Thursday, 2 May 2019

Eastern Metropolitan Region

In reply to Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (19 March 2019)

Mr WYNNE (Richmond—Minister for Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Planning):

I appreciate the concerns you raise regarding people experiencing homelessness, especially those who are sleeping rough. Every year in Victoria, our homelessness services support more than 100,000 people.

The Victorian Government is committed to working to break the cycle of homelessness. In January 2018, the government announced more than $45 million for the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Plan. These initiatives include assertive outreach, supportive housing teams, therapeutic services in inner city crisis accommodation and an additional 106 accommodation units with support.

The Action Plan builds on our commitment to grow Victoria’s social housing supply, ensure better collaboration between agencies and improve support services for vulnerable Victorians.

The government’s existing commitment includes $109 million of early intervention programs to prevent homelessness, $120 million to increase the supply of social housing, $185 million to upgrade nine low-rise estates, $152 million to build and buy more housing for women and children escaping family violence, $33.2 million to support people to maintain current tenancies and $9.8 million for the Towards Home Project.

The Towards Home Project provides housing and support to people sleeping rough across inner Melbourne. Thirty new modular and relocatable homes have been built on public land, in six different sites. In the City of Monash, five houses have been built which opened in August 2018.1 am very pleased to advise that the City of Monash is a key partner in this initiative.

In 2018-2019, the Victorian Government provided $14 million to homelessness services in the Inner Eastern Melbourne Area, covering the Cities of Monash, Whitehorse, Boroondara and Manningham to support people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness.