By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A massive boost to public and social housing is needed for hundreds of people without a home in Casey, says a support-service director.
Leanne Petrides, who runs Cranbourne Community Information and Support Service, said the 1280 homeless people recorded during the 2016 Census was almost certainly an under-estimation.
“While there was quite assertive outreach at census time, I can guarantee that there would be many people who were homeless on the night but were not counted despite best efforts.
“The homelessness issue is a real problem, and certainly growing in our community.”
Ms Petrides said private rent was too expensive for people on low or fixed incomes.
“There are a number of potential options that might mitigate the problem, but really we need a massive investment into both public and social housing.
“Many people are forced into living in rooming houses which still eat up most of their income, and are often over-crowded and potentially dangerous.”
Ms Petrides welcomed City of Casey’s pro-activeness, including the establishment of a Casey-Cardinia homelessness leadership group in February.
The group includes service providers, charities, housing agencies, Victoria Police, Monash Health, Eastern Region Mental Health Association and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Casey’s connected communities manager Jo Smale said a collaborative strategic approach was important in response to the “emerging housing crisis”.
“Greater collaboration between the City of Casey, Cardinia Shire and housing agencies was highlighted as an important step.”
Since hosting a housing summit in October, Casey Council is applying for a grant for a social and affordable housing strategy and has developed a rooming-house planning policy.
It is also investigating how to provide for affordable housing in the planning scheme.
The State Government and Opposition did not respond to Star News by deadline.
