Page 765 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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couple of days, I hope. Of course that is an important place, where particularly men who are sleeping rough through winter can get additional support and sleep somewhere safe and dry.
What is happening across the rest of the world with respect to COVID-19 indicates that there will be an increase in people experiencing homelessness, and probably rough sleeping, as well. Again, we are working with partners, including Catholic Care, who will be immediately expanding their support through Axial Housing—the housing first program, which targets chronic rough sleepers and puts in place the wraparound supports they need to deal with some of the complex needs that they have. So there is a lot happening in this space. We are working very closely with the sector, making sure that the response is targeted and goes directly to those who are affected by COVID-19.
MS LE COUTEUR: Are there going to be specific supports for people living in congregate arrangements such as Ainslie Village and Havelock House, as well as those in private communal arrangements such as share houses? Have you been looking at the idea of these people or others taking over empty accommodation such as schoolkids’ accommodation?
MS BERRY: Yes, we are considering everything, Ms Le Couteur. This is a unique and very new situation. Nobody has written a rule book on how we approach this issue, so we are looking at everything. Government ministers have been, as much as possible, talking with opposition members and the Greens about ideas that you might have to help us along this way. COVID-19 does not choose a political party. It affects all of us, our whole community, and we are open to ideas about how we can support people in better ways. But, yes, all of those things that you have suggested are being considered.
MR WALL: Minister, what preparation work has been done, in the possible event of a total lockdown, to look at how we support homeless people, and what would be the legal status of a homeless person, should everyone be confined to their place of residence?
MS BERRY: The definition of a homeless person is a national definition, so we will need to work very closely with the Commonwealth government. We have been doing that over the last couple of weeks—it feels like many, many months—on what legislative or other changes need to be made. At the moment, with regard to housing there are no legislation changes that need to be made in the ACT to make sure that people are supported. Housing ACT, for example, like a lot of other people who can move online, have moved online. They are now talking with housing tenants on the phone and are able to find out the different kinds of supports that those people need, which they may not have been aware of during their normal client visits to public housing homes.
We already know that there are around 2,000 who are particularly vulnerable Housing ACT tenants who were contacted during the bushfires and will have been prioritised as a group to be contacted to ensure that they are getting the supports that they need as well. As things are moving online, some of that is making it easier to get in touch with
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