CRISIS accommodation is desperately being sought for more than 70 homeless people in Warrnambool.
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SalvoConnect Western regional manager Lindsay Stow said there were 39 individuals and 15 families on a waiting list of people desperate to find a home.
He said homelessness had increased by at least 20 per cent in the city in the past six months.
“We really need an increase in the supply of affordable social housing for people,” Mr Stow said. “There aren’t as many options available as there once were.”
Mr Stow said Warrnambool had 14 transitional properties available and three crisis properties, all which were occupied.
Mr Stow said in the past there were caravan parks, hotels and boarding houses which offered temporary accommodation, but the amount of this type of accommodation had dwindled.
He said this and the high cost of private rentals had resulted in an increase in the number of people seeking assistance to find a home.
Mr Stow said the city’s homeless issue was often hidden: “There are a number of people who sleep rough but generally people know where to sleep so they’re not seen. There is always a certain percentage of people who find themselves in a situation where they’re sleeping rough or sleeping in their cars. The numbers (overall) are certainly increasing.”
Mr Stow said there were a number of reasons people became homeless, including financial strain, family violence, substance abuse, gambling or mental health issues.
His comments come as a Mental Health Victoria report warns a lack of funding for mental health issues was resulting in an increased number of homeless people.
Damien Ferrie, chair of Mental Health Victoria, said Victoria was already showing the signs of following the path of US cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, where untreated mental illness spills out onto streets in large homeless populations.
No house means Marie may have to farewell precious memories
A TERANG pensioner believes Warrnambool desperately needs more affordable rental properties.
Marie Forrest, 65, lives in a three-bedroom house in Terang but wants to move to Warrnambool to be closer to her daughter Raylee.
Mrs Forrest has a range of health issues and living near her daughter would give her peace of mind.
“I’ve made some inquiries and I have found out I would be eligible for a one-bedroom flat,” she said.
Mrs Forrest has looked into private rentals, but said she can’t afford to fork out up to $150 extra a week for a three-bedroom home.
She said her home in Terang housed about 35 years of memories she created with her late husband Phillip, who passed away a year ago.
“I can’t believe my life has been reduced to having to get rid of everything that is important to me to fit into a one-bedroom flat,” she said.
“It’s not fair. Elderly people have a lifetime of memories and have no choice but to dump them. I’ve gotten rid of a lot of stuff but there are things that belonged to him that I would like to keep.”
Mrs Forrest is also worried she may not be able to take her dog Millie with her if she moves to Warrnambool.
She said she knew there were a lot of people who were worse off, with no place to live and more funding was needed for additional public housing.