HOMELESSNESS
— ACCOMMODATION
666. Dr K. STRATTON to the Minister for Community Services:
I refer to the McGowan government's ongoing
commitment to supporting people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness in our communities. Can
the minister update the house on the future of the accommodation facility located at 100 Hampton Road in Fremantle
and outline how it continues to support those who may be sleeping rough
in our community?
Ms S.F. McGURK
replied:
I would like to thank the member for
her interest in this area and all the members in this chamber who are
interested in supporting some of the most vulnerable in our community. As a government,
we are spending record amounts on supporting people who are homeless or at risk
of homelessness. Our stewardship of a challenging facility at 100 Hampton Road—it is just at the end of
the street where I live, so I know the facility in Fremantle well—has
been a good example of that. This is not a facility that has been built
for the purpose of housing vulnerable people, but it has been used for that purpose for a number of years and to good end
until recently by Foundation Housing. Since 2009, Foundation Housing has
been managing that facility.
I was pleased to attend 100 Hampton
Road this morning with my colleague the Minister for Housing to announce that St Patrick's Community Support Centre
in Fremantle will be taking over the management of that facility at the
end of this year. We are very grateful for the work Foundation Housing has done
to date and for the expertise and credibility in working with homeless people
and people at risk of homelessness that St Pat's has. Along with the
five-year lease that St Pat's is undertaking in 100 Hampton Road, there
will be an upgrade to some of the facility. Some
additional maintenance will be completed on the property in the next few
months, so I think we will see some improvements to the physical
facility at that location. When we were there this morning, the Minister for
Housing, John Carey, and I met Brett, one of
the residents, who was doing work on his veggie garden. It was good to talk to
him and to be walked through his work. He
said that doing his work in the common garden facility gives him a reason
to get out of bed in the morning. It looked
like he was doing a fantastic job. Thanks to Brett, Foundation Housing and
the staff and volunteers at St Pat's who do good work in the community.