Albury-Wodonga’s civic leaders have pledged a single-city approach to tackling the Border’s growing homelessness crisis.
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This comes in the wake of revelations in a special Border Mail investigation that showed the problem had got significantly worse over the past five years.
An especially concerning trend for one homelessness agency was a sharp increase in the number of young mothers or pregnant women becoming homeless.
Wodonga’s Junction Support Services saw 89 young people under the age of 25, mostly women, who had become homeless between July 2016 and April 2017. At least half were fleeing domestic violence.
Albury mayor Kevin Mack said there clearly had to be a change in government policy plus incentives for the corporate and business sector “to be a part of the social fabric fabric of their communities”, as well as a less laconic attitude by ordinary people towards the issue.
“Here it is happening on our doorstep and it’s basically business as usual,” he said.
Cr Mack said there simply were too many people becoming homeless, whether that be as a result of mental illness, financial pressures, family breakdowns or domestic violence.
The largely hidden nature of the problem means that while recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures have the number in Albury-Wodonga at around 800, workers in the sector believe it is more likely far higher.
Wodonga mayor Anna Speedie said everyone in the region “has the right to have a safe place to call home”.
“Unaffordable housing and rental options that contribute to homelessness is of increasing concern in the Border region and has been identified as a health and well being priority by our community,” she said.
“Wodonga Council has been working with local service providers and stakeholders for the past 12 months to identify opportunities and improve the pathways into housing for all people.”
Cr Speedie said this work would inform the council’s plans and the actions and advocacy “we will undertake to tackle this important issue”.
“Homelessness does not have a border - and we will continue our strong relationship with Albury Council in working together on issues that are of importance to both our communities,” she said.
Cr Mack said to tackle homelessness effectively there needed to be a two cities-one community approach.
“We’re working hard with Wodonga on a lot of other stuff. These are the next things we need to advocate on.
“I think we can make a difference, we just need to pull together to do that.”
