Smith quizzed Treasurer Tim Pallas about cuts to the program at the Australian Council of Social Service post-budget breakfast. He said the government was dealing with homelessness in a substantial way.
“It’s a little unfair to compare the peak COVID response funding to what constitutes an ongoing need,” Pallas said.
The $75 million spend includes funding for an Aboriginal Homelessness Access Point to provide a culturally appropriate response to Aboriginal people’s homelessness needs and $24 million for new accommodation to help Victorians who need support to maintain their housing.
Smith said winding back the program could end up costing the government more.
“We will see those people lose their housing without sufficient support and be back in the emergency department,hospital beds and jails of our community[which are] much more expensive responses,” she said. “We won’t actually save any money,we will actually end up spending it.”
One of the service providers of the From Homelessness to a Home program is Wintringham,the country’s largest provider to elderly homeless people in Australia.
Wintringham chief executive and founder Bryan Lipmann said From Homelessness to a Home was one of the most innovative and exciting programs he had been a part of.
“It is a magnificent program because it is the holy grail of homelessness,it links support and housing and I don’t know any other program that does that,” he said. “It is distressing to know that it is going to be cut back. People have,for the first time in some cases,a room of their own.”
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Lipmann said some problems were unsolvable,but homelessness was through a combination of housing and support,which was what From Homelessness to a Home provided.
“It’s a wonderful program that shouldn’t be cut,it should be expanded,it is world’s best practice,” he said.
Former rough sleeper Andrew,51,slept in his van in Melbourne before being put up in hotels through the program during the pandemic.
Andrew said he was constantly in fight or flight mode until he received support through the program.
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“There’s kind of a hierarchy of needs that you have when you are homeless and the first hierarchy is a safe place to sleep,the second is food and then comes power to power up your phone and then comes a toilet and then comes,if you’re lucky,showers,” he said. “I was only getting a shower once a week.”
Nine months ago,Andrew was placed in a home for the first time through the program,an experience he said was initially very difficult.
“I was accustomed to being moved about so I didn’t really feel like the house was mine,” he said. “I felt like the house was going to be taken away from me at any time. So it took a long time to get over that sort of feeling that I had.”
Andrew said what made the difference was support services where staff from Wintringham visited him weekly and encouraged him to join a creative writing group,go bowling and go to the football.
“It’s made a huge difference,” he said. “I get out every day now,out of the home. I’m reconnecting with society.”
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