By Luke Voogt
Homelessness in Geelong is growing at more than double the rate of the city’s population, according to latest Census data.
Geelong’s increasingly expensive rental market was the main factor driving the rise, according to Salvos Connect Barwon director Lorrinda Hamilton.
House rents rose 4.6 per cent in the last quarter to a median price of $350 per week, she said.
“It’s very concerning – imagine trying to afford that on a Newstart allowance.”
There were 815 homeless people in Geelong in 2016, a rise of 22.7 per cent from 664 in 2011.
The rise outstripped Geelong’s population growth of 10.5 per cent (215,837 to 238,603) during the same period.
Salvo Connect Barwon, which covers a large portion of western Victoria, had 1778 first-time clients from March 2017 to March 2018, up 246 on the previous year and 498 on the year before.
Salvo Connect Barwon’s Naomi Shelton said the influx of professionals moving to work at various new government headquarters in Geelong had driven up demand for rentals.
“What that is resulting in is rent prices are going up and its making it harder for people to get into the market.
“We are certainly seeing more people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.”
The loss of manufacturing jobs meant hundreds more people were struggling to afford the increases, she added.
“People in the private rental market are being left behind.“
About a year ago Salvo Connect introduced a private rental program to assist people struggling financially from slipping into homelessness.
“The person managing that is receiving a high number of referrals and has a very long waiting list,” Ms Shelton said.
“Our services are certainly stretched in managing this but we’re doing the best we can.”
Rising rent prices were also forcing many to couch surf or live in derelict properties to avoid homelessness, Ms Shelton said.
She said police moving the homeless off the streets in Melbourne in February 2017 was not behind the rise in homelessness in Geelong, despite reports at the time.
“There were some suggestions that maybe they were coming from Melbourne but our statistics didn’t show that.”
Ms Shelton urged the State Government to provide more funding for Salvo Connect’s transitional housing programs.
“We’re experiencing an increase in demand but not an increase government funding,” she said.
“We only have a finite number of houses to support people while they are working toward their long-term housing goals.”
The State Government in January funded a $3.5 million Salvation Army project to build 12 townhouses for the homeless.
“But it’s only a drop in the ocean,” Ms Hamilton said.
