Insert compassion…
As my city recovers from Tropical Cyclone Alfred I hear that Adrian Schrinner, Lord Mayor of Brisbane has given homeless people living in cars and tents 24 hours to leave public parks in the Brisbane City Council region, with threats of $8000 fines if they fail to comply. Schrinner claims that most ‘campers’ were ‘homeless by choice’.
I happened to be walking past Musgrave Park on Wed evening at the same time a support service was returning homeless people’s tents and belongings to them, having stored them safely for them during the cyclone event. I noted the respect with which they handled these people’s property, likely their only belongings, their whole world wrapped in a bundle. The quiet relief as each person was reunited with their bundle and made way for the next person to locate theirs. And then not 24 hours later they are informed they will be moved on and fined.
I began my youth working life as a homelessness worker in the mid 1980s. I have seen some changes, when governments are willing to fund services, when homelessness is seen as a symptom of a system that has failed people, when early intervention is coupled with crisis responses so both ends are being responded to, then we see some changes. However what hasn’t changed is a support system that is underfunded and under resourced and under extreme stress. What also hasn’t changed is the dedication, commitment and respect demonstrated daily by housing and homelessness support workers who work in this hard hard space. And as demonstrated by Schrinner, what hasn’t changed is a willingness to blame homeless people for their situation.
Schrinner claims that ‘these people have refused housing support’, clearly he is painting them as undeserving of our concern. I’m not sure where he thinks these houses are, housing support services are completely crunched, social housing waiting lists are years long, and rental housing is unaffordable for the average Australian, contributing to an increase in people sleeping in tents and cars.
I would love to see an end to homelessness, so many of life’s other issues can feel easier to manage if one has safe, secure, affordable housing. However, I also know that simply putting someone in a house is only part of the work, There are rent and utility bills to pay, a house needs furniture and cooking equipment, there are neighbour/community expectations on how the house is kept and the behaviour of those in the house. This can often be too much for people with limited support; limited experience in maintaining a house; potentially living with trauma resulting from violence both before becoming homeless and while homeless; and possibly significant mental health issues that are exacerbated by their homelessness, but also make it difficult to maintain a house. I have worked with young people for whom a house has been the site of such deep trauma they cant stay within walls, the streets feel safer to them.
The housing support sector for the 40 years I have known it is doing everything it can and more to support people to transition successfully from homelessness to housed, as well as supporting people while they are homeless. The missing part has always been and continues to be adequate funding and resourcing. What is clearly also missing is compassion by our leaders and those who influence them, for the dignity and humanity of those who have been pushed to the margins of our society.
If you live in Brisbane contact your local Council member to demand a more compassionate response. If you walk past a tent, know there is a person living there with a whole life of stories, they didn’t plan for this to be their life. Show them the same dignity and respect you would for others in your world.
