LAUNCESTON TOWN HALL AND THE HOEMELESS INDUSTRY

 

The homeless industry

SADLY, what homeless people are experiencing has turned into an industry. A charitable industry maybe, nonetheless, it thrives on our collective political and social failures.

Governments rely on charities being there to deliver relief to the victims of their investment-driven economic strategies.

Ever-rising property prices depend upon the lack of supply, and people's inability to get into the housing market fuels this. Yes, that is right. Too many find themselves on the streets sleeping rough.

Statistics tell us who is wealthy, by how much, and by what taxes they are avoiding. Moreover, the gap between the haves and have-nots seems to grow exponentially.

Homeless people's dependence on crumbs from the tables of the well-off is troubling.

Start the conversation

Have your say.

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.

Where the rubber hits the road locally, gap closing is not an idea the self-nominated representatives are inclined to broker. You see, they all have investments to protect, as do those who ask them to 'represent' them.

It is well past time for a reality check

YES MINISTER BARNETT AND!?

 

LAUNCESTON TOWN HALL'S ANT-DEMOCRATIC SHINANIGANS

A councillor breaching a code of conduct protocol would be laughable but for the serious issues that are not being openly discussed. When it comes to political shenanigans, local governance is where you will find a goodly amount of it. 

On this occasion the comedy is not because of some silliness and a broken rule, it is because the shenanigans we get to see tells ratepayers about the democratic dysfunctionalism that costs them so very much. 

Dysfunctional systems tend to create and give dysfunctional people their daily bread and a reason for being. Real celebrities know that if they play the numbers game sooner or later they must face the depressing fact that their number is up and the only place they can go is down. With some councils in Tasmania in recent years that has happened in bulk. 

The greatest fall from grace is not in the failing, it is in the refusal to learn from the failures, the dysfunction, the delusion. Looking at the outcomes, self-nomination is a worry. 

Everyday life and the ordinary has become so complicated that ratepayers are very often overwhelmed by the realities they are forced to deal with. In local governance the ordinary becomes twisted and distorted and our self-nominated self-important and mostly undistinguished representatives seem only capable of representing their need for sustenance and importance. 

To get noticed and maintain a meal ticket all too many representatives will turn up to cut a ribbon while entertaining delusions of adequacy. 

For a very long time there have been many writers who have warned us about the complicated forces that would shape contemporary life and here we have it in the here and now and on show at Launceston's Town Hall. 

All this tells us a lot about those cliches that are there saying … the tail is wagging the dog ... they are trying to walk both sides of the street as do drunken sailors ... they know the cost of everything and the value of nothing ... etc. etc. etc.

In all this there is absolutely no mention whatsoever about the cost of this action to the ratepayers – those supposedly being represented. To be so bold as to suggest that the actual cost along with the hidden costs adds up to much more than say the cost of holding a real life community consultation event looking at how to alleviate homelessness for instance. One might well ask how come and why?. 

However, homelessness is another subject Launceston's self-nominated elected 'representatives' along with the people on council's management team shies well clear of. Why? 

If there is an issue that matters, let us have it out in open council and let us hear to pros and cons out loud and in clear air. Then let the represented make their judgements. At a guess, our self-nominating representatives, with their cunning agendas as likely as not, will be quite circumspect about the prospect of any of that sort of thing. 

Apart from being very expensive these in camera code of conduct hearings tell us nothing worth knowing that shouldn't or couldn't be deliberated upon out in the open. What appears to be mostly at risk here is the truth of the matter. 

Truth is like gold, you can only get it once you have washed away everything that is not gold, the rubbish, the untruthful. More to the point, once you win it, the gold, or the truth, it is not discarded wantonly, and it seems to stick. 

Here we have a situation crying out for representatives with the wherewithal to say what needs to be said and likewise managers with the will, life experience and the expertise to defend the appropriateness of their actions, and advice if they are indeed appropriate and backed up by expertise. 

Thinking long and hard on all this, the prospect of meaningful change would be best considered on some very cold day in Launceston that was the hottest day ever when hell is at risk of freezing over. 

JJ Bower

TINY HOMES AND STUMBLE STONES

"Tiny homes

Just recently, there have been a lot of comments about tiny homes. Some councils say there has been no change in the regulations, but contrary to what they say, there must have been. By the time the councils and possibly the government get through with all the regulations, building, sewage and various other permits, it really isn't worth the hassle. I know one young person who got the OK to put one on a block, but when they did, the council had a different attitude by the time they would have to jump through all the hoops. It just was not worth it, so she sold it. We hear how the councils and the government are sympathetic to the homeless, but when it is all boiled down, they are only interested in the almighty dollar. It's no wonder there are a lot of homeless people living in tents, but it's only a matter of time before the council will give them a permit. That's if they haven't already done so. They say Australia is a free country - I say bulls**t. ... ALLAN SLATER - RAVENSWOOD"

Elsewhere in Australia Local Govt is working to remove the stumble stones that get in the way people finding affordable and more appropriate housing for increasingly diverse communities. It tuns out that, and unsurprisingly in so many ways, in Launceston for instance any challenge to the same old, same old, there'll be resistance to brokering change. Why is this so?

Might it be because 'the people's' representatives are actually self nominated, and that immediately puts their ability to 'represent' in peril. If we think about it, they are actually seeking permission to represent themselves and their world view when putting themselves forward.

More to the point, they go on to appoint a management to do their bidding for them and in turn the fawning managers, who wish to preserve their high salaries and status, are willingly do whatever and then everything in the garden is just rosy.

Well, all is rosy until the represented ask to do something, like live in a tiny house, that is not in the interest of the self nominated and 'elected' cohort of 'deciders' and their enforcers.

In communities where 'the people' are enabled to represent themselves this cannot happen and generally the people live in places that fits, and developed to fit, their collective needs. However, such communities are identified as being "primitive" – primeval even with an emphasis on the 'evil' syllable. So, we are all left to wonder about what/who is in fact "evil" in all this – if we dare to go there.

 

LAUNCESTON'S RESORCE WASTEFULNESS AND LANDFILL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u0mvTc3uvU

Natural infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in domestic pigeons (Columba livia) in Egypt ... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24861170/

Seagulls are moving more into urban areas — risking an outbreak of bird flu Seagulls are notoriously pesky about seeking human food — but bird flu exposure poses a public health threat    By MATTHEW ROZSA Staff Writer ... https://www.salon.com/2024/01/26/seagulls-are-moving-more-into-urban-areas--risking-an-of-bird-flu/

AND THEN THERE IS THE RISK OF BIRD FLU 

VIA LANDFILL & SEA GULLS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u0mvTc3uvU

When getting rid of seagulls, practical traps and repellents are the best options to utilise to ensure the birds are repelled from your property. Falconry, anti-bird spikes, parallel wires, bird netting, bird gels, decoy kites, and lasers are all effective in ridding seagulls from your property. Even the most ardent bird lovers admit that seagulls are, at best, a nuisance, and at worst a threat. There is a multitude of ways that you can repel seagulls away from your property and ensure that the birds will stay away.

LAUNCESTON TOWN HALL'S HOLLOW RHETORIC WELL & TRULY CALLED OUT

HOMELESS AUSTRALIA VIDEO LINKS

In 2017, Strike It Out founder Kirsten Ritchie had the idea to help combat homelessness in Launceston after seeing homeless people "starving" on the streets.

She claims her charity now needs more council support. 

At the Roundhouse at Invermay in Launceston, a trailer with seven sleeping pods for people experiencing homelessness sits empty. Strike It Out's founder says this is due to the lack of proper council permits. 

A group of tents housing about 12 homeless people stand near the sleeping pods and a trailer with portable showers. 

Ms Ritchie says the City of Launceston Council told her she couldn't operate her sleeping pods and portable showers without proper safety permits. 

"I asked if this [drain] was a mixed stormwater and sewerage drain in Invermay. It is grey water and shower water. What is the problem?" Ms Ritchie said. 

In a June 13 meeting, councillors voted to endorse the Homelessness Statement of Commitment, which outlines how the council plans to deal with the ongoing issue of homelessness. 

The council responds City of Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said initiatives, including what Strike it Out is proposing, require written proposals, as with any request for ratepayer-funded assets: risk and safety assessments and compliance with relevant legislation and other Tasmanian laws. 

READ COUNCIL'S RHETORIC CLICK HERE

"The council has expended significant time and resources in repeated - and so far unsuccessful - efforts to work collaboratively with Strike It Out and ensure these basic requirements are met to allow the proposal to progress," Cr Garwood said 

"The council will continue to work alongside community organisations and all levels of government to take collective action to support those experiencing homelessness, and our door is always open to Strike It Out to discuss these important issues in a collaborative and considerate spirit." 

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Australia has grown 5.2% in the past five years with women and children, as well as Indigenous Australians, bearing the brunt of the housing crisis. 

Ms Ritchie said people without homes desperately need a shower and an available bed to sleep in. 

"It's heartbreaking when I have to refuse people on the phone saying, 'Sorry, we've got seven empty beds here, but we can't help you," Ms Ritchie said. 

"Why should we have all this infrastructure built that was kindly donated by people in our community who have helped to make this happen just to be sitting there doing nothing." 

 Launceston Church Grammar School have been fundraising for Strike It Out to raise funds for the sleeping pod program, Ms Ritchie said. 

She said the council has met with her and told her that homeless people can no longer stay in the Invermay area due to flood risks. 

"How many more businesses are being developed here in the Invermay area? We're mobile, and we will come down, and we can take everything out of here if we have to at any time." 

Ms Ritchie claims the council says they are concerned about the homeless people sleeping in the area but "haven't done enough to help them". 

"They haven't come down here and told the people they're worried about them, or they don't wish for people without homes to be down here." 

The charity founder said she asked the council about alternative solutions and said the homeless people she manages "have nowhere else to go". 

Tents of homeless people in the Roundhouse at the Northern Inveresk Carpark, off Forster Street, Invermay, Launceston. Picture by Paul Scambler More security on the ground Additionally, The Strike It Out founder says people experiencing homelessness need secure storage for their belongings and better security on the ground.

"These people are vulnerable enough; they're at the bottom; there's no more bottom than where they are. 

"For their mental health and well-being, if we can help to give them some security, and give them a place where they can get their mental health into a better state. That's a good starting point," Ms Ritchie said. 

Some people experiencing homelessness in Invermay are women and children who have had to escape family violence, according to Ms Ritchie. 

"Why should a mother and children have to flee the home and leave with their belongings and have to start all over again, from scratch, when the perpetrator is allowed to stay in the house? "Put an anklet bracelet on the perpetrator and remove them. 

"[Homeless] shelters are all full; they're turning away eight women and kids a day." 

 Ms Ritchie says she is encouraging people without housing to use their skills and engage in carpentry and other workshops in Invermay "rather than just sitting around with nothing to do and wasting time."

BETTER HOUSING IS ACHIEVABLE

 

FORWARD: This kind of CULTURALlandscaping is unlikely to be achievable in Launceston given that the city's current MANAGER OF DEVELOPMENT holds fast to the belief that, quote, "cultural landscaping is a noun not a doing word". Thus a 'development' such as this would be received with distain and the developer most likely would seek another 'place' to realise their vision.

The status quo is evidence of this bureaucratic imperative at work. Moreover, the city has land under its aegis that could/SHOULD be utilised for such a purpose and thus go some way towards alleviating some of the city's housing pressures.

However, given that by extension Councillors and most likely Executive Management – and other politicians and bureaucrats as well – have skin in the game by way of investment in the 'property market', hell might freeze over before they will countenance the community investing in itself and disrupting their investment strategies.

Then there are those decision makers who advocate that there is a RIGHT time for everything and who go on to say that NOW is neither the RIGHT or a GOOD time for this or that. However, NOW we must do nothing because it is neither the RIGHT or GOOD time, thus NOTHING right now is all good because nothing is required of us right now.

SO, Devonport's Enrich Ventures looks like a DEVELOPMENTabomination that needs to be bureaucratically circumvented in order to protect the status quo. Whatever it is that people suffering HOUSINGstress need to do, this 'development' is a signal that the status quo is as USA's President Ronald Reagan said ... "simply Latin for the mess we are in".

SO, pick up your pitch forks and axes and attack the status quo remembering that its defenders have nothing of substance in their arsenal except bluff!

If as Gandhi said when a law is unjust change it! Here, if an administration is demonstrably unjust change it! That might mean changing personnel or it might equally mean changing the personnel's mindsets. Whatever, be a CHANGEagent NOW!

Some home quotes to be going on with ... “Home is a shelter from storms, all sorts of storms.” ... “No matter who you are or where you are, instinct tells you to go home.” ...“Peace, like charity, begins at home.” ... “Home is any four walls that enclose the right person.”

FROM THE MERCURY: ... More than six years after it was first proposed, and despite projected cost blowouts, construction for the ambitious plan to turn the Devonport Showgrounds into a “village inside a city” is expected to start in 2025.

Developer Simon Want, who is the founder of Enrich Ventures, bought the 10ha piece of land from the Devonport Pastoral and Agricultural Society in 2019 for an undisclosed amount, with the sale finalised in 2022.

The site previously hosted the Devonport Show until it was axed in 2017, as well as greyhound and harness racing meets.

There is currently no racetrack in the region after plans to build a facility at Wesley Vale near the Devonport airport were scrapped due to cost blowouts.

The first development application for the project at the showground is before the Devonport City Council.

The masterplan for the Devonport Showground redevelopment. Picture: Supplied.

If approved, it would allow Mr Want to divide the land into 15 “super lots” and start engaging with potential specialist partners for wraparound services at the location.

The site has been home to the Devonport Farmers Market for around two years, which Mr Want said he had been using as an opportunity for community engagement.

“We’ve been jokingly saying that we’re building the community before we’re building the community,” he said.

“It sounds a bit silly for a developer to run a farmers market, but for us, it’s been wonderful because it’s actually allowed us to meet the real North-West and the real Devonport.

“The families and individuals that come to the market, and those that seem to be expressing interest in the project, want to get involved not just in the homes but in the community activities that are going to be there.”

Mr Want said he believed the project would help alleviate the housing issues in the region.

“Demand for homes in the region is still really high here.

“We haven’t really had abatement in prices, rental costs or demand for specialist housing like aged care, NDIS or anything like that.

“We’re still having very high engagement with the community and specialist groups that want to bring housing to the site.

“We’ve still got a long line of people that are waiting, very patiently, for us to deliver homes on the site.”

While he did not provide an exact amount, Mr Want said he expected the number of homes on site to be in the hundreds.

The development is also expected to include parks, childcare services, a health precinct, offices, retail, community spaces and an “urban farm”.

When first conceived in 2019, the project was projected to cost around $75 million.

Melbourne developer’s $75M housing proposal takes shape
“Prices have obviously escalated a lot on the cost side, and we haven’t done a recalculation of it,” Mr Want said.

“It will be well in excess of $100 to $150 million; it could be even higher than that.”

simon.mcguire@news.com.au

MORE HOLLOW RHETORIC OUT OF LAUNCESTON'S TOWN HALL

LINK TO THE DOCUMENT

A document that will influence how those sleeping rough in Launceston are treated by the council is due to be formally ratified. [ SO, what is this document's utility?]

The Homelessness Statement of Commitment, yet to be formally endorsed, outlines in broad terms how the council plans to deal with the ever-present issue of homelessness. . [ SO AGAIN, what is this document's utility?]

The draft statement - criticised by Homelessness Advisory Committee chairman Tim Walker as lacking teeth - was put out for public consultation in March. . [ SO, who was engaged with in this process]

The final document is back before the City of Launceston council. . [ SO AGAIN, what is this document's utility?]


Barring some minor tweaks, such as substituting acting chief executive officer Shane Eberhardt's name in for Michael Stretton's in the preamble, the document is substantially the same as the draft endorsed in February. [AGAIN, what is this document's utility and what has changed for those dealing with housing stress since Februrary?]

This divides the potential actions that can be taken into seven guiding principles, which are:

Changing the narrative [From what to what?]
Engaging the community [How?]
Facilitating cohesive services [How?]
Striving towards prevention [How?]
Data informed decision making [Who is collecting the data and who are the decision makers?]
Advocating [What as opposed to what?]
Transparency and accountability [How will that be delivered?]
Start the conversation [The conversation with whom and how?]
Have your say. [How can citizens have a say when their comments are mitigated by management and the elected representatives are overruled?]
Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. [????]
Be the first to comment [????]
Many of these are open-ended, like "building trust and rapport" with the community and seeking "to have a seat at the table in best practice of preventive measures for homelessness". [SORRY this is hollow rhetoric?]

However, others are much more clearly delineated. [How?]

These include developing a multi-year budget for homelessness programs and services, publishing periodic reports and action plans, and developing a system to track the progress and effectiveness of council programs. [WOW ... What about a HOUSING POLICY in place of status quo rhetoric?]

In a statement at the start of the document, mayor Matthew Garwood said the guiding principals would allow the council to "act strategically ... with a person-centred, dignity-first focus". [Is this va case of truth by assertion when considered against the contorary evidence?]

"While this is our first step in this area, it is an important one," Cr Garwood said. [WOW ... Look ahead for more status quo rhetoric?]

"As we move forward, it's vital for the council and community to show empathy and understanding as we continue to work collaboratively together." [WOW ... What about a Citizens Jury/Assembly to enable the cooperative and collaborative community effort?]

In agenda papers for the council meeting on June 13, when the statement is set to be endorsed, council officers said the budget for the 2024-25 financial year includes $190,000 for homelessness-related activities. [WOW ... Compare this sum with Executive Salaries. WHAT KPI will be put in place to ensure that these ratepayer funds are being used appropriaitely ?]

This is split between $140,000 in operational costs, like maintenance of portable toilets for homeless residents to use, and $50,000 for the "adoption of action items in the statement of commitment". [WOW ... More status quo rhetoric?]

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

PLEASE CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE

2024

WORLDsillyWEEK'S  22nd  ANNIVERSARY

Go to https://worldsillyweekzone.blogspot.com/

LAUNNY'S LONGnight 2024

 

A NEW WAY FORWARD EXCEPT IF GOVERNMENT AND THE STATUS QUOIST GET IN THE WAY

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-01/three-households-embrace-communal-living/103484330

A new way forward
Photographer Aishah Kenton looks at three households embracing communal living to see if Australians can adapt their way of life as housing becomes ever more unaffordable.
By (Nur) Aishah Kenton and Tessa Flemming Updated 4 Jun 2024, 8:14pm Published 1 Jun 2024, 10:37am

Ellamay, Gold Coast

Ellamay Khongroj ... Fitzgerald didn’t imagine herself still living with her parents at 31.
“You know, you’ve grown up with your parents, you sometimes have your differences and you want to get away which I did,” she says.
But after living abroad, she moved back into the downstairs area of her parents’ Palm Beach home — along with roommate Courtenay Mccue in April 2023.
The pair have their own bathroom, kitchen and living space but share a backyard and laundry with Ellamay’s parents.

Ellamay (left) says her mother Sue (right) and stepfather Paul have always been supportive of her. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/ Oculi It’s a living arrangement Ellamay has coined her share house “within a family home”. In the coveted suburb where the median rental price for a two-bedroom home is $737 a week, Ellamay says the arrangement helps her pay off her parent’s mortgage instead of paying a landlord. Ellamay and Courtenay live in the downstairs area of the Palm Beach home. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi


Ellamay (right) and her flatmate Courtenay (left) tackle the cooking duties in the home. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi ... Ellamay, her mother Sue, and Ellamay's flatmate Courtenay on the steps of the Gold Coast home. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

As an artist, Courtenay says the household offers her a chance to move out from home with a safety net. “There’s definitely been weeks where I’ve literally been waiting for galleries and people to pay me, but obviously (they have been) late,” she says. “So then I’ve been late with rent payments and stuff, which Ella’s parents have been so supportive of. “Otherwise, I don’t know how we’d be able to do it.”

Ellamay and Courtenay say the home has been a safe space after both ending long-term relationships. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

The communal living home on the Gold Coast shares washing duties. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi
Ellamay’s stepfather Paul Fitzgerald hopes having a multigenerational household will mean he and his wife can be cared for at home as they age. “It would make more sense to keep a big family home and support either your parents or your children living there,” he says.
“We hear (Courtenay and Ellamay’s) laughter and it’s like having the girls home again.”
“I think it keeps us healthier as well, just having that connection to family,” Sue adds.
“I’ll look back when I’m older and be like, I’m really glad that I was so close,” Ellamay says.

Courtney spreads out on the carpet of the Gold Coast home. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

Ellamay (left) says her mother Sue (right) and stepfather Paul have always supported her. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

Melanie and Maxine, South Hobart

In the foreground of Hobart’s kunanyi/Mt Wellington reserve, Melanie Thompson and her youngest daughter Maxine jump between trampolines. ... The pair live in one of the dozen households in the South Hobart Cohousing Co-operative, a Danish style co-housing project created in the early 2000s. ... Melanie credits the co-op with giving her the chance to study— a dream she had been waiting 35 years to achieve. ... She says the supportive space, coupled with capped rent that was only one third of her income, gave her freedom to start. .... Neighbours also helped to look after Maxine when Melanie had late shifts on placements and taught her how to edit essays. .... “The co-op said, ‘Look, you’re studying, you need to have housing security’. Then they gave me a two-year lease,” she says. ..... “The co-op has given me that opportunity to better myself, to be able to actually do more.” .... All 12 homes and a common room in the South Hobart co-op face a central car-free pedestrian ‘street’. Homes range from two to four bedrooms with a private garden or balcony.

Members of the co-op pay no more than 30 per cent of their income in rent. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi ... Communal meals and celebrations are a regular occurrence in the co-housing village. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

The community prioritises those with low incomes, poor community support, or who suffer from chronic illnesses. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi The co-op can share communal meals and celebrations in the common room, which also contains a guest flat. Communal gardens and courtyards run throughout. The result is a three-block village where children play “under kitchen sink supervision” and neighbours regularly run into one another.

Celebrations often see former residents of the co-op return after forming strong bonds, Linda says. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi Without cars, kids in the co-op can cycle or ride their skateboards on the streets, or play sports. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

It’s a big reason why Linda Seaborn encourages young families, especially single mums, into the co-op. Linda joined the low-cost resident-managed housing project 24 years ago. ... Linda Seaborn says she's been apart of the South Hobart co-op for more than half her life. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi .... “I just believe this is a profoundly good environment for somebody to have their formative years in,” she says. .... “The cars are parked on the outside, so they’ve got this whole kind of safe environment to get around in and they get adults modelling peaceful conflict resolution and democratic decision making.”

Melanie says Maxine loves bringing her friends to the community, almost as much as Melanie loves a community which can co-parent Maxine. ... “We’ve got six trampolines out there and a fire and I can let her go out and do that,” she says. .... “The other thing is that if I’ve got something to do, I feel comfortable leaving her in the house. .... “She can call Linda, she can scream out, she can go over to Nat’s, whatever.” .... Together, the pair potter in a greenhouse.
Melanie recalls how her neighbour Melinda would regularly check in on her during a rough patch. .... M“We’re watching a musical and sitting there eating cake,” she says.
“And it’s like, life isn’t how you expect it to be, but there is so many good things in it.”

Clare, Brisbane

In the south Brisbane suburb of Fairfield, a classic Queenslander holds a melting pot of inhabitants. ... On the lower floor, Clare Quinn and husband Dylan live with their two children, Joe, three, and Jack, nine months. ... Above them, international students Derek Forrester and Lauren and Turner Simmers board together. ... All three students, who hail from the US, say they struggled to find accommodation upon moving to Brisbane. .... “I thought it was going to be easy,” Derek says. .... “You know, you go in the city, surely there’s apartments available.
“Surely, if you’re willing to spend some extra money, you could find a place. .... “But it really wasn’t the case.”

Members of the Brisbane home join Clare's friends Jason and Justin in having some breakfast together. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

Luckily, the trio found Clare who said it only felt right to open her home. .... What she didn’t bet on was the arrangement shifting her perception of family. ... “Having had children in the past few years, I’ve really realised the way we organise ourselves, certainly in Australia and a lot of like Western places, is in nuclear families,” she says..... “If you’re lucky, that’s a mum, a dad and kids. ....N “You can’t raise kids like that and I just want to take my hat off to anyone who manages to do that. .... N“We just don’t have the skills, time, experience to do all that.”
Together, the household has instead forged ahead with a new type of household— from sharing backyard chores to child rearing. ....“It’s been amazing for Joe,” Clare says. .... “Some days he comes in from daycare, he doesn’t want to see me, he wants to see Lauren. ....“And like, seeing that independence and him sort of growing a little social self is really good.”..... Lauren says she and Turner would have moved back to the US already if it wasn’t for Clare’s family. .... “I couldn’t make it without them,” she says. .... “Just being homesick a lot and (I can go) I need some Jack cuddles. ....“(It) helps a lot.”

Clare's friends Jason and Justin live nearby, adding to the mix of helping hands in the home. (Nur) Aishah Kenton/Oculi

Credits Words: (Nur) Aishah Kenton and Tessa Flemming ..... Photographer: (Nur) Aishah Kenton /Oculi ...... Production: Tessa Flemming ...... The Crumbling Australian Dream

This photo essay is part of a larger photojournalism project examining Australia’s housing crisis. The Crumbling Australian Dream is a collaboration between Oculi photographers and ABC News, with support from National Shelter.
The series was made possible with a Meta Australian News Fund grant and the Walkley Foundation.
Oculi is a collective of Australian photographers that offers a visual narrative of contemporary life in Australia and beyond. ...ODYSSEY FORMAT BY ABC NEWS STORY LAB

ON HOMELESSNESS THE SILLINESS PERSISTS AT LAUNCESTON'S TOWN HALL

READ THE RHETORIC AND ALMOST HALF THE BYEARV GONE CONSIDER WHAT HAS AND HAS NOT CHANGED AT TOWN HALL!

IN THE EXAMINER: City of Launceston councillors have laid out their intentions to help solve homelessness, however there are doubts it will mean much without action to back them up.

The council unanimously endorsed a statement of commitment on homelessness, a document mayor Matthew Garwood said was the "next step forward" for the council.

He said it would not solve the issue overnight, as homelessness was a complex issue and required a multi-faceted approach, however it would help guide future actions.

"It will enable the City of Launceston to act strategically in its response, with a person centred, dignity-first focus," Cr Garwood said.

"While the council will continue to explore a range of opportunities to assist those doing it tough and the wider community, this statement is the framework within which we'll act."

The document received praise around the council table, and deputy mayor Hugh McKenzie said it marked a significant shift in the council's attitude compared to two years ago.

Back then, he said, homelessness was considered beyond the council's remit.

Councillor Danny Gibson said it demonstrated leadership, and councillor Andrea Dawkins foresaw the council being asked to step up further and look at what services it could provide to homeless people.

Councillor George Razay, a member of the council's homelessness advisory committee, said he was optimistic the statement would lead to further development, as it would help identify key problems.

Councillor Tim Walker, chairman of the committee, told The Examiner the statement was a "good start" and reflected the vast amount of work done by all stakeholders.

Cr Walker said there was more to be done, and he wanted to see the council "give some teeth" to its homelessness policies and take tangible steps sooner rather than later.

"It's a great document, but it's only ever going to be a statement unless we give some teeth to the beast," he said.

"That's what I've been pushing - for us to make a more substantial material commitment to doing something."

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He said he was wary of creating Launceston's equivalent of Skid Row, but there was plenty the council could do to help the long-term homeless within its existing powers and budget.

This included nominating sites where people could camp temporarily, installing homeless-friendly street furniture and upgrading amenities around the city like adding hot water to showers at Cataract Gorge.

Cr Walker also suggested forming more partnerships like the one with St Vincent de Paul Society to use facilities at the Kings Meadows YMCA.

The committee chairman said the council's attitude had changed, shifting towards actively helping the homeless, but there was still a reluctance to make bold moves.

"Let's do something substantial," Cr Walker said.

"Let the rest of the country turn around and say 'look what Launceston is doing'.

"Once the council began something like that, all sorts of individuals and businesses would lend their support. A lot of people want to help, but at the moment all you can do is give money to City Mission."

What's in the statement?
Homelessness in Launceston skyrocketed following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of people without adequate accommodation increased by 87 per cent between 2016 and 2021.

The number of rough sleepers nearly quintupled over that same period.

The draft statement of commitment endorsed by councillors will be circulated to the public for a four-week consultation period in the coming weeks.

It includes seven key principles the council says it will adhere to, and some broad actions the council plans to undertake to achieve

The seven principles are:

Changing the narrative ???

Engaging the community???

Facilitating cohesive services ???

Striving towards prevention???

Data informed decision making ???

Advocating ???

Transparency and accountability ?????

......

OMG & PEOPLE INVESTED THEIR TRUST IN THESE PEOPLE