Little Malop Street came alive with guest speakers, live music and a good old-fashioned barbecue this week to bring awareness to Greater Geelong’s homeless population.
The free event in Little Malop Central on Wednesday July 27 heard from local homeless agencies, Kaye, who has experienced homelessness and Christine Couzens MP.
Rising rents and a housing affordability crisis has led to more than 5000 people accessing homelessness services in the Barwon Region in the past year.
It has promoted calls from local agencies for a commitment from local, state and federal governments to provide 13,500 new properties by 2041 for Geelong alone which is 675 per year.
Barwon South West Homelessness Networker Rebecca Callahan said the housing affordability crisis has created a dire shortage of affordable options for people on low incomes.
AIHW specialist homelessness services collection shows more than 4660 households in the Barwon region sought assistance from homelessness services in 2020-2021.
During the pandemic there were over 450 households placed into emergency accommodation between March and December in 2020 in the Barwon region. Of the 450 households 131 were housed with support through the Homeless to a Home Program.
These households did not have a stay at home option. Since the restrictions were lifted there are only a few hotels, motels and caravan parks that will take referrals from homelessness and family violence providers in the region. The funding for emergency accommodation has returned to pre pandemic levels while demand for emergency accommodation has increased, Ms Callahan said.
When there are long waiting lists for social housing properties many are applying for private rentals that are limited and not affordable or accessible to people on low income.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ rental report in March 2022, stated there were only 179 properties in the City of Greater Geelong that were affordable for people on a low income.
There were only five in the Surf Coast Shire and 15 in the Colac Otway Shire, the report said.
