By PAUL MILLAR
GEELONG’S homeless are in for an Antarctic-like cold snap this weekend, with up to 40 homeless people shivering through bone-chilling darkness outdoors in every night.
Weather reports said it would be eastern Australia’s coldest snap in five years, extending as far as northern Queensland.
Local homelessness services said some would even be heading to the You Yangs for isolation and security despite weekend top temperatures of just 10 and 11 degrees.
The Salvation Army said it was hard to determine the number of homeless in Geelong as many couch surfed, or slept in cars, but the number of locals exposed to the wintry elements nightly was on the rise.
Damien Bernasconi, from Salvo Connect Belmont, said there had been a steady increase in women sleeping rough, despite the bitterly cold nights.
“I really do not know how some of them survive,” he said.
With the region set to be hit with another cold-snap accompanied by persistent rain, it will be a testing time for care providers as well as the homeless.
“It’s getting tougher as there is an increase in people coming through our services. We estimate there would be 40 people sleeping rough every night in Geelong,” Mr Bernasconi said.
“There has also been an increase in women, there’s a lot of mental health issues and then there’s family violence problems. They are sleeping down by the river and some go to the You Yangs,” he said.
Many of the homeless opted to avoid the city as they could become targets, preferring the isolation of the bush.
“We try and engage with them as best we can. Some of them have lost living skills, we do try and get them off the streets as quickly as possible, however, some have been on the streets for years,” Mr Bernasconi said.
The Salvation Army has donated swags to a number of homeless people, but the cost is prohibitive.
Salvo Connect in Belmont provides showers, a laundry and a community room for the homeless.
Mr Bernasconi said people should be more aware of the strugglers around them and the help services on offer.
Josephine Barnes from Samaritan House, providing crisis accommodation for men, said its four rooms were full, accommodating six men.
The organisation, which is not government funded, is opening another nine beds in the next month to cope with a climbing demand.
“There is an increase in demand, especially when it is bitterly cold,” Ms Barnes said.
“Our aim is to get people into some sort of accommodation, some go back to couch surfing, others we do not know where they go,” she said
Ms Barnes said while the city had plenty of homeless it also had many volunteers and donors prepared to help.
