Arabic version: تحدي التشرد في بيرث يتجاوز مخيمات الشوارع

According to ABC News, a recently disbanded homelessness camp in Rockingham highlights a broader and growing challenge across Perth, where support workers say simply moving people on does not address the causes of homelessness. Services report that people needing help now include families, older people, couples and workers struggling with rising rents and everyday costs.

Brett McCaul, the Salvation Army’s outreach team leader in Western Australia, said homelessness had become more pervasive during his six years in the sector. He said services did not have the resources to accommodate the number of families seeking help, while some elderly people were living in accommodation or transitional services when they may need aged care. He said homelessness no longer discriminated and that anyone could be one or two steps away from it.

At Vinnies in Joondalup, demand rose 36 per cent over the past year. Volunteer Josh Chinnery linked the increase in part to family and domestic violence and higher rents, saying even people who had held jobs for decades were seeking support because they could not afford necessities. Maija Hildebrand, Vinnies WA’s service development manager, said people requiring help included couples, people with pets and families trying to send children to school.

Data from the City of Wanneroo showed that about one in three people sleeping rough in the area during the last financial year were sleeping in cars. Neil Clifford-Mills, 66, said his vehicle had been his home before he ended up on a park bench in Inglewood in February. Receiving Centrelink payments while managing health issues, he said he could not find housing after he was no longer able to stay with a friend.

Housing that is available may not suit people’s circumstances. Libby Sweeney, who has lacked stable accommodation for about two-and-a-half years, said her dogs limited her options because not all accommodation accepted pets. Mr McCaul and Ms Hildebrand called for stronger local services that can build on existing support networks. A spokesperson for Homelessness Minister Matthew Swinbourn said the state budget included an additional $91.1 million for homelessness services, though Ms Hildebrand said northern suburbs services still lacked crisis, transitional, short-term and medium-term accommodation for adults over 25.