The appearance of a disused aged care facility on the property market presents a golden opportunity to create more emergency accommodation in Bathurst, according to a local businessman.
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Earlier this month, Catholic Healthcare listed the former St Catherine's Aged Care Facility site in Busby Street for sale, with expressions of interest to close on Friday.
But Matthew Irvine, who is involved with a number of community organisations in town, says the site, with adequate government support, could help address Bathurst's accommodation crisis.
"We have here an asset that, with minimal modification and expense, could be repurposed to improve lives and outcomes for people who have nowhere to live," Mr Irvine said.
"It would be wonderful to see all levels of government get together and find a way for this asset to be purchased for social housing purposes rather than commercial."
According to the listing, the site has 36 rooms with an ensuite, as well as a commercial kitchen and communal living areas.
Mr Irvine said his experience volunteering at the Uniting Safe Shelter exposed him to the nature of homelessness in Bathurst.
"One of the success stories that came out of the shelter is when you'd have three or four people staying there on a regular basis who'd get themselves together to apply for a joint rental on the back of help and support," he said.
"The St Catherine's site has so much potential to produce more of these success stories, whether it be for individuals or families, as a safe space gives people experiencing homelessness encouragement that they can turn things around."
Mr Irvine said the scale of the homelessness situation in Bathurst is larger than people realise.
"Based on the numbers of people I saw coming through the Uniting Safe Shelter, there's easily more than 36 people living rough in Bathurst right now," he said.
"The property market is controlled by a raft of measures and owners want the best deal for their assets, I get that, but we're not talking about people being able to buy a house; we're talking about the simple dignity of having somewhere to call home for a night."
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"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
