FACES OF HOMELESS ON OUR STREETS
Former truck driver sleeping in his car
THESE are some of the faces representing a crisis happening on our streets.
No longer invisible to the city by couch-surfing, sleeping in cars and squatting in buildings, homeless people are now congregating in parks and sleeping next to main roads.
Agencies and support organisations say they’re struggling to keep up with demand for services, including crisis accommodation, medium-term housing, counselling and even basics like food and hygiene products.
The pioneering Toowoomba Housing Hub has reported receiving 60 inquiries a week for a variety of services.
THE full reality of living homeless in Toowoomba hit Daniel Thompson when he was robbed while he slept outside his car.
“I had money put away to get a room, and then I got robbed in the Bunnings car park – they took everything,” he said.
Mr Thompson, who suffered a massive heart attack about a year ago that cost him his job and his house, is one of the many faces now appearing on Toowoomba’s streets every day.
The former truck driver, who slept in either public parks or in his car, said Toowoomba’s homelessness issue was becoming critical.
“I do feel there’s a crisis happening here,” Mr Thompson said.
“The public needs to know what’s going on (in this city).
“The fact of the matter is that it happens everywhere you go.”
No longer invisible to the city by couch-surfing, sleeping in cars and squatting in buildings, homeless people are now congregating in parks and sleeping next to main roads.
And the solutions from the sector for this massive issue were hard to come by, aside from more housing or crisis accommodation.
Mark Redgen, who started sleeping rough after entering a downward spiral recently, moved his swag to James St after he was moved on from the Water St park near the Toowoomba Hospital.
He said he wanted the public to have a full view of how people were struggling.
“I’m making a statement. I’m doing it for everyone (who is homeless),” Mr Redgen said.
The Water St park and Clewley Park have become major congregation points for transient people over the past few years, with as many as 11 living there last week until they were moved on by the Toowoomba Regional Council.
Charities and not-for-profit organisations often cooked dinners for homeless people, including the Wilsonton Progress Association.
WPA organiser Anthony Hurle said the number of people coming for a meal on Tuesdays and Thursdays was continuing to grow.
“We’ve seen an increase in the number of people – we’ve seen 42 people come one night, which is more than we’ve ever had,” he said.
“Since I’ve been at Clewley Park, we’ve helped feed 7500 people.”
‘‘ ADDITIONAL SOCIAL HOUSING IS MOST IMPORTANT, AND THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT CERTAINLY HAS DONE SOME ADDITIONAL WORK IN THAT.
DEREK
TUFFIELD
The council, which under local law has the right to move people from government land, reported it had issued 15 compliance notices in the current financial year, compared with just three the prior year.
RISING DEMAND, LESS SUPPLY
AGENCIES and support organisations said they were struggling to keep up with demand for services, including crisis accommodation, medium-term housing, counselling and even basics like food and hygiene products.
Base Services coordinator Nat Spary said the cost of keeping his community-funded soup kitchen open had doubled in just five years.
Mr Spary pointed to increased costs of food, electricity, regulation and swags, coupled with climbing demand, which created the situation.
“I believe there are services available, but because there are more people, there’s more demand and therefore there are less resources,” he said.
“I reckon it’s becoming more visible. There are a lot more people in the soup kitchen.
“It’s costing us $120,000 a year to run the soup kitchen. It was half that about five years ago.”
The pioneering Toowoomba Housing Hub has reported receiving 60 inquiries a week for a variety of services.
To make matters worse, the issue has been exacerbated by the loss of several short-term accommodation providers.
The closure of the Settler’s Inn and the Hotel Metropole, the burning down of Glennon House in 2017, auctioning of community housing in Helidon Spa and imminent evictions of indigenous residents of 37 properties as part of the failed Downs Housing Company has put real pressure on the remaining services.
Housing and Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni said the State Government would spend $24 million building 58 more public housing dwellings
in Toowoomba over the next five years.
Lifeline Darling Downs CEO Derek Tuffield said social housing was an essential part of the solution to reducing visible homelessness.
“Additional social housing is most important, and the current government certainly has done some additional work in that,” he said.
“As far as crisis accommodation at the moment, there’s a definite demand.”
However, Mr Tuffield acknowledged how expensive both short and medium-term accommodation was to construct or create.
MAYOR’S EYES OPENED
TOOWOOMBA Mayor Paul Antonio said meeting with people battling homeless at Clewley Park this week had been a “wake-up call”.
Cr Antonio, who helped out serving food with the Wilsonton Progress Association on Tuesday night, believes the sector might need to meet to discuss the growing issue.
“It’s a big wake-up to meet people who are homeless,” he said.
“I met some people last night who had reasons why they were homeless.
“Some have come from around, and some people told me their car was stolen, their money was stolen. Terrible stories.
“We need to try hard to have a pathway for these people to get some clearer path for them to go. Maybe we should have a roundtable to get the facts on the table. I urge the people involved in this to come to me.”