BATHURST’S new generation of homeless includes people with jobs and on workers’ compensation, a local social worker has revealed.
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Bathurst Emergency Accommodation co-ordinator Jill Long yesterday said the rising number of homeless people in the city was in keeping with statewide figures released this week.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2012 Census of Population and Housing: Estimating Home-lessness found 28,190 people were homeless in NSW in 2011, up from 22,219 people in 2006.
Ms Long said the Bathurst service had seen people who were on workers’ compensation or were working who needed assistance to help pay the mortgage or rent.
“We used to have families, husbands and wives, single men and women, but nowadays it’s more families with us,” she said.
Ms Long said demand for the service was constant, and increasing.
“Our turnover rate [at Bathurst Emergency Accommodation] is about three days between families,” she said.
Other local charities are also feeling the pinch.
Central West Care director Stephanie Stocks said it used to be that most people seeking help were on Centrelink benefits.
“But now about 40 per cent of the people we see are employed but they still need help paying the bills,” Ms Stocks said.
She said cost of living was the predominant cause of the increase in homelessness. Rises in rent, power bills and food, as well as a lack of affordable, entry level housing, all contributed to people losing their homes.
Ms Stocks also said older people were finding it harder and harder to keep up with the rising tide of expenses.
“[We’re finding that] when real estate businesses increase their rent, [older people] are getting handed an eviction notice,” she said.
Work For The Dole schemes, while invaluable in providing income for homeless Bathurstians, had not been enough for residents to avoid losing their homes, Ms Stocks said.
“I don’t know how people make ends meet,” she said. “So often [homelessness is] connected to abuse ... often times it’s a generational thing where you’ll get three generations of the same family coming in.
“It’s a really hard and complex issue whether welfare is enough ... there are always going to be people in the community that need assistance.”