Page 922 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2018
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crisis or transitional accommodation by the ACT specialist homelessness sector or are staying with friends and family.
Census data indicates that about 3.5 per cent of the ACT’s homeless population sleep rough. Rough sleepers can face additional challenges in reaching out to services trying to assist them. They may have had different experiences with services previously and may have a level of mistrust that needs to be overcome. They may also be highly vulnerable people with complex mental health and social issues which they are having to grapple with on a daily basis.
Some rough sleepers are not ready to receive support. Our services are continually reaching out to rough sleepers. It is important to do it in a gentle, non-threating way, to let them know that there are services that can help them into long-term housing. But we understand that for some people it may take some time to be ready to accept more formal services such as accommodation and wraparound support.
Nevertheless, in a wealthy city like Canberra it is concerning that we have people sleeping rough on the street. Quite rightly, the government is making considerable efforts to address rough sleeping in the ACT. There are many support services available that are designed to address immediate and critical needs, including crisis accommodation and support for people sleeping rough. These include not only the OneLink services but also the Street to Home service and the night patrol run by St Vincent de Paul, which actively seek out and support people. Street to Home is particularly important as a service specifically designed to assist rough sleepers into accommodation through persistent and ongoing outreach to rough sleepers.
There are a number of free food services funded by the government, including the Blue Door drop-in centre at Ainslie Village, the Roadhouse, which is coordinated by the Australian Red Cross at the Griffin Centre, and the soup kitchen in Garema Place. There is the early morning centre run by UnitingCare in Civic. The early morning centre supports people sleeping rough, with breakfast, lockers, computers, showers, medical and vet services and information. The centre provides supports to sustain those sleeping rough but in doing so allows an opportunity to work with them to assist the transition into housing.
The ACT spends around $1 million a year providing critical and immediate support services for those sleeping rough on the street. But in 2017-18 we are doing more in order to respond to the increase in numbers. The government has provided an additional $100,000 to the early morning centre for an expansion of its operational hours and scope of services, as well as another $50,000 for business development.
The government is also looking to identify and address systemic issues in housing and homelessness service provision. We are undertaking a cohort study, at a cost of $350,000, into the long-term accommodation models and support requirements of people who are chronically homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The study researchers are now working on the ground in the ACT with our sector partners and the homeless, including rough sleepers. The government is well progressed in its plans to establish a second common ground in the ACT. Common ground is a social
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