBQ’s to the large organisations, if you are doing VAKS then vaks.org.au is for you.
It simply works on an opt-in basis, only.
Jump on in and register now. It is easy. Go to vaks.org.au
Follow the Provider registration form and give as much detail you want to about your service – you will receive a log-in where you can easily change, update or add info about your service.
With your provider registration
- you get your own page on the web site to promote your VAKS service or organisation
- you provide the how, when, where, what and who info about your VAKS service
- you are added on to the powerful search engine to direct people to you
- you can give as much or as little info about your service
- you can advertise all your regular activities
- you can promote any special events
- you can upload photos and promos
- you can use your page to support and grant or funding application you might apply for
All the how, when, where, what and who info you provide about your van or kitchen is then auto-uploaded into the powerful search engine
Your site/s get a Google map location finder for all to locate you (check it out)
You also get a stand-alone page on vaks.org.au site (see above)
vaks.org.au is FREE* for the Provider also
Wanting to volunteer
– go to vaks.org.au
– choose a Provider offering a VAKS service convenient for you. You can search by locations and times to narrow down providers that are in your area.
– then contact them directly.
We sincerely hope that your relationship with them will be profitable and rewarding for all.
Don’t contact vaks.org.au to volunteer please as this is an online directory service only.
How VAKS began
VAKS is the initiative of ChaplainWatch Inc. (www.chaplainwatch.org.au)
In 2005, ChaplainWatch, as part of its NightWatch Project identified that the food vans in inner Brisbane lacked a central ‘when, where, what and who’ van list for use by beneficiaries, welfare agencies and organisations.
As a result, between January 2006 – September 2008, ChaplainWatch began producing hard copy versions of the VAKS list. This list was circulated to a small group of people and welfare agencies, which allowed more effective communication and co-ordination of the vans and kitchens.
With the introduction of the VAKS website in October 2008, this unique site has been able to reach a broader audience – further meeting the needs of the homeless, service providers and welfare agencies in our community.
In 2018, VAKS formed a partnership with My Community Directory to enhance the features and usability of the website and to provide greater reach to the target community who use this valuable service. This partnership allows VAKS to go national.
* VAKS.org.au is a gift from ChaplainWatch to the Community – 100% free to opt-in, to search, to distribute, to use!
www.vaks.org.au™ © is an online web site developed, maintained, underwritten and made available by ChaplainWatch Inc™ (www.chaplainwatch.org.au) for all to freely use. VAKS™ is working in partnership with My Community Directory (www.mycommunitydirectory.com.au) – the one place to find online community information.