Hidden homeless

By Melissa Grant
THERE are about 713 homeless people in Cardinia and Casey but most can be found sleeping on a friend’s couch, in a shed or boarding with relatives.
National research recently released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that homelessness remains a serious issue for both municipalities, even though most aren’t sleeping it rough.
Local support agencies such as 4Cs and WAYSS have estimated there are about 50 homeless people in Cardinia, mainly sleeping in cars or on the streets.
But David MacKenzie, co-author of the Counting the Homeless 2006 report, said an invisible type of homelessness made the actual rate much higher.
“We don’t think these are mainly people sleeping rough – they are people living in sheds of some kind, they are certainly living below the standard that’s allowed,” Mr MacKenzie said.
“There’s a lot of people who are staying with friends, people who are floating around.
“It’s hidden, but its still homelessness.”
The rate is higher in neighbouring Greater Dandenong where 764 people are homeless, a rate of 61 per 10,000.
Mr MacKenzie said 245 of these people were living in boarding houses in the Dandenong area.
However, the report is based on 2006 data so the current rate of homelessness in Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia is likely to be worse.
“There’s anecdotal evidence to suggest that’s the case,” Mr MacKenzie said.
Meanwhile, the State Government’s rental report for the March 2009 quarter shows that low-income families in Melbourne’s south east are being squeezed out of the private rental market, opposition housing spokeswoman Wendy Lovell says.
Findings for the report show that 80 per cent of rentals in Cardinia were unaffordable for low-income families, those receiving Centrelink incomes, in the March 2009 quarter. The rate was 89 per cent in Casey and 90 per cent in Greater Dandenong for the same period.
“The report also found that the median rent for residential properties in south-eastern Melbourne increased by 1.8 per cent in the quarter and by 12 per cent higher that the same time last year,” Ms Lovell said.
Mr MacKenzie said low housing affordability was contributing to the high rate of homelessness.
“We do have a housing crisis in Australia and we need a lot more housing that’s affordable for low-income families,” he said.
“What we need is more prevention and early intervention.
“Somehow, we have to catch up, we have to address this imbalance.”