Council promises affordable housing for the city’s homeless

BY PATRICK BILLINGS

The City of Sydney is considering a new initiative to stamp out homelessness in the city.

Councillor Marcelle Hoff brought the proposal before council last week after seeing a similar housing scheme in New York City.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said adopting the program would help council meet its target of reducing homelessness by 2017.

The Common Ground project, which provides afforadable housing for New York’s homeless citizens, was introduced in 1990. Since 2005, it has led to a 25 per cent fall in homelessness.

If Common Ground is adopted here, Sydney will be the third Australian city, behind Adelaide and Melbourne, to adopt the scheme.

In the meantime, council CEO Monica Barone will begin an audit to find suitable properties for an affordable housing scheme.

Councillor Hoff said the project was part of the reason why she decided to run in the upcoming election.

‘Common Ground is not another shelter for the homeless,’ she said, ‘but a proven model which is ending chronic homelessness in cities around the world and very soon, in Sydney.’

Counting the homeless is difficult, although it is estimated that there are close to 15,500 facing homeless Sydneysiders on any given night. Boarding houses accommodate roughly 39 per cent of people, while six per cent live in improvised shelters.

Councillor Hoff said this project is unique as it focuses on providing socially integrated housing.

‘We are looking at housing for people who had been formerly homeless, people on low incomes and perhaps some people who will pay market rental prices.’

Councillor Marcelle Hoff said council is yet to cost the project but offered comparable Figures from the US version.

‘Common Ground housing costs $36 per night to operate,’ she said. ‘This is significantly less than other public expenditures: $56 for a city shelter, $164 for a city jail cell, $467 for a psychiatric bed, $1,185 for a hospital bed.’

A spokesperson for the Matthew Talbot Hostel, which can house 98 people a night, said the shelter charges the homeless $16 per night, but the true cost would be much higher. The NSW Health Department estimated the cost of an emergency ward bed at $430.

Dr Eileen Baldry, from Beyond Bars, said released offenders often end up homeless and invariably find themselves back in prison.

‘Homelessness is a major contributor to being jailed. It alone can indicate you will go back to prison,’ she said. ‘The Common Ground approach is fantastic but released prisoners often fall through the cracks ‘ it’s no good just giving somebody a house.’

Councillor Hoff said that along with affordable housing, Common Ground will offer onsite support services.

‘The Common Ground model is unique in that permanent housing is matched with social services tailored to an individual’s needs be they mental health issues, disabilities, addiction or other problems.’

Councillor Hoff believes the strategy is one of compassion mixed with financial benefits because it reduced the costs resulting from homelessness and welcomed corporate support.