Latest news with #MicahProjects
ABC News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Queensland public housing tenants to be evicted after three warnings for serious behaviour in a year
Public housing tenants in Queensland who are issued three warnings for serious behaviour in a year could be evicted under a new government policy. The new policy, which will come into effect in July, will also see tenants who are evicted for committing illegal offences banned from reapplying for two years. Housing Minister Sam O'Connor said the new approach would allow housing officers to record warnings against tenancies and take action if the behaviour continued. "It is all about making sure our tenants are as safe as they possibly can be and that the overwhelming majority who do the right thing are protected in their homes and in their communities that they love," he said. He said officers would have the ability to apply discretion to tenants with complex needs, including disability, mental illness, and those experiencing domestic violence. Karyn Walsh, chief executive of non-profit organisation Micah Projects, said she was disappointed in the new approach believing it would "not do anything to reduce homelessness". "I understand the issues that social housing is facing, but I think there are other ways that we need to be addressing it because it disproportionately is going to affect the most vulnerable in our community," she said. "There is a ripple effect if people aren't eligible for social housing with bans, and then there are other things they are not eligible for when they come to a homeless service." Under the changes tenants who engage in severe or illegal activities, including assault, drug manufacturing or dangerous behaviour, will be exited immediately and banned from accessing social housing for two years. Tenants who engage in serious behaviour, including deliberate and persistent damage and aggressive language to others, will be evicted from public housing on their third breach within a year and banned from accessing public housing for 12 months. Under the changes no verbal warnings will be issued and after receiving a written warning tenants must commit to improving their conduct or they will face formal action to end their tenancy. More than 12,000 social housing properties were damaged last financial year, according to the government, costing more than $20 million in repairs. When asked what options were available to those who were evicted, Mr O'Connor told ABC Radio Brisbane there was "a range of products available that the department offers to support them to transition to another option". "We have got 52,031 people on our wait list who are eligible for social housing and it is not acceptable to have people in the system who abuse that and who deliberately damage and cause significant amounts of destruction to our properties." The government announced this week from July 1 it would conduct annual rent reviews to determine if social housing recipients were still within the income limit. At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr O'Connor said changing the income caps for social housing tenants was not on the government's agenda.
The Age
5 days ago
- General
- The Age
Tents have disappeared, tunnels cleared. Where are homeless sleeping?
By day, the tunnel next to the Albert Street Cross River Rail construction site is a hive of pedestrian activity. Retail and office workers stride purposefully towards the CBD, as a slower tide of uni students and day trippers move towards the Botanic Gardens. By night, the tunnel becomes a place of shelter for rough sleepers. Sometimes they are still there, faces pressed into worn sleeping bags or turned against the concrete, when the morning rush descends. At least, that was until the signs went up, warning 'this area is to be kept clear at all times, any items found risk being removed'. There have been similar crackdowns on visible rough sleeping in other parts of the city. A month ago, police and council officers cleared one of the largest encampments from South Brisbane's Musgrave Park. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner dismissed suggestions it was done for the upcoming Paniyiri Greek Festival, pointing instead to a directive issued in March. The festival packed down weeks ago, but Musgrave Park remains 'closed for maintenance', its perimeter surrounded by fencing. A council spokesperson said this will be the case until the grass has fully rehabilitated, which could take up to 12 weeks. Before Paniyiri, there were at least a dozen tents spread across the grounds. Sometimes this number reached closer to 40. Today, there are none. It's the same in other pockets – Kurilpa Point and Orleigh Park, rotundas along the Brisbane River – usually frequented by rough sleepers. But out of sight does not mean the city's homelessness crisis has been miraculously solved in the last few weeks. Signs in Albert Street list three contact numbers for those in need of housing: HART4000, a homelessness assessment and referral team; the Queensland government's homeless hotline; and not-for-profit support and advocacy organisation Micah Projects. Micah works feverishly to support the city's rough sleepers, but is caught in a failing system. There is no long-term affordable housing available. The best they can offer is crisis accommodation – if it's available. Micah Projects chief executive Karyn Walsh says recent months have been particularly difficult. Loading 'The crackdown just means people are less visible,' Walsh explains. 'We're getting a lot of calls from businesses about people sleeping under their [storefronts], in commercial car parks or at the back of businesses, all through West End and South Bank. 'That has become more apparent [since the tents] were cleared out of Musgrave Park.' Micah estimates its referrals from council have doubled since March, and say early figures from Brisbane Zero show a similar increase since April. Walsh adds that people are still sleeping in usual hotspots, but are being moved on quickly. Council maintain the city's rough sleepers have been offered temporary accommodation, and criticise those who they say have refused. Micah disputes this, saying not all have 'refused', and that some hotels won't accept people without identification. The not-for-profit says it is currently supporting 895 people in motels, including 467 children. Walsh says people in crisis accommodation often end up back on the streets during peak demand periods. 'When events are on, people have to move out and come back.' Inner-city hotel Turbot House, which has been providing crisis accommodation through Micah since April 2024, recently announced it would no longer accept bookings to allow for urgent repair works on the building. Micah said it was supporting 56 people at the property when news of the closure arrived on May 19. Relocating them was made more difficult as visitors filled Brisbane hotels before the first game of the State of Origin. Queensland's capital has been grappling with an escalating homelessness problem for years. Charities who provided tents never intended them as a long-term solution, just a stop-gap measure to provide some level of protection and dignity. Now, as winter settles in and rough sleepers return to park benches and alleyways, huddled under awnings and in abandoned buildings, advocates are again asking for all levels of government to step up. Loading The rhetoric hasn't changed: Brisbane needs more social and affordable housing, and quickly. But even if developments were to manifest, there are some rough sleepers who wouldn't manage in this type of housing. These are the chronically homeless who struggle with acute mental health disorders. Many are unemployed and battling addiction. Others are escaping abuse or years of violence. They are traumatised and have complex needs. Without support to secure and maintain a tenancy, they might never access housing. Walsh calls it a 'dual problem': a mental health system that is overstretched and a housing crisis. The number one solution put forward is supportive housing, developments that include on-site, wrap-around services like Common Ground in South Brisbane. Queensland's housing minister Sam O'Connor recently visited Common Ground and met with chief executive Sue Pope. In a Facebook post after the tour, O'Connor wrote that 'the only way we're going to fix the homelessness crisis is by delivering more supportive housing like this', pointing to a similar model under construction and due to open in 2027 on the Gold Coast. The Brisbane project is a unicorn. The 146-unit development was built in 2012, well before current housing and infrastructure demands, and was largely funded through philanthropy and a federal economic stimulus program introduced under Kevin Rudd's prime ministership. Pope recently returned from a tour of the United States, which saw her travel to New York and San Francisco to observe their housing solutions. She says Australia needs to think creatively about ways to unlock funding for more projects. Walsh says with the current time constraints on new builds, that would only be half the problem. 'We've got to plan for the future to have more new units, but in the meantime, we need [the government] to see if it's possible to buy and renovate hotels … so we're not moving people all the time.' The Department of Housing owns five properties in the Brisbane council area that were once hotels or aged care facilities, and now provide crisis accommodation or are being repurposed for long-term social housing. It is open to converting state-owned or leased crisis accommodation into supportive housing, if feasible, and O'Connor says his team has established a working group to provide advice on scaling works and making supportive housing a core part of the government's approach. Loading The government is on board, but the question is now meeting the urgency. 'We know the community wants homelessness to be solved, not just to be hidden,' Walsh says. 'The tents were making it visible, but it didn't solve the problem of homelessness taking them away.'
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Tents have disappeared, tunnels cleared. Where are homeless sleeping?
By day, the tunnel next to the Albert Street Cross River Rail construction site is a hive of pedestrian activity. Retail and office workers stride purposefully towards the CBD, as a slower tide of uni students and day trippers move towards the Botanic Gardens. By night, the tunnel becomes a place of shelter for rough sleepers. Sometimes they are still there, faces pressed into worn sleeping bags or turned against the concrete, when the morning rush descends. At least, that was until the signs went up, warning 'this area is to be kept clear at all times, any items found risk being removed'. There have been similar crackdowns on visible rough sleeping in other parts of the city. A month ago, police and council officers cleared one of the largest encampments from South Brisbane's Musgrave Park. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner dismissed suggestions it was done for the upcoming Paniyiri Greek Festival, pointing instead to a directive issued in March. The festival packed down weeks ago, but Musgrave Park remains 'closed for maintenance', its perimeter surrounded by fencing. A council spokesperson said this will be the case until the grass has fully rehabilitated, which could take up to 12 weeks. Before Paniyiri, there were at least a dozen tents spread across the grounds. Sometimes this number reached closer to 40. Today, there are none. It's the same in other pockets – Kurilpa Point and Orleigh Park, rotundas along the Brisbane River – usually frequented by rough sleepers. But out of sight does not mean the city's homelessness crisis has been miraculously solved in the last few weeks. Signs in Albert Street list three contact numbers for those in need of housing: HART4000, a homelessness assessment and referral team; the Queensland government's homeless hotline; and not-for-profit support and advocacy organisation Micah Projects. Micah works feverishly to support the city's rough sleepers, but is caught in a failing system. There is no long-term affordable housing available. The best they can offer is crisis accommodation – if it's available. Micah Projects chief executive Karyn Walsh says recent months have been particularly difficult. Loading 'The crackdown just means people are less visible,' Walsh explains. 'We're getting a lot of calls from businesses about people sleeping under their [storefronts], in commercial car parks or at the back of businesses, all through West End and South Bank. 'That has become more apparent [since the tents] were cleared out of Musgrave Park.' Micah estimates its referrals from council have doubled since March, and say early figures from Brisbane Zero show a similar increase since April. Walsh adds that people are still sleeping in usual hotspots, but are being moved on quickly. Council maintain the city's rough sleepers have been offered temporary accommodation, and criticise those who they say have refused. Micah disputes this, saying not all have 'refused', and that some hotels won't accept people without identification. The not-for-profit says it is currently supporting 895 people in motels, including 467 children. Walsh says people in crisis accommodation often end up back on the streets during peak demand periods. 'When events are on, people have to move out and come back.' Inner-city hotel Turbot House, which has been providing crisis accommodation through Micah since April 2024, recently announced it would no longer accept bookings to allow for urgent repair works on the building. Micah said it was supporting 56 people at the property when news of the closure arrived on May 19. Relocating them was made more difficult as visitors filled Brisbane hotels before the first game of the State of Origin. Queensland's capital has been grappling with an escalating homelessness problem for years. Charities who provided tents never intended them as a long-term solution, just a stop-gap measure to provide some level of protection and dignity. Now, as winter settles in and rough sleepers return to park benches and alleyways, huddled under awnings and in abandoned buildings, advocates are again asking for all levels of government to step up. Loading The rhetoric hasn't changed: Brisbane needs more social and affordable housing, and quickly. But even if developments were to manifest, there are some rough sleepers who wouldn't manage in this type of housing. These are the chronically homeless who struggle with acute mental health disorders. Many are unemployed and battling addiction. Others are escaping abuse or years of violence. They are traumatised and have complex needs. Without support to secure and maintain a tenancy, they might never access housing. Walsh calls it a 'dual problem': a mental health system that is overstretched and a housing crisis. The number one solution put forward is supportive housing, developments that include on-site, wrap-around services like Common Ground in South Brisbane. Queensland's housing minister Sam O'Connor recently visited Common Ground and met with chief executive Sue Pope. In a Facebook post after the tour, O'Connor wrote that 'the only way we're going to fix the homelessness crisis is by delivering more supportive housing like this', pointing to a similar model under construction and due to open in 2027 on the Gold Coast. The Brisbane project is a unicorn. The 146-unit development was built in 2012, well before current housing and infrastructure demands, and was largely funded through philanthropy and a federal economic stimulus program introduced under Kevin Rudd's prime ministership. Pope recently returned from a tour of the United States, which saw her travel to New York and San Francisco to observe their housing solutions. She says Australia needs to think creatively about ways to unlock funding for more projects. Walsh says with the current time constraints on new builds, that would only be half the problem. 'We've got to plan for the future to have more new units, but in the meantime, we need [the government] to see if it's possible to buy and renovate hotels … so we're not moving people all the time.' The Department of Housing owns five properties in the Brisbane council area that were once hotels or aged care facilities, and now provide crisis accommodation or are being repurposed for long-term social housing. It is open to converting state-owned or leased crisis accommodation into supportive housing, if feasible, and O'Connor says his team has established a working group to provide advice on scaling works and making supportive housing a core part of the government's approach. Loading The government is on board, but the question is now meeting the urgency. 'We know the community wants homelessness to be solved, not just to be hidden,' Walsh says. 'The tents were making it visible, but it didn't solve the problem of homelessness taking them away.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Homeless given 24 hours to move on from parks
Rough sleepers living in tents in a city's parks have 24 hours to move on with police and council workers to enforce a ban in public places. But support services say without fixing the supply and cost of long-term accommodation, many people will remain on the streets. Brisbane City Council wants parks to be "safe for everyone" and is cracking down on homeless living in tents in green spaces to prevent violence, illegal drug use and discarded needles. Musgrave Park and Kurilpa Point in South Brisbane have fluctuating numbers of rough sleepers taking refuge in tents, with up to 60 people living in parks. Moreton Bay Council recently criminalised homeless camping on public land including in parks with threats of fines up to $8000. The council cited illegal and antisocial behaviour including drug taking, assaults, use of dangerous weapons and strewn litter for the tough stand. Brisbane City Council received "extremely concerning" reports rough sleepers from Moreton Bay would "pour" into the city as a result. Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said it required an immediate response. "Just like our northern neighbours, Brisbane residents don't want their parks and public spaces becoming dangerous no-go zones because of violent, aggressive and anti-social behaviour," he said in a statement. The council, police and housing agencies will be on the ground over the next 24 hours to force homeless encampments out of green spaces. It will also remove any unused tents. Cr Schrinner said the "vast majority" of rough sleepers refused accommodation ahead of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred impacting southeast Queensland. "As a community that cares, I don't believe we should ever accept that tents in public parks are an acceptable substitute for secure and safe accommodation," he said. Housing Minister Sam O'Connor told parliament on Wednesday that 57 rough sleepers accepted temporary accommodation during the tropical cyclone. Rough sleepers in Brisbane will be connected with essential support services, temporary accommodation and social housing instead of being allowed to stay in the parks. Housing access support group Micah Projects CEO Karyn Walsh said the council's response was reasonable as people should not be living in parks but it was emblematic of the housing crisis. She said many rough sleepers did not want to go to a boarding house or temporary accommodation but wanted to acquire their own long-term rental. However, the vacancies were low and costs sky high. "It's not as simple as it sounds," she told AAP. Ms Walsh was grateful the Brisbane did not criminalise sleeping in parks or threaten fines as in Moreton Bay. But she said this should be an opportunity to address housing issues and fund more support services for those who were seriously unwell and living on the streets to help them into long-term accommodation.
