Affordable housing hitting the roof

Two of the largest affordable and social housing schemes in the City of Sydney Council area are nearing capacity, leading to warnings about a rise in homelessness numbers this winter.

Common Ground, an apartment building comprising 104 low-cost units in Camperdown, and Platform 70, a system of subsidised private accommodation in Woolloomooloo which houses 70 people, both started operating in late 2011.

According to the Council, both are now at or near full capacity.

“There’s a real risk that unless new opportunities open up, we’ll see all the progress in reducing homelessness numbers lost,” said Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

Liz Giles, head of the City of Sydney’s Homelessness Unit, agreed and called on state and federal governments to commit to funding initiatives to help the homeless.

“Currently the state and Commonwealth governments are negotiating the continuation of the National Partnership Against Homelessness (NPAH) agreement,” said Ms Giles.

“Those negotiations … appear to have stalled.”

Ms Giles said funding from the NPAH, which commenced in January 2009 with a $1.1 billion contribution from state and Commonwealth governments, was due to end in June this year.

“We need more housing,” she said.

The City of Sydney has performed biannual headcounts of those sleeping rough in the area since August 2008 and has documented a downward trend from a peak of 418 in February 2010 to a low of 246 in August 2012, with generally higher numbers in summer.

The preliminary figure for February 2013 showed a rise to 269 rough sleepers.

Greens Councillor Irene Doutney warned that with Common Ground and Platform 70 at capacity, homeless numbers could climb higher over winter.

“Unless the state or Commonwealth governments commit land, housing and more intensive resources, there is a danger that the homeless figures will rise again to their 2010 levels,” she said.

Ms Doutney emphasised the difficulty of sleeping rough in winter. “Many homeless people have health problems and poor resistance to illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia,” she said.

But despite the hardships of sleeping rough, there are some who do so by choice. Nathan, currently living in and around Woolloomooloo, claims to have been homeless for sixteen years. He finds the phrase ‘sleeping rough’ misleading.

“It’s not rough, I don’t get wet,” he said, gesturing to his makeshift shelter.

Nathan said he knew of Platform 70 and decided it was not for him, and that a friend who had utilised the system didn’t like it.

He also thought it would be impossible to eliminate homelessness in Sydney, as many prefer to live on the streets.

“You’ll never get them out of around here,” he said. “Not unless you do it by force.”