THE Federal Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Mr Jason Clare MP visited Pete’s Place at the Community Village on Thursday 29 April to talk about the serious issue of homelessness in the Coffs Coast area.

Mr Clare made the point that the region is currently experiencing a major housing and rental crisis, and that it is almost impossible to find affordable housing at the moment.

“More people are on the streets than ever before, and the Mid North Coast rental crisis is making it harder for people on low incomes to find affordable accommodation, even share house costs have risen to unaffordable levels for many young people,” he said.

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On the same day, Anglicare released its annual Rental Affordability Snapshot report, which revealed that the effects of the pandemic on job losses and the scaling back of support funding comes at the same time as house prices and rents in both cities and regional areas rising sharply.

Mr Clare, who called on the Federal Government to address the issue of funding social housing in the budget due to be released next week, said, “Homelessness is everyone’s issue, and while there are no easy fixes, all levels of government need to pull together to address this major problem for our society.”

Mr Clare also called for the National Cabinet to extend the pandemic support measures to assist people who are at risk due to homelessness and unemployment.

Pete’s Place Manager Anna Scott said that she was not surprised by the details of the Anglicare report, but was saddened by the impact of those figures, and that they had noticed a marked increase in the number of people seeking help from their service in the past year.

Pete’s Place provides a safe space for people who are homeless and offers assistance, connection and support.

“Strong communities grow from having a safe place for everyone,” said Ms Scott.

By David TUNE