As wet weather lashes Perth’s southern regions Kirsty Buchanan is spending her nights on the cold, rainy, streets of Mandurah — one of many in the Western Australian seaside city doing it tough.
Key points:
- Almost a quarter of people without a home in Mandurah are sleeping on the street or in improvised dwellings
- Support workers say there’s support for people doing it tough, but not enough services to get the long-term homeless off the streets
- Families and pensioners are also reaching out to food kitchens amid the rising cost of living
Mental health issues, brought on by family tragedies, prompted Ms Buchanan to leave her home of 26 years and her stable job when her life took a turn.
“I just ended up with nowhere to stay,” she said.
“I’m on the priority list [for housing]. I have been about eight months.”
She has relied on homeless support services for food, dry clothes, and sleeping bags during the harsh winter.
“Being winter, this week out of all the weeks has been the coldest. [It’s] cold. But it’s the boredom as well,” she said.
She is not the only one struggling.
Timothy Tonkin spent six years living on the streets in the Peel region and now shared a motorhome with his friend while he tried to find a house and a job.
“We’re actually arguing now as we speak because of the cost of living, the cost of everything. I haven’t got a cent to my name and neither does she,” he said.
“I would love to go back to work but work is hard to find in my situation – no license and no proper qualifications.
“It’s not easy living day-to-day.”
Unemployment high and many sleeping rough
A recent Deloitte Access Economics report, adopted by the City of Mandurah, outlined unemployment rates in Mandurah as “stubbornly higher” than Perth with a “nationally significant” level of people dependent on rent assistance payments.
It also highlighted a great deal of housing stress among residents, high illicit drug use, and a rising number of people living with mental health issues in the city.
The local council has vowed to look at what can be done to address the issues.
Meanwhile, a recent University of WA Center for Social Impact report found while the rate of homelessness in Mandurah was lower than other parts of Western Australia, the region had the highest proportion of homeless people sleeping rough in the state.
It showed that almost 25 per cent of those without a home were staying on the street or in improvised dwellings as opposed to staying with friends or in crowded houses.
More broadly, the UWA report highlighted a 39 per cent increase in the number of people accessing government-funded homeless services over the past five years in Western Australia.
Significantly, it outlined an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people among the state’s homeless population.
‘We’re all struggling to eat’
Vanessa Nelson is a proud Whadjuk Ballardong Bibbullmun woman who spent years on the streets.
She secured a house in Mandurah earlier this year but said her struggle was not over.
“I’m empty, I have got a loaf of bread, no butter … my cupboard’s empty,” she said.
“I come down to the soup kitchen along with many other family members and non-family members. We’re all in the same boat.
“We’re all suffering, we’re all struggling to eat. We’re all struggling to pay our bills. We are not getting jobs and we are not moving forward,” she said.
But her concern was not for herself, it was for others.
“I sit and I worry every day for the hundreds and thousands of people who are still out there that are living rough, living cold, living sick,” she said.
Fed for free but no place to sleep
There are many community-led organizations, businesses, and individuals lending a hand in Mandurah.
As a city also harboring great wealth, coordinator of the Peel Community Kitchen, Tracey Bain, said there was a drive within the community to help the homeless.
“[The wealthy] donate clothes, a lot of come in and donate money at tax time. So I think there wouldn’t be so much help for the homeless if there wasn’t that much wealth here,” Ms Bain said.
But she said the city lacked what was needed to help combat long-term homelessness, such as affordable housing, more mental health services, and support to help people break drug and alcohol addictions.
“In Mandurah you can get fed every day of the week for free, you can get clothes, you can get shower. The only place it doesn’t offer is somewhere to live,” she said.
“I have been here eight years and I’m still seeing the same people on the streets that were on the streets eight years ago.”
Advocates say housing the key
The state government is set to spend more than $28 million setting up a Common Ground-supported housing facility in Mandurah which will provide up to 50 self-contained apartments and wraparound support to rough sleepers.
But the site is not expected to open to residents until 2024.
Ms Bain said the facility was a step in the right direction.
The CEO of Halo, Dee Freitag, agreed to housing in Mandurah was a key issue that needed to be addressed.
Halo provides food, clothing, household items, furniture, transitional accommodation, and outreach support assisting with welfare services.
Ms Freitag said the rental crisis in Western Australia had prompted an increasing number of new people to reach out for help.
“We are also seeing a lot of families because of the housing crisis … and the elderly,” she said.
“We are seeing a major increase in people who are not eating because they’re trying to keep a roof over their head.
“And then there are the ones, in this bucketing down rain, who are sleeping on pathways and verandahs because they don’t have cars.”
Whether it be social housing or private rentals, Ms Freitag said any offering would be welcome to get people off the streets.
“Any house that goes up for rent is a bonus,” she said.
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