"If this wasn't here, I don't know what I would've done to be honest."
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Chatting to Shane outside the Salvation Army's 'Be Room' on Binya Street, his story highlights how easy it is to become homeless.
But the worst of it is the housing crisis exacerbating existing problems, according to a study funded by Griffith City Council.
Two break-ins to his bakery on the coast left Shane unable to continue the business, so he moved here for a job. That caved, and he found himself sleeping in his car by the willows.
Now in a Salvos's room, he doesn't know where he'd be without it.
We can't grow the city of Griffith if we can't house the people we have here now.
- Member for Murray Helen Dalton.
"There are places to live, but the dole doesn't give you many options if you want to eat as well," Shane said.
Jason, a Griffith local in his 30s, has been looking for work for two months and receives Centrelink's Newstart allowance. He cannot find a place to live that enables him to eat or pay bills as well.
"I spend two days here, two days there, sometimes on people's couches or in my car," Jason explained.
In Griffith, there are up to 2175 homeless people in any given year, with 2796 in marginal housing. Some residents are paying more than 50 per cent of their weekly income on rent.
Member for Murray Helen Dalton, she says "we can't grow the city of Griffith if we can't house the people we have here now." After hearing about slow processing times, she is "really keen" to speed it up.
"We need the state government to recognise the housing shortage in Griffith and we need the state government to equip Griffith Council with the tools they need to process development applications in an efficient way."
Council's economic and organisational development director Shireen Donaldson says among current assistance, council is working on long term solutions.
RELATED
Two community consultation sessions have been held with key stakeholders, developers, real estate agents, builders, architects, investors and community members, to discuss the initial finding of the report and work towards implementing strategies.
New generation boarding houses, manufactured housing estates and caravan parks providing long term accommodation are being examined in a review of council's development control plans.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.
