‘Horrendous’: Shelter Closures Pour On Housing Pain

Vulnerable citizens face a battle to find food and someplace dry to sleep when flood waters recede and short-lived shelters shut.

Nearly 800 people have sought sanctuary in NSW evacuation centres however their status as pop-up homes for some will disappear after the effect of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies’ regional real estate and homelessness supervisor for northeast NSW, has been on the cutting edge supporting individuals sleeping rough in flooded zones.

Her task was made harder on Monday due to damage to Fred’s Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with constant rainfall swamping the space.

On any provided day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in need however showers and laundry facilities are out of commission till the flood damage is repaired.

“It has actually been a horrendous time for the homeless community,” Ms Kennedy informed AAP.

“It has been actually challenging trying to get them any type of shelter.”

She said the homeless were searching for any dry places they could sleep throughout a northern NSW region currently handling an alarming scarcity of cost effective housing.

“We’ve been assisting an entire family oversleeping their automobile,” Ms Kennedy stated.

“Seeing them in this horrendous weather is really awful.”

The Byron Shire city government location, south of Tweed Heads, had the most rough sleepers of any council location in the state, according to a 2024 government street count.

“We absolutely do have a real estate problem in the Northern Rivers and we require services,” Ms Kennedy said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns stated evacuation centres established in schools, universities, fitness centers and clubs could not act as a long-term fix to entrenched housing problems in the area.

“I am completely aware of the considerable difficulties for real estate in the Northern Rivers, however evacuation centres are not irreversible solutions … we don’t have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allotment,” he stated.

The centres would close in all locations once regional emergency orders were lifted, Mr Minns added.

“So I desire to apologise beforehand but we need to draw an extremely clear and understood line.”

More than 10,000 individuals were under emergency cautions in NSW on Monday morning, while 1800 people were isolated by floodwaters.

About 10,000 homes and businesses were still not connected to power as heavy rain continued to fall in lots of areas.

Major flood warnings were still in location for parts of the and Richmond rivers, while clean-up operations were under method elsewhere.

In Pottsville, between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, a whale carcass was among the particles that washed up after substantial swells damaged the shoreline for days.

Residents from 17 NSW local government areas who had actually lost income due to the storm would be qualified for federal catastrophe relief funds for as much as 13 weeks, it was announced on Monday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated the financial backing would be backed by psychological health services for impacted areas.

“We have actually got your back, that’s my message to communities here,” he said from Lismore on Monday.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636