Housing and Homelessness Support Package

Media release – Roger Jaensch, Minister for Housing, 29 April 2020

Housing and Homelessness Support Package

The health, safety and wellbeing of Tasmanians is our number one priority as we continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Our first social and economic support package included a number of measures to support our most vulnerable, but we know that more is needed.

Today, we announced nearly $4.3 million for additional housing and homelessness support to complement the measures previously announced and provide more help for those doing it tough.

This includes providing funds to expand the current Safe Night Space pilot, which has provided a safe overnight refuge for people sleeping rough in Hobart, delivered through a partnership between Hobart City Mission and the Salvation Army.

The new funding will extend the program from an overnight service into a 24/7 full wrap-around support service operating in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie, with additional support from Launceston City Mission.

This will ensure some of our most vulnerable people will be able to access a secure place to sleep and the services they need to assist them into secure accommodation.

The package also includes extra funding to expand Housing Connect’s capacity to provide emergency accommodation in hotels, motels and cabins statewide. The funding will also deliver increased mental health support services for clients who need them.

The Government will also invest more in services to support young people presenting at homeless shelters, delivering on several recommendations from the Under 16 Youth Homelessness Taskforce convened last year. Additional services will include intensive case management, outreach support and family mediation for young people at risk of homelessness in the North, North West and South.

These measures will ensure more Tasmanians have somewhere safe to stay, with the supports they need to follow public health advice and help save lives as we continue to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Importantly, we are also continuing with the expansion of existing homeless shelters, with 18 new pods at Bethlehem House now taking tenants, 10 new units being installed at the Hobart Women’s Shelter and work underway to convert the Waratah Hotel into a supported accommodation facility.

These projects, together with the hundreds of new homes and units being delivered under our Affordable Housing Strategy, will provide secure, longer-term accommodation for clients entering the Housing Connect system through the Safe Night Space and brokered accommodation services.

These are challenging times but Tasmanians can rest assured we are doing what we can to help all Tasmanians in need as we continue to work through the coronavirus pandemic.

THE CONVERSATION: House Everyone? Here’s a Strategy.

YNOT: Call for Focus on Youth Homelessness.

Media Release – Shelter Tasmania, Wednesday 29 April 2020

Additional housing and homelessness funds welcomed by Shelter Tas

Shelter Tas, the peak body for housing and homelessness in Tasmania, congratulates the State Government on today’s announcement of almost $4.3 million for additional housing and homelessness support for vulnerable Tasmanians. These are important additions to complement the existing Tasmanian homelessness services system and their work to assist people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.

A portion of the funds will go towards developing the current Safe Night Space pilot project, which has been operating in Hobart since December 2019. Safe Night Space provides a safe and secure place for people experiencing homelessness to find shelter overnight and gain access to support services. The new funding will extend the program from an overnight service in Hobart into a 24/7 wrap-around support service operating in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie.

We also welcome the announcement of additional support for young people under 16 experiencing homelessness, an important issue requiring an urgent resolution for which Shelter Tas and its members have long advocated. It is not appropriate for young people to be living in unsafe environments, and the current public health crisis has added to the imperative to house and support these vulnerable young people.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that housing is essential for all Tasmanians. The increased brokerage dollars announced today, to accommodate those currently experiencing homelessness in hotels and other forms of emergency housing with additional mental health support, is also very welcome at this time.

Shelter Tas fully supports these initiatives. It is so important that everyone has safe and appropriate accommodation during a health crisis and this funding will bring welcome additional support to a system which is already working at capacity.

Shelter Tas and its members look forward to working with the State Government on the implementation of these emergency initiatives, and to ensure pathways to long term safe and secure housing are also developed to help end homeless in Tasmania.

Media release – Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader and Housing spokesperson, 29 April 2020

Support for Rough Sleepers Welcome

The Greens warmly welcome the Premier’s announcement today that more support will be provided to homeless Tasmanians.

While the message to stay home is a simple one for many, for those sleeping rough it is impossible.

Too many Tasmanians have had no place to call home. Rough sleepers have been understandably anxious about the risks they are facing due to the pandemic.

The Greens and homelessness support services have been calling for government to ensure every Tasmanian has a safe and secure place to sleep during the COVID-19 emergency period.

While we would’ve liked this support to have come sooner, we are glad the Premier has made the commitment today.

It’s good to see the government providing support to vulnerable people during this pandemic. These same people must not be forgotten when we begin the road to recovery.

It is critical, when the Premier outlines his vision for rebuilding Tasmania’s society and economy tomorrow, that support for vulnerable people, such as those who are rough sleepers and living at society’s margins, is included.

We cannot allow ourselves as a community to walk back into a housing and homelessness crisis.

This pandemic has been truly devastating, but it means we have the opportunity to rebuild our society in a way that values and supports everybody. We hope the Premier embraces this opportunity.