After spending more than a decade working in Melbournes west the company I work for moved into an office in Docklands, a stones throw from Marvel Stadium. Most days I go for a walk at lunch. Sometimes I decide to walk into the city centre.
The first thing that have noticed is the amount of people sleeping on the street. Today it is raining and very cold. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it but the amount of people sleeping out the front of shop fronts on Swanston St was outrageous.
There are people almost permanently camped out the front of the 7/11 across from Spencer St station.
Seems to me to be a mark of shame on the city. Having said that I don’t think the issue is a simple one to solve.
Yeah, there have always been people on the streets. I think in past it was possibly hidden. Just seems to have got to an outrageous level now.
The demise of boarding houses, occupied by single men, is a significant cause. Suppose it was the public liability premiums and just the level of legal liability for the landlords.
There’s no political capital to be made by solving such an issue…I think it’s that simple.
I’ve read about how cities overseas have tackled the problem but that was because they decided to help the homeless rather than demonise them.
One place in Canada (from memory) rehabilitated a disused industrial on the outskirts of the city…then built small container size homes on small plots of the rehabilitated land. Homeless people were offered the opportunity to move into these homes for a nominal rent and the agreement to do two days work on the cities parks & gardens.
There was a huge take up from the city’s homeless people which resulted in an 80-90% reduction in the number of homeless people.
(The story went on to talk about how quite a lot of those people were then able to find sustainable employment and eventually move into other accommodation in the private rental market, thus opening up opportunities for other homeless people).
It can be done…we just need leaders prepared to do it.
I worked in homelessness for 10 years, and it’s always been bad. But we’re seeing a massive rise in mental illnesses with men, which is leading to huge rates of homelessness and suicide attempts.
Economic stress is a big problem as always. But men often lack the skills to seek support, socialise with friends, and seek hobbies.
My personal opinion is that men are unsure of their role in society. Losing their identity. Thousands of years being the bread winner for the family, and when they aren’t fitting that role in the family……. Mental health goes through the roof.
A man loses his job, what’s his contribution to the family? Men have placed too much emphasis on their income value, for too long.
Add divorce into the picture and you have a recipe for massive homelessness issues. Especially with the lack of support for men dealing with divorce.
As I said, there is also other problems like men not seeking help, spending quality time with the kids, and socialising with friends.
I do think there is a lot in the news cycle that is meant to distract us from bigger picture issues. Homelessness being one of those issues.
I would like to see more done to assist in the issue. Especially seeing the issue is so blatant. I do however think the issue is multi faceted and probably needs a nuanced approach (such as not demonising homeless people as was mentioned earlier).
Worked in the area for close to 10 years. The homeless situation has sky rocketed since covid and IIRC since a fair few shelters got closed. Not only that but the number of mentally ill and or drug affected has risen too.
The area itself has always been a legitimate ■■■■ hole. Southern Cross is up there with the worst train stations in the world.
Southern Cross does seem to attract a certain patronage, if I can put it that way. I have noticed that there are regulars on the walkway from Marvel to the station.
Is it that governments are reducing funding to social causes now?
Agree on marriage breakdowns being a factor, very hard to get back on your feet as a single, without a strong support network and some financial nest egg to fall back on.