‘Horrendous’: Shelter Closures Pour On Housing Pain

Vulnerable residents deal with a battle to find food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters decline and momentary shelters shut.

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

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies’ regional housing and homelessness supervisor for northeast NSW, has actually been on the cutting edge 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 constant rainfall flooding the area.

On any offered day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in need however showers and laundry facilities run out commission until the flood damage is repaired.

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

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

She stated the homeless were searching for any dry places they could sleep throughout a northern NSW area already handling a dire scarcity of budget friendly real estate.

“We’ve been assisting a whole family oversleeping their vehicle,” Ms Kennedy stated.

“Seeing them in this horrendous weather condition is truly dreadful.”

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

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

Chris Minns said evacuation centres established in schools, universities, fitness centers and clubs might not act as a long-lasting repair to entrenched real estate problems in the area.

“I am fully familiar with the significant challenges for housing in the Northern Rivers, however evacuation centres are not long-term solutions … we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allowance,” he said.

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

“So I wish to apologise in advance however we need to draw an extremely clear and understood line.”

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

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

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

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

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

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the financial backing would be backed by psychological health services for affected locations.

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

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