New haven for homeless

PROFESSOR David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria, last week officially opened a new crisis accommodation centre for the homeless in Doveton.
The Helen Macpherson Smith Trust House will provide transitional housing for local homeless families and was renovated under an innovative project initiated in 1997 by the Victorian Homeless Fund.
Mr Rodney Ord, chairman of the Victorian Homeless Fund, said the new facility had been made possible by combining the capital and trade skills of government resources with community and private-sector contributions.
“This house will provide much-needed emergency accommodation for the homeless in Doveton, an area that is not necessarily associated with having a homeless problem.
“And it highlights the fact that homelessness can affect anyone at anytime in any area of Victoria.”
The project’s success was based on the co-operative efforts of the Housing Industry Association (HIA) Foundation, the Victorian Office of Housing and a number of corporate sponsors.
Mr Ord said the latest house had been made possible through the financial generosity of The Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, an organisation that had a long tradition of assisting community programs in Victoria.
“The project has been managed under the expertise of the HIA Foundation, whose members and suppliers generously supplied labour, materials and fittings for the renovation,” he said.
“The opening today of The Helen Macpherson Smith Trust House is the culmination of many months of planning and hard work and is a tribute to the special skills and talents of those HIA members who have been involved.”
The Western Port Accommodation and Youth Support Service will manage the Doveton house.