Homeless hit hard

Housing waiting list blows out

THE waiting list for social housing in the region has hit more than 3000, with advocates saying more needs to be done to fix the housing crisis.

There were 3069 people on the social housing waiting list in the Barwon area in September.

This is an increase of 6 per cent on the waiting list of 2895 in June.

While the State Government has committed to building 1000 new social housing properties in Victoria, the peak homelessness organisation says more than 1200 are needed in Geelong alone to satisfy demand.

A State Government spokesman said Geelong was earmarked as a “priority location”.

The spokesman said the Government had also committed $1 billion to a social housing growth fund, which will add at least 2200 new social housing properties across the state during the next five years.

The Government introduced the Private Rental Assistance Program to help households in rental stress to maintain their tenancy and ward off the prospect of homelessness.

More than 1200 people in the Barwon area have received support through the program since the 2016-17 financial year.

Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Jenny Smith said regional areas such as Barwon were experiencing huge demand for social and affordable housing.

“In Geelong, 73 per cent of people on the lowest incomes are in rental stress. This means they are paying 30 per cent or more of their income in rent,” Ms Smith said.

“Putting a roof over their heads means they have to go without other essentials such as food and prescription medication.”

Ms Smith said the Government’s commitment to build 1000 new social housing properties during the next three years was a “promising start”.

“But there is still more that needs to be done if we want to start to get on top of the housing crisis in Victoria,” she said.

“Victoria is a wealthy state with a growing population, but we have the lowest number of social housing properties as a proportion of all housing stock.

“The Council to Homeless Persons is calling for 6000 new social housing properties in its state Budget submission for this year.

“For Geelong, 1260 properties must be built in the first three years alone to meet the demand needs.

“All Victorians, including those in our regional centres, deserve to have a home that they can afford.”