By Natalee Kerr
City Hall must do more to help rough-sleepers access support services, according to local a housing provider.
Council played a “key role” in ensuring rough-sleepers received essential support, said Haven Home Safe chief Trudi Ray.
“Engaging with rough sleepers differently by outreaching and providing services to them, rather than expecting them to enter the service system, can have immediate affects,” she told the Indy.
“Navigating services alone can be tricky, so being able to outreach with these people and building rapport and trust is really important.”
Ms Ray was responding to an Indy story last month revealing that City Hall had blocked rough sleepers from sleeping under council offices in Brougham St.
City Hall blocked the area with steel plates, leading to the rough-sleepers then setting up a new shelter nearby in Corio St.
The blockade came as council prepared a plan to “address social housing needs of our community through to 2041”.
Ms Ray said it was “imperative” that council collaborated with outreach workers patrolling homeless hot-spots, especially since Geelong had one of the highest incidences of rough-sleeping in the state.
“A partnership approach to exploring issues of disadvantage, affordability and access to safe secure housing is required to make any inroads into this growing problem,” she said.
Earlier this year State Government announced a $17 million rough-sleepers housing package for Geelong, with funding for the patrols.
Local government could also now “facilitate” affordable housing due to recent changes to the Planning and Environment Act, Ms Ray said.
“They have greater control over ensuring there is an increase in affordable housing within all new developments within the region.”
More than 3200 people are on waiting lists for public and community housing across the Barwon region, according to a Victorian Housing Register.
Ms Ray said the housing supply was greatly failing demand as the state experienced its “lowest levels of social housing stock”.
“The only other alternative is private rental whereby in Geelong median rents for a one bedroom property are $300,” she said.
“(That makes it) impossible for a single person on Newstart or a pension to find an appropriately located and affordable home.”
