Communities across regional Western Australia are calling for urgent solutions to a growing homelessness crisis. While the state government is responding with long-term housing, residents are concerned of the immediate dangers faced by rough sleepers.
Category
đŸ“º
TVTranscript
00:00After years of living rough on the streets of Bunbury, Robert Dennison finally got a
00:08rest after moving into an abandoned boat club.
00:11It's gotten easier now actually, yeah, yeah, because there's no stress.
00:16The biggest stress I had about being on the streets is waiting to be told when I had to
00:21leave that spot and have to try and find somewhere else.
00:25This building is likely to be demolished and Mr Dennison could soon be back on the
00:30streets.
00:31The City Council is searching for solutions after the State Government rejected a request
00:35for funding for crisis accommodation.
00:37I want to be rehomed now, I'm not waiting for the building to be demolished, I'm saying
00:43to the Minister, get down here, have a summit with all the councils around here because
00:47it's not just Bunbury.
00:49The 2021 Census showed over 2,300 people sleeping rough in WA, more than double the
00:56number recorded in the previous Census.
00:58In regional WA, statistics are limited, but service providers in Bunbury recorded over
01:0440 per cent more rough sleepers this September compared to the same time last year.
01:09In Geraldton, that number had doubled.
01:11The ABC has spoken to several organisations in other parts of WA reporting similar increases.
01:18Providers in the Kimberley are also seeking help to provide emergency accommodation.
01:23We all did agree on having somewhere where people could stay for the night and be safe,
01:30not sleeping on the oval, in their cars.
01:39While the Government has funded crisis accommodation in Perth, in the regions the focus has been
01:44almost exclusively on building long-term housing.
01:47My team, in particular Minister Kerry, is so focused on delivering 5,000 affordable
01:52and social homes with a record $3.2 billion investment to make that happen.
01:58But WA's peak homelessness body says in real terms, expenditure on services and social
02:03housing has dropped by more than 20 per cent over six years.
02:08We have seen decades of underinvestment in housing and so we don't just face a crisis,
02:12we face a disaster and it needs a disaster level response.
02:16While regional cities are begging for that response, rough sleepers are accepting it
02:20might be a long time coming.
02:23Not really much, not really much can do, not much point getting upset or anything about
02:27it.
02:28Trying to ring up at the caravan parks at the moment, my brother bought me a tent, bought
02:32me a tent and everything so I can go to the caravan park and start a life with my son.
02:39Desperate measures for a desperate situation.