As National Homelessness Week comes to an end, more needs to be done to support our most vulnerable people.
Despite the best efforts of the Labor Government’s marketing team, the “big build” is hardly contributing to better outcomes for regional communities and families.
As of March 2023, the Victorian Housing Register shows that nearly 67,000 Victorians are on the public housing waitlist, an increase of close to 4000 people over the previous 12 months.
There are hundreds of people urgently waiting for housing in towns across the region, including Seymour, Benalla and the Broadford district.
I am regularly contacted by people who are in desperate need of housing, and they are continually being told that there is simply no supply to house them.
The increasing number of people struggling to find affordable housing and facing homelessness is truly heartbreaking.
Thank you to community-led volunteer operations like the Benalla Homeless Response Group, who are doing incredible work to address these issues.
The group formed as locals heard more and more stories of the silent homeless, those who are couch surfing, people sleeping in cars near the lake, at the showgrounds and under the Benalla library, as well as those sleeping rough and bush camping out of town.
We need real tangible efforts from this Government to tackle this crisis and support those who are most vulnerable.
