❓ The WA government is providing additional funding to homeless support services, specifically the Tranby Day Centre and Foyer Oxford, to extend operating hours and provide ongoing support for vulnerable individuals and young people at risk of homelessness.
AnsweredQoN 575Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOMELESSNESS — SERVICES
575. Mr J.N. CAREY to the Minister for Community Services:
I refer to today's
commitment by the state government to provide more funding for homeless support
services in central Perth—in particular, services provided by the
Tranby hub. Can the minister outline to the house what these expanded services
will mean for rough sleeping in the city, and how this additional funding will
build on this government's compassionate approach to addressing
homelessness?
575. Mr J.N. CAREY to the Minister for Community Services:
I refer to today's
commitment by the state government to provide more funding for homeless support
services in central Perth—in particular, services provided by the
Tranby hub. Can the minister outline to the house what these expanded services
will mean for rough sleeping in the city, and how this additional funding will
build on this government's compassionate approach to addressing
homelessness?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Perth for not
only the question but also his interest and the work he has done over the last
12 months or so with the City of Perth and businesses affected by antisocial
behaviour and homelessness in his electorate. He is not just talking to the
media about it and trying to get headlines; he is actually doing the work to
resolve the issue and to come up with solutions.
I am very pleased that today we were
able to announce half a million dollars in state government funding to extend
the operating hours of the Tranby Day Centre so that it will now be open from
7.00 am to 7.00 pm, seven days a week. At the moment it is open until only 1.00
pm or thereabouts during the week, until midday on Saturday and is not
available on Sunday. There is a range of things we need to do if we want to
reduce the number of homeless people in our state. One is to have a planned,
coordinated, evidence-driven response. That is the first thing we have to do,
and that is precisely the work we have been doing with the not-for-profit
sector—looking at what the rest of the world is showing us is best
practice in addressing homelessness. I think the centrepiece of the work of the
homelessness strategy will be a housing-first approach, in which we get the
right sort of accommodation for people and give them the support they need, for
as long as they need, so that they are stable in that accommodation.
We also need to do other things. We
need to make sure there are touchpoints for people when they are experiencing either rough sleeping or homelessness or are at
risk of becoming homeless. These are provided by Tranby Day Centre , run
by UnitingCare West, and centres run by Ruah Community Services, the St Vincent
de Paul Society and the Salvation Army in Northbridge. We need to be available
for people so that when they are ready to receive help, they know exactly where
they can go to receive assistance. Frankly, we also need to provide a human
face, a hot drink and some comfort in what are obviously very challenging
circumstances. That was part of the announcement we made today, and I am very
pleased to have taken advice from the member for Perth, the City of Perth and
other stakeholders we have been working with to come up with some practical
solutions.
Another
part of today's announcement was about other important touchpoints for
people experiencing homelessness in our state. There is another half a million
dollars—$550 000, in fact—to help keep Foyer Oxford open;
members will be aware of that very
successful model for making sure that young people do not become entrenched in
life on the streets and through which we can give them support very
early on to get them used to renting and the obligations of going to work or
study. Foyer Oxford has been very successful in doing that. It had been funded
by BHP for five years, but its contribution had come to an end, so I am very
pleased that the Department of Communities has been able to continue that
funding.
Far from the generalisations about
people who are homeless—that they are all drug and alcohol-affected
zombies who we should be afraid of—the stories behind the approximately
9 000 people who are homeless every year are as varied as they are numerous.
That was brought home very, very clearly to us at the launch of When there's
no place to call home . I urge members of the public and members of the
opposition to have a look at some of the personal stories in this book of
people who are experiencing homelessness, to understand how they got to be in
the situations that they are in. Two of the people who feature in the book
were, in fact, assisted by Foyer Oxford and are now living stable lives,
working and contributing. One of those women, Holly Rose, told an incredibly
compelling and articulate story about her circumstances when she was 20 years
old and had a younger sister with a disability. Her mother had a mental
illness. Her mother went on holidays to America and that was the last she saw
of her. As a result, she was left to manage a house and her younger sister, who
had a disability, and to try to organise finances and the like. Although her
sister ended up being looked after by her father and her broader family, Holly
Rose was not in that position and she ended up homeless. It was actually Foyer
Oxford that pulled her out of that situation. That is why we need these sorts
of touch points to support people to get them back on their feet and to be
contributing members of our community.
There are many other stories like
that. Not everyone affected by drugs and alcohol or methamphetamine is homeless
and not all our homeless people are affected by drugs and alcohol and are
threats to us on our streets. I think that most Western Australians understand
that. They feel some compassion. They want us to do better for the most
vulnerable in our community, and that is exactly what we as a government are
doing.
I note that the member for Carine is
nodding his head, but I have not heard one constructive contribution or
suggestion from him since he became opposition leader, looking at homelessness.
Several members interjected.
Ms S.F. McGURK : He is the
shadow spokesperson on homelessness. Sorry; I just elevated him above his
station!
Several members interjected.
Ms S.F. McGURK : He did try, but he did not get many
votes; that is right.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Ms S.F. McGURK : I do not know
whether he or the opposition made a contribution to the homelessness strategy
about what they think could be a useful solution or useful proposals to improve
on a challenging piece of policy work and social situation that most
jurisdictions are grappling with.
Finally, the other announcement
today was that just under half a million dollars will go to the Home Stretch
campaign. We know that young people leaving the child protection system are at
greater risk of being homeless and having many life challenges. We need to do
better for those people. We are working with Anglicare on a pilot that will be
very closely researched to track how we can go for those young people. It is a $1.5
million effort today. It is not the end of our efforts. In fact, we want to
continue doing this work so that we can support homeless and vulnerable people
in our state.
only the question but also his interest and the work he has done over the last
12 months or so with the City of Perth and businesses affected by antisocial
behaviour and homelessness in his electorate. He is not just talking to the
media about it and trying to get headlines; he is actually doing the work to
resolve the issue and to come up with solutions.
I am very pleased that today we were
able to announce half a million dollars in state government funding to extend
the operating hours of the Tranby Day Centre so that it will now be open from
7.00 am to 7.00 pm, seven days a week. At the moment it is open until only 1.00
pm or thereabouts during the week, until midday on Saturday and is not
available on Sunday. There is a range of things we need to do if we want to
reduce the number of homeless people in our state. One is to have a planned,
coordinated, evidence-driven response. That is the first thing we have to do,
and that is precisely the work we have been doing with the not-for-profit
sector—looking at what the rest of the world is showing us is best
practice in addressing homelessness. I think the centrepiece of the work of the
homelessness strategy will be a housing-first approach, in which we get the
right sort of accommodation for people and give them the support they need, for
as long as they need, so that they are stable in that accommodation.
We also need to do other things. We
need to make sure there are touchpoints for people when they are experiencing either rough sleeping or homelessness or are at
risk of becoming homeless. These are provided by Tranby Day Centre , run
by UnitingCare West, and centres run by Ruah Community Services, the St Vincent
de Paul Society and the Salvation Army in Northbridge. We need to be available
for people so that when they are ready to receive help, they know exactly where
they can go to receive assistance. Frankly, we also need to provide a human
face, a hot drink and some comfort in what are obviously very challenging
circumstances. That was part of the announcement we made today, and I am very
pleased to have taken advice from the member for Perth, the City of Perth and
other stakeholders we have been working with to come up with some practical
solutions.
Another
part of today's announcement was about other important touchpoints for
people experiencing homelessness in our state. There is another half a million
dollars—$550 000, in fact—to help keep Foyer Oxford open;
members will be aware of that very
successful model for making sure that young people do not become entrenched in
life on the streets and through which we can give them support very
early on to get them used to renting and the obligations of going to work or
study. Foyer Oxford has been very successful in doing that. It had been funded
by BHP for five years, but its contribution had come to an end, so I am very
pleased that the Department of Communities has been able to continue that
funding.
Far from the generalisations about
people who are homeless—that they are all drug and alcohol-affected
zombies who we should be afraid of—the stories behind the approximately
9 000 people who are homeless every year are as varied as they are numerous.
That was brought home very, very clearly to us at the launch of When there's
no place to call home . I urge members of the public and members of the
opposition to have a look at some of the personal stories in this book of
people who are experiencing homelessness, to understand how they got to be in
the situations that they are in. Two of the people who feature in the book
were, in fact, assisted by Foyer Oxford and are now living stable lives,
working and contributing. One of those women, Holly Rose, told an incredibly
compelling and articulate story about her circumstances when she was 20 years
old and had a younger sister with a disability. Her mother had a mental
illness. Her mother went on holidays to America and that was the last she saw
of her. As a result, she was left to manage a house and her younger sister, who
had a disability, and to try to organise finances and the like. Although her
sister ended up being looked after by her father and her broader family, Holly
Rose was not in that position and she ended up homeless. It was actually Foyer
Oxford that pulled her out of that situation. That is why we need these sorts
of touch points to support people to get them back on their feet and to be
contributing members of our community.
There are many other stories like
that. Not everyone affected by drugs and alcohol or methamphetamine is homeless
and not all our homeless people are affected by drugs and alcohol and are
threats to us on our streets. I think that most Western Australians understand
that. They feel some compassion. They want us to do better for the most
vulnerable in our community, and that is exactly what we as a government are
doing.
I note that the member for Carine is
nodding his head, but I have not heard one constructive contribution or
suggestion from him since he became opposition leader, looking at homelessness.
Several members interjected.
Ms S.F. McGURK : He is the
shadow spokesperson on homelessness. Sorry; I just elevated him above his
station!
Several members interjected.
Ms S.F. McGURK : He did try, but he did not get many
votes; that is right.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Ms S.F. McGURK : I do not know
whether he or the opposition made a contribution to the homelessness strategy
about what they think could be a useful solution or useful proposals to improve
on a challenging piece of policy work and social situation that most
jurisdictions are grappling with.
Finally, the other announcement
today was that just under half a million dollars will go to the Home Stretch
campaign. We know that young people leaving the child protection system are at
greater risk of being homeless and having many life challenges. We need to do
better for those people. We are working with Anglicare on a pilot that will be
very closely researched to track how we can go for those young people. It is a $1.5
million effort today. It is not the end of our efforts. In fact, we want to
continue doing this work so that we can support homeless and vulnerable people
in our state.
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