Howard Salkow

Senior Journalist

Douglas Shire Council has pledged to continue to look to identify ways to alleviate homelessness in the community.

In light of the issue worsening in parts of the Far North, this matter has been raised in Council by Clr Abigail Noli via a Notice of Motion.

And in a statement today, Council said they are working closely with their support service organisations to monitor impacts of the local housing shortage.

“Like many parts of the country, we are still hearing stories of people facing issues when searching for affordable rental properties in the region.

“Council continues to look to identify ways to alleviate these housing pressures in the community,” the statement said.

At a Council meeting on October 15 last year, councillor Abigail Noli submitted a Notice of Motion concerning the acute housing shortage.

And as a matter of urgency, there was a call for Council to facilitate a working group to investigate and when possible, implement short term measures to address the housing shortage in Douglas. Council did not provide any information about a working group.

Statistics

And as far back as 2018, Newsport reported on the homeless crisis in the Shire.

To strengthen her (Clr Noli) case, the following was presented which underlines the need to make this happen and construct housing in the shire for the homeless:

Statistics from the Mossman Community Centre (MCC) between July 1 2021 and October 14 2021 included:

• 48 people have sought housing support from MCC since July 1 2021; 23/48 have tenancy ending for one of the above listed reasons;
• 15/48 are facing pre-existing homelessness (including couch surfing and living in overcrowded settings);
• 10/48 are seeking housing due to the inappropriateness of their current location.

It was pointed out that these numbers are purely clients seeking only housing support, and do not reflect the residents seeking other supports from MSS in which housing is a symptom of their needs (i.e. DV, Medical needs, age related needs).

In Cairns, meanwhile, News Corp is reporting that women as young as 55 are fleeing domestic violence and a cohort most likely to be homeless.

“In the past 12 months, of the 900 women and children we saw, I would say a quarter of them are over 55 and experiencing chronic homelessness – these are women that really have nowhere to go, they’re sleeping in their car,” said the report.

A staggering 20,000 people in Queensland are experiencing homelessness – this is one in every 200 Queenslanders, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

It can mean people who are sleeping rough, as well as people who are staying in temporary, unstable or substandard accommodation.