The Plight of Australia’s Growing Homeless By Mrs Vera West
In Moscow, the homeless can only survive by taking shelter close to vast industrial hot water pipes. If they get too close, serious burns could occur. At least Australia does not have that sort of freezing weather, but it is cold enough on the street to die of hyperthermia. And this is a danger that homeless families are facing, as documented in the stories below, given the present rental and housing crisis. The solution is for governments to do something about it, even allocating land where quickly assembled, but warm shelter could be put up, a great advance upon the tent cities that are emerging. Notice how neither party in the federal election, or state parties in previous recent state elections (such as in South Australia), made no mention of this housing crisis. It is easy to forget when not a lot of votes ride on it.
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101243476
“Canberra mother Alicia O'Neill has felt her heart break many times over the past four months, but says her distress peaked when her young daughter asked her a painful question.
"Where are we going, Mummy?," Alicia said her four-year-old asked.
"I don't know, baby," she replied honestly.
"Well, Mum, we can't drive forever," the young girl responded from the back seat.
Up until then, Alicia had told Mia she was on "an adventure". In reality, Alicia and her partner Brendon Fuller had been homeless for months, with Mia and her 13-year-old brother Paul in tow.
"We've lost our home. We've lost jobs. We've lost everything," Alicia said.
"It can happen so quickly.
"We have gone to homeless shelters, caravan parks for a week or two, we've couch-surfed, we've slept in sheds, we've slept on floors, we've slept in cars."
The family were evicted from their rental property in March. They have had nowhere to call home ever since, surviving on an income-support payment.
Canberra remains Australia's most expensive capital city for rentals, which Alicia said made it pointless for her family to apply for a property in the private market.
Her efforts to gain public housing, or even emergency accommodation, have been equally futile.
The 32-year-old said she first applied to be added to Housing ACT's waiting list in 2016, but the government service had since removed her from the list, telling her to reapply.
Housing ACT's average wait time for a priority case is 375 days — much longer than the national average.
In a message seen by the ABC, Alicia also reached out to ACT Homelessness Minister Rebecca Vassarotti over social media.
"Her response was: 'I'm really sorry that you're going through this. I feel for your family. I can only imagine it's a hard time but before we meet, you need to know, I cannot weigh in on an individual's situation,'" Alicia said.
Ms Vassarotti was unavailable for an interview with the ABC, but a government spokeswoman said her office could not comment on individual cases.
"Housing ACT supports everyone who submits a public housing application to ensure they correctly provide mandatory documentation for their application to place them on the waitlist," the spokeswoman said.”
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101157922
https://amp.9news.com.au/article/d294695e-45c9-475f-9dd7-6ffb0b215779
“A Queensland family has been left with nowhere to go after their landlord gave them 30 days' notice to vacate their rental.
The Scott family has sent out 40 applications for different rental properties but they have been unsuccessful.
"They have all been declined so far, we get emails daily saying our application has been unsuccessful," Skye Scott said.
A Queensland family has been left with nowhere to go after their landlord gave them 30 days' notice to vacate their rental. (9News)
With limited options and five days in their current home left, they have been forced to consider a tent to shelter their six kids.
The family, who has been declined a request for an extension, said they were "hoping and praying" for a miracle.
"We're going to inspections every day, applying for houses every day," Scott said.
"I speak with the housing department every day.
"It basically comes down to having to get a few tents and having to sleep in them, that's our only option.
"I guess we're just hanging on until that last second, that last minute, hoping that something comes through."
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101233510
“Single mother of two Monique will be homeless on Friday because she has to leave her rental home, has been priced out of the area, and has not been able to find another home.
Key points:
- The QAO's report details the state government's failure to properly monitor its social housing register
- Housing minister Leeanne Enoch said it had made a record investment in social and affordable housing
- The Council of Social Services says 5,000 homes need to be built every year for about ten years to make a difference
She is one of more than 50,000 people, or 31,000 households, on Queensland's social housing register.
The number of households on the register has increased by 78 per cent since 2018.
The Queensland Audit Office (QAO) released a report on Tuesday saying the state government was failing to properly monitor the social housing register, to build enough new social housing, and to model future housing demand.
It found that as "the private rental market becomes more competitive, many Queenslanders will struggle to access secure and affordable housing".
Queensland Audit Office calls for social housing modelling
Mental health toll of housing crisis
Monique, who did not want to provide her surname, lives in Mansfield, south-east of Brisbane, with a son who has autism and another who is in year 12, and two pets.
"I've been preparing for nowhere to go. I've never ever, ever been in that situation, and I'm a mum just doing my best for my kids," she told Rebecca Levingston on ABC Radio Brisbane.
"The mental health crisis attached to this.
"Please, something has to be done to not push good people trying to do their best and hear us, and be kind, and don't just have empty spaces out there.
"We need help for our kids. We're just trying to do the best for our kids."
Monique said the rent in her area had tripled in price and she had considered "a whole life change", having researched buying a motorhome. But they too were "so expensive".
She has booked a storage unit to put all of their belongings in.
"I feel like I'm being told, as just a person trying to do her best, that I'm being pushed out," she said.
"I have a beautiful care team, there are some wonderful people out there, beautiful people, but you know they can't do much more than what they're doing.
"It's the system. There's a lot of failures in a lot of areas and I feel isolated and unheard in this area.
"No one should go through this feeling."
Monique spoke about the mental and physical toll the situation had placed on her.
"No-one should not know two days out where they're going," she said.
"I know other people get it, I really do. I feel that the people that make the decisions maybe don't and I don't want to just be collateral damage, you know?"
Minister 'ended up in a caravan' herself
When Queensland's housing minister Leeanne Enoch was asked on ABC Radio Brisbane for her thoughts on Monique's situation she said her "heart was absolutely breaking for her".
"I've personally been in that situation," she said.
"I ended up in a caravan outside my mum and dad's house when my marriage broke down, with my two sons.
"So I know what that feels like. I mean, I was lucky, I had the support of my family to get to the next stage."
Ms Enoch was asked if Queensland's priorities were correct given the government had found about $500 million to rebuild the Gabba stadium for the 2032 Olympics.
She said "for Queensland it's all about making sure that we've got good jobs, that our services are better, and that we continue that great lifestyle".
"That's why we've seen record investment in health this year, that's why we saw record investment in housing last year, and why we've seen rapid investment in education," Ms Enoch said.
The state government last year committed to build 6,365 new social housing dwellings by 2025, but the QAO report said this would not be enough to meet demand.
More living in tents, cars, hotels
Queensland Council of Social Services chief executive Aimee McVeigh said the government needed to be building 5,000 social and affordable homes every year for about ten years to start making a difference.
"We're the peak body for community organisations in Queensland so our members are the ones on the frontline everyday dealing with more and more Queenslanders living in tents, in cars, and hotel rooms," she said.
"In order to stop the continual pressure on the social housing register we need to do something about affordability in our private rental market as well.
"We are seeing lots of families who would never have imagined that they were experiencing housing insecurity — people who are working, rents have increased, or they've been evicted from properties and they just cannot find a place to move in to."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-08/update-to-abc-news-homepage/12579988
Ms Enoch said the government were also looking at quick solutions they could put in place.
"That's why I announced recently that the department will be going out for tender for prefabricated homes," she said.
"That's why we're working with local councils right across the state on local community housing action plans, to unlock councils' ability to ensure that we can put these tiny homes on these properties.
"That's why I've increased the amount of the rental security subsidy, and for people like Monique who could secure up to $10,000 over 12 months to sustain her current rental or to secure another rental.
"There are a number of products we're putting into the market to be able to support people whilst we're getting through this really tough time.
"We're building as much as we can as quickly as possible."
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101214288
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101212136
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101192294
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