City of Rockingham desperate for crisis accommodation as rough sleepers exceed 100

The homelessness crisis in Rockingham has been laid bare after the City of Rockingham revealed it’s in desperate need of more than 100 dwellings to address its growing homeless population. The city will lobby the State Government to prioritise the urgent need for crisis accommodation in Rockingham after formally passing a motion at its latest council meeting. The latest data from Rockingham’s By Name List revealed that throughout April, more than three-quarters of the people on the list were sleeping rough and identified a total 131 people were experiencing homelessness. Of these 103 rough sleepers, about two in three were aged 26-54 and about one in five were under 25. The city noted this number included 21 families and pointed to a local need “for both a specialist adult homelessness accommodation service and accommodation services appropriate for families”. But there are just four accommodation support options available in Rockingham: the Lucy Saw Centre Association women’s refuge, Y-Shac crisis accommodation for young people, and residential rehabilitation accommodation at Serenity Lodge Therapeutic Community and Liliah Haven. A city report noted these options are “consistently operating at capacity”, with at least 109 dwellings needed in the area to address the fast-growing issue. “The city recognises there is a critical and immediate need for additional accommodation to address the fact that Rockingham has no adult specialist homelessness crisis or temporary accommodation services available and the current economic situation has exacerbated the effects on the community,” the report said. Despite the lack of options and dire need, the State Government has knocked back the city’s applications for funding under its social housing economic recovery package. St Patrick’s Community Support Centre runs the city’s assertive outreach service and the State Government’s Housing First initiative, Kwob Kaalak. But with city funding for the service to run out in 12 months, Rockingham’s homeless population will be left vulnerable should the city be unable to secure further funding for the important program. The State Government’s two-year delay of the Mandurah Common Ground facility also leaves both Rockingham and Mandurah local governments in the lurch for interim housing options. The Common Ground facility was delayed in February, with the opening date pushed back to 2026 — six years after it was first announced. Meanwhile, the State Government is pushing on with its supported landlord initiative, Djuripiny Mia, which will see 100 homes across three regions — Perth, Peel and Bunbury — to support rough sleepers. The $20.7 million program builds on a Bunbury pilot which assisted 16 people across eight properties but there is no set target for how many homes will be in each region. But according to the By Name List, at the end of April there were 720 rough sleepers out of a total 1309 experiencing homelessness in Perth, Rockingham, Mandurah and Bunbury. Shadow housing minister Steve Martin said the “inaction” from the State Government was now “catching up with them” and that crisis and transitional housing options were next to none. “If if it can’t be done in Rockingham where the local member (was) the premier and the treasurer, what hope do you have in other areas like Midland and Armadale?” Mr Martin said. As Mr McGowan vacates his position and the seat of Rockingham this week, and Roger Cook and Rita Saffioti take the reins, the government’s scramble to deliver on stagnant housing stock numbers remains in limbo. But Rockingham needs its 109 dwellings now. “The crisis accommodation situation is dire,” Mr Martin said. “There is some in the metropolitan area, (but) regional WA is hopeless, even in the outer metropolitan area there’s nothing. “I hope the 100 (homes) work, but it’s a drop in the ocean, and they’ll be spread thinly.” Homelessness Minister John Carey maintains the expansion of the Government’s supported landlord initiative will “provide an interim response to homeless accommodation” during the delayed Mandurah Common Ground process. He said as of late May, 42 properties had been added to the Djuripiny Mia program, “ahead of schedule”, with 35 people currently housed and receiving wraparound support. “The other properties are undergoing compliance work prior to being tenanted, with co-ordinated consideration of tenants currently being undertaken through rough sleeper co-ordination groups,” Mr Carey said. But the minister did not indicate whether 100 homes across these regions would be enough to provide a suitable “interim response” before the Common Grounds are operational, with Mandurah not taking on tenants until 2026 and East Perth not until mid-2025. The government has promised more than 4000 social housing dwellings as part of its $2.6 billion spend over four years to assist vulnerable Western Australians. Mr Carey said a number of “significant investments in homelessness” like Boorloo Bidee Mia have made a major difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness and that the former Murray Street Hotel would be “transformed into low barrier, supported accommodation” for rough sleepers. For local and city support services, reference the Homelessness Reference Card For urgent assistance, call Crisis Care on 1800 199 008