Janet CollinsPublic Housing for Sydney’s Homeless
August 3rd 2009 06:17
It was so good to hear the announcement yesterday that finally something positive is being done for the homeless. The State Government here in NSW has announced a proposed project, the Common Ground housing project, to move long term and chronic homeless people into purpose-built studio apartment complexes.
The project includes more than just housing for them. Services such as drug and alcohol counselling, vocational training and basic living skills coaching will be provided for them as part of the project. The complex will also have at least one café on the ground level where work experience training will be given to the tenants.
This model of public housing aims to build the capacity of homeless people to become independent, productive members of society by giving them access to shelter warmth and basic needs.
What I liked about this announcement is that for once we have the government doing something that may well help many of the homeless people get back on their feet. The Common Ground project is not being pushed too far into the future either. Construction of the first building at Camperdown in Sydney’s inner west is planned to start within the next five months. This is the first of many buildings planned for construction for the Common Ground housing project, an experiment that has been based on a similar project that has been running in New York for some time.
The NSW Government can’t take all the credit for the new project. Our Federal government is committing to the project as well and under the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, the State and Federal Governments have committed an extra $284 million over the next four years to reduce the number of homeless across the state and provide 175 extra properties for the homeless in Sydney, Albury, Wagga Wagga and New England.
This Agreement includes rental subsidies for women who are forced out of their homes because of domestic violence, finding accommodation for people after release from prison or psychiatric care and assistance for chronically homeless people in Sydney and Newcastle to find long-term accommodation.
In 2006 the national census estimate for the number of homeless people in NSW was more than 27,000. This number has been steadily rising since and once the global financial crisis triggered the loss of so many jobs, the number has risen sharper still.
This year alone news reports on homelessness have been making their way into the headlines regularly and charities are continually calling for more funding to enable them to assist the increasing number of people who are finding themselves on the street.
Past attempts by the State Government to address the issue of homelessness have failed partly because back up services were not considered or the projects would have forced other public housing tenants to relocate.
The project is not expected to have universal approval though. The NSW government is anticipating some backlash from the communities where the projects are to be located. Even if the current government commits to the continued funding of services to the complex, the locals fear that there is nothing to stop future governments from stopping the funding to them, particularly for the support services. Should the social services be abandoned in the future, locals believe there would be detrimental consequences for their entire communities.
Sydney is not the first Australian city to adopt the concept. South Australia launched its first Common Ground project in 2006 and the first complex in Adelaide was opened to tenants in February in 2008. Last year local entrepeneurs were so impressed with the project that six of them came on board as sponsors.
To me, the commitment by both governments, the new housing infrastructure and the support services that are all part of the project sound like an excellent idea. The project will do a lot for those who have been lucky to get only an overnight bed and more so for those who have been sleeping out in the cold. It will hopefully break the homeless cycle for many of those who have been out in the cold for so long.
The Common Ground project is an ambitious project that is long overdue for Sydney. The model has worked in New York and in other cities for some time and in Adelaide it has been a success so far. There is absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t work here as well.
Sourced: www.smh.com.au, commongroundadelaide.org.au
Image of Adelaide's first Common Ground complex from commongroundadelaide.org.au
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