By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A CRANBOURNE man, who claims he was taken off the public housing waiting list without being told by DHS, fears his health will continue to deteriorate unless he and his family are soon relocated to a public housing property.
Kosta Diazikis, 68, who suffers from depression and anxiety attacks, currently lives in a private rental property in Cranbourne with his partner and two sons since 2012, after they left their previous home in a housing commission facility in Hamilton.
But Mr Diazikis, who currently receives the aged and disability pensions, said he was taken off the public housing waiting list after leaving the housing commission facility, but was never told about it.
Mr Diazikis said he had first been placed on the public housing waiting list in 2009, after he applied for relocation from the housing commission facility, but didn’t find out he had been taken off the list until February this year, after a letter was sent to the Housing Minister Wendy Lovell by Cranbourne MP Jude Perera on Mr Diazikis’ behalf.
“I found out I’d been taken off the list, I’d been waiting nearly a year and then I thought I’d see my local member, so I went to Jude Perera and we contacted the Minister for Housing,” Mr Diazikis said.
“It’s a big mess, we’ve been waiting and we’ve been completely forgotten.”
After consulting with an employee from the public housing office in Dandenong this earlier this year, Mr Diazikis said he had been placed back on the waiting list.
His doctor and psychologist each wrote recommendations to the Housing Minister, calling for his relocation to a public housing facility, saying his health would continue to worsen as a result of financial strain if he is not relocated to a public housing property.
“We’re very desperate, my life is completely destroyed,” he said.
“I cannot sleep, I can’t get my boys to settle down.
“We’ll be out in the streets soon because we can’t afford it.”
A DHS spokesperson confirmed that Mr Diazikis was currently on the priority public housing waiting list.
“The gentleman and his partner are currently in secure private accommodation and they are on the early housing waiting list for the Cranbourne, Berwick/Pakenham and Dandenong areas,” the spokesperson said.
“DHS staff have been discussing the man’s situation with him and his partner and have provided him with alternative housing options, including Housing Association accommodation.”
Spending on social housing in Victoria fell by almost half, or $247 million, last financial year, while 35,778 people were on the public housing waiting list in 2013, according to the Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services.
The report indicated that the Victorian Government spent $256.8 million on capital expenditure for social housing in 2012-2013, compared with $503.8 million in 2011-12.
