Charities shine a light on those doing it tough

Sun City Christian Centre’s greatest reward for their work with the homeless is witnessing a family go from homelessness to living in secure housing.

The Christian organisation is a support agency for the Community Housing Industry Association’s supported family accommodation in Geraldton and Sun City Care, a ministry of the Sun City Christian Centre, which operates a soup van on a Wednesday evening, serving up to 200 people each week.

Sun City Christian Centre also recently received funding to establish a 20-bed crisis accommodation complex at Rangeway.

Care co-ordinator Bonnie Stafford said they hoped construction would start in October and the emergency accommodation would be available by next year.

She said the hardest thing when dealing with people who are experiencing homelessness is to not have answers.

“It is frustrating to not be able to do more to assist them,” she said.

Many people experiencing homelessness walk through the doors of the Sun City Christian Centre seeking support and assistance.

“I’m a mum, so it is someone’s son or daughter, and I find it very difficult to deal with the fact they don’t have somewhere to stay, or anywhere safe to stay,” she said.

She said it was possible for an individual or families to one day have a home of their own again.

“It can happen, and that’s why we do what we do so it might be someone’s story,” she said.

Ms Stafford said homelessness was a problem in Geraldton, but one that was hard to measure.

“There are people sleeping on couches, or living in crowded conditions, and the closure of crisis accommodation has heightened this problem and put pressure on other service providers,” she said.

Fusion Geraldton is a Christian not-for-profit youth and community organisation, which has been operating in Geraldton since 1983.

It operates Cameliers, a 44-bed short-term crisis accommodation hostel, and is also working with the Department of Housing to secure funding for a new accommodation village near Geraldton Bowling Club at Onslow Street.

Fusion Village will offer mid-term accommodation for people transitioning from crisis accommodation to secure housing.

Manager Alison Hilton said homelessness was a problem in Geraldton and the number of people experiencing homelessness wasn’t in decline.

Cameliers was forced to turn away an average of 74 people a month last year because of a lack of available beds.

Ms Hilton said homelessness was a major social challenge, and the causes were varied.

She said domestic violence and financial stress were two main reasons, and family conflict and mental health were prevalent in youth homelessness.

“People experiencing homelessness are also more likely to disengage in education,” she said.

Fusion Geraldton is hosting Sleep in Your Car 2015 on August 15 to raise awareness and funds for homelessness in Australia.

It is the first time it has been held in Geraldton and the money raised will go towards Fusions’s homelessness programs, Geraldton Resource Centre and Geraldton Regional Community Education Centre.

For further information or to register, visit http://www.sleepinyourcar.com.au or call 0423 895 979.

Homelessness Prevention Week: August 3 to 9.

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