Homelessness
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (15:14): I recently met a lady with a baby. They were homeless at the time and living in a shed. We exchanged contact details and made inquiries through several local agencies. I gave her a call last week to see how she was going, and it was a relief to hear that she is now in a home with her baby, but like many people in similar circumstances it has been a hard road. She received a letter from the government indicating that demand for housing in the region was high and they were unable to advise when a place would be available. In her frustration, she shared her experience online and a local property agent, Katie Ross from Property Plus Real Estate in Kangaroo Flat, reached out to help her. Again the lady needed support and reached out to the state government for a bond loan, and her application was rejected. In her desperation to pay the bond to secure the rental, she sold her wedding ring and her car. Right now there are over 65,000 applicants on the Victorian housing register: people waiting for social housing who are sleeping in cars and sheds, on a friend’s couch or on the street. To quote one local real estate agent, the usual answer is, ‘There’s no room at the inn.’ The Property Plus team has helped many others just like this lady find a home. I would like to say thank you for going the extra mile to help those who need it and also to acknowledge local agencies, including MADCOW, Salvation Army and Sunshine Bendigo, for providing valuable support to people who need it.