THE Catholic Church will be one key stakeholder at a Queensland housing summit tomorrow as the state government grapples to find crisis accommodation for the vulnerable and marginalised.
At the top of the list of those needing a safe and affordable home are women and children being physically assaulted, families sleeping in cars, and elderly people couch surfing because they have nowhere to go.
The Catholic Church is one of the stakeholders with a seat at the government-convened summit on October 20, with under-utilised church-owned properties already identified as a possible source of housing.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said the Brisbane Archdiocese “supports efforts to unlock housing supply for Queenslanders”.
“We recognise the importance of a home in everyone’s life, and we understand the pressure on vulnerable individuals and families seeking housing assistance and support.”
Ahead of the summit QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh said “… people living in cars, tents and motel rooms, young and old people couch surfing, and people sleeping on the street must be front of mind”.
“The retail workers, security guards and cleaners who have jobs, but no house available to go to. These people are in Brisbane, Cairns, on the Darling Downs, the Gold Coast and in regional, rural and remote towns,” Ms McVeigh said.
“More than 10,000 Queenslanders are seeking help from Specialist Homelessness Services every month.
“This summit must commit to every Queenslander having a roof over their head by 2032, and 5,000 social homes being built every year for the next decade.”
Rental stress is a key concern for many Queenslanders. According to national figures the average renter spending $62 more a week than they did a year ago, or more than $3,000 a year.
“In the last 12 months, we have seen double-income families who have never needed support before struggling to find affordable and safe accommodation, older women – who should be enjoying their retirement and grandchildren – suddenly displaced due to rising rental costs, and young people living day-to-day couch surfing because there’s simply not enough housing options available,” Wesley Mission Queensland Director of NDIS, Health and Social Services, Michelle Skinner, said.
Anglicare Central Queensland Housing & Homelessness Manager Adam Klaproth said their region was in the middle of an “unprecedented housing crisis” with no social or affordable housing in the pipeline.
The vacancy rate is down to 0.3 per cent in Rockhampton.
“Central Queensland is far too often overlooked by Government. It is important we have representation at the summit and a regional voice,” he said.
“What works in the densely populated South East corner of Queensland does not transfer to our communities. We need regional responses to this crisis and who better to develop and deliver those than the people living and operating in these communities.”
Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland CEO Grant Simpson spoke of one woman they were helping who had fled domestic violence and now needed a home to be able to be reunite with her children.
“But with 1,445 people waiting on social housing and rental vacancies rates of 0.3 per cent in Toowoomba, this is a near impossibility,” Mr Simpson said.
“She experiences stress, separation anxiety, depression, and hopelessness due to her situation. She knows there is no clear timeline to find a stable home for her family, and no clear pathway insight to improve her situation and those of her kids.”
Community services in Brisbane have also spoken of mothers losing their children, or being in fear of losing them, because they have no secure housing to go to.
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland CEO Kevin Mercer said when families were resorting to sleeping in tents and cars just to survive, there was a duty to move towards a future in which everyone had access to safe, secure, and affordable housing.
“The Housing Summit is a critical opportunity, led by our State Government, for all levels of Government and industry representatives to put their heads together to ensure Queensland is on the right path out of this housing crisis,” Mr Mercer said.
Currently, there are about 46,000 Queenslanders on the state Social Housing Register waiting for a home – a population almost the size of Gympie.
