Australia Opens First Eating Disorder Recovery Village

After watching their daughters fight life-threatening eating disorders, Mark and Gaye Forbes decided no other family should face recovery alone.

The couple just opened Queensland's first eating disorder recovery village on the Sunshine Coast, a collection of eight tiny homes where survivors can rebuild their lives before returning home. Each self-contained home includes a shower, toilet, kitchen, and fridge, plus access to communal gardens, playgrounds, and barbecue areas designed to help people reconnect with normal life.

"In Australia, more people die each year from eating disorders than from the national road toll," Mark Forbes said at Wednesday's launch.

The village addresses what families have long struggled with: where to go when someone is too sick to go home but not sick enough for hospital. Residents can stay up to 90 days and return later if needed, with support including meal coaching, trauma-informed yoga, and group outings.

Former Olympic swimmer Lisa Curry spoke through tears at the opening about losing her daughter Jaimi Lee Kenny to an eating disorder six years ago. "My daughter Jaimi would have loved this place," she said. "It's come too late for her and many other kids as well."

The village represents 11 years of work by the Forbes family, who previously founded two other eating disorder facilities in Queensland. Their organization, endED, built this recovery pathway piece by piece after seeing how many people relapsed without transitional support.

The Ripple Effect

The Queensland government invested $1.9 million in the project, recognizing that private partnerships can reach people falling through the cracks. Premier David Crisafulli said the investment makes sense "not just medically but also socially."

The village will support up to 60 families throughout the year, each getting personalized tools to manage their recovery long-term. Staff include people with lived experience of eating disorders, like 26-year-old dietician Tayla Clegg, who recovered from her own disorder a decade ago.

Clegg wants people to understand that eating disorders aren't about appearance. "It's not necessarily just about looks. It's about so much more than that," she said. Her own disorder started as what looked like athletic discipline before quickly harming her mental and physical health.

The Forbes hope their model spreads nationwide, creating safe landing places for people learning to manage a condition that often stays with them for life.

Sixty families will get a second chance this year, and that number will only grow.