Melbourne residents complaining about the unsightliness and poor hygiene of people sleeping rough highlights how confronting people find homelessness to be, the CEO of the Council to Homeless Persons says.
Jenny Smith was responding to a Fairfax Media report on Thursday that Melbourne city council had received complaints about homeless people in the city damaging Victoria’s tourism reputation.
Records of emails and phone calls made to the council also revealed one hotel close to Enterprize Park camp, a place where homeless people commonly sleep, suggested a barrier be erected under the railway bridge to stop people sleeping there, Fairfax reported.
“I think this shows people do find the sight of homelessness confronting, and so they should,” Smith told Guardian Australia.
“Homelessness and poverty is uncomfortable, most of all for those who live it. But I think the majority of the public is very concerned about homelessness and compassionate towards those people, and do want to see governments show leadership in making commitments to address it.”
The complaints should highlight to governments the need for affordable housing for disadvantaged people and the necessary support to keep it, Smith said, with a median wait time of 10 months before someone received priority public housing.
“Only 8% of housing in Melbourne is affordable to people on a low income,” she said.
A city of Melbourne Council spokeswoman said in the last year, the council had received 30 complaints about two central areas where homeless people congregate: Fitzroy Gardens and Enterprize Park.
Seven of those were internal complaints from council employees, and most revolved around hygiene concerns and the accumulation of rubbish.
In a statement, the spokeswoman said the council had recently initiated regular meetings with homelessness services providers to make sure homeless people received the best possible support.
“Occasionally council receives complaints requesting that we move on people who are sleeping rough, however we acknowledge that moving people does not solve the issue of homelessness or develop pathways into housing, which is council’s priority,” she said.
“Any complaints relating to safety concerns or dangerous behaviour are referred to Victoria police.
“It is important to recognise that whilst there are complaints about people sleeping rough there are also many expressions of compassion and concern and examples of individual and corporate support for people who are homeless in the city of Melbourne.”
In November, Guardian Australia reported that of an estimated 22,000 homeless people in Victoria, half were under 25 and 3,000 of them were children. Many were women escaping family violence, those experiencing mental health issues, or those unable to meet rising rents.
