Page 3245 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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The issue of rough sleepers in the ACT is almost a hidden one. We do not know exactly how many people sleep rough, but estimates range from between 50 and 100. We also know there are many people who move in and out of temporary accommodation, who couch surf or sleep in cars. There are a number of homelessness services in Canberra doing an exemplary job, but there is unmet demand for homelessness services and also other crisis accommodation services.
While I recognise the government’s objective or policy of housing first, this is not always going to be appropriate for people experiencing homelessness. In many cases people will not be ready, for a range of reasons, to go into a house or even transitional housing and who will need shelter at night to begin making that transition to having more stable accommodation. This is an issue Ms Le Couteur and I discussed with the people behind the safe shelter proposal and something they see and recognise in being the people who come into contact with people who are homeless each day.
In moving this motion today, the Greens wish to acknowledge and congratulate the efforts of safe shelter and the seven local churches which want to provide rough sleepers with an option for overnight shelter. The churches came together in 2011 and developed a proposal to open their church halls on a rotating basis to provide safe shelter and trained volunteers. The project came together with the help of the Early Morning Centre. These churches recognise that people sleeping rough not only face cold climates and rough conditions, but also do not get enough sleep to be able to function every day.
The safe shelter group approached the ACT government mid last year to seek its approval of the proposal, and the response was that they needed to seek an exemption under the Building Code as they did not meet the minimum standards for accommodation. It should be noted that the church halls are not proposing to act as permanent accommodation; they are proposing to provide temporary emergency shelter, and there does not seem to be anything in the code that prevents their proposal from proceeding.
I recognise there are genuine concerns from government about whether the church halls can safely shelter small groups of people overnight. It is important that the halls have adequate and appropriate fire alarms and emergency exits. Having visited St Columba’s in Braddon last week, I know the building or room where the shelter is proposed has fire alarms and emergency exits with appropriate signage. If the ACT government have already conducted a safety check of the halls, it would be most appreciated if this information could be provided and that they could outline what problems were at each of the locations. Safe shelter has advised that the churches’ insurers do not have a problem with the scheme and the churches are covered for the proposed activity.
The ACT government has also expressed concern about the safety of the clients and volunteers if they are put together in an overnight shelter. Placing a small number of potentially vulnerable clients together requires risk management. Safe shelter has recognised this and worked with Anglicare’s Early Morning Centre to develop training for volunteers and put safety protocols in place. For example, St Columba’s
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