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'Horrendous': Shelter Closures Pour On Housing Pain
Vulnerable locals face a fight to discover food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters recede and momentary shelters shut.
Nearly 800 people have actually looked for sanctuary in NSW evacuation centres but their status as pop-up homes for some will stop to exist after the effect of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.
Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' local real estate and homelessness manager for northeast NSW, has been on the front lines supporting individuals sleeping rough in flooded zones.
Her job was made harder on Monday due to damage to Fred's Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with continuous rainfall inundating the area.
On any provided day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in requirement however showers and laundry facilities are out of commission up until the flood damage is fixed.
"It has been a horrendous time for the homeless community," Ms Kennedy informed AAP.
"It has been truly tough attempting to get them any kind of shelter."
She stated the homeless were searching for any dry locations they might sleep across a northern NSW region already handling a dire lack of inexpensive real estate.
"We've been helping out a whole household oversleeping their vehicle," Ms Kennedy said.
"Seeing them in this horrendous weather condition is really dreadful."
The Byron Shire city government area, south of Tweed Heads, had the most rough sleepers of any council area in the state, according to a 2024 federal government street count.
"We absolutely do have a housing problem in the Northern Rivers and we need services," Ms Kennedy said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns stated evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, gyms and clubs might not work as a long-lasting fix to established housing problems in the area.
Vulnerable locals face a fight to discover food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters recede and momentary shelters shut.
Nearly 800 people have actually looked for sanctuary in NSW evacuation centres but their status as pop-up homes for some will stop to exist after the effect of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.
Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' local real estate and homelessness manager for northeast NSW, has been on the front lines supporting individuals sleeping rough in flooded zones.
Her job was made harder on Monday due to damage to Fred's Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with continuous rainfall inundating the area.
On any provided day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in requirement however showers and laundry facilities are out of commission up until the flood damage is fixed.
"It has been a horrendous time for the homeless community," Ms Kennedy informed AAP.
"It has been truly tough attempting to get them any kind of shelter."
She stated the homeless were searching for any dry locations they might sleep across a northern NSW region already handling a dire lack of inexpensive real estate.
"We've been helping out a whole household oversleeping their vehicle," Ms Kennedy said.
"Seeing them in this horrendous weather condition is really dreadful."
The Byron Shire city government area, south of Tweed Heads, had the most rough sleepers of any council area in the state, according to a 2024 federal government street count.
"We absolutely do have a housing problem in the Northern Rivers and we need services," Ms Kennedy said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns stated evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, gyms and clubs might not work as a long-lasting fix to established housing problems in the area.