Perth Voice Interactive

THE majority of Perth’s homeless are in the most dire category of need, requiring permanent supportive housing to get off the streets.

Community services group Ruah this week presented the findings of its homeless registry week to Vincent council.

It found 204 people sleeping on the streets across the CBD, East Perth, Northbridge and Maylands across the three nights, and 168 agreed to an interview.

The survey showed 79 would need permanent support, 74 short-term support over maybe six months to get off the street, and just 15  no support (people who are temporarily on the streets and likely to bounce back).

Ruah executive manager Ros Mulley says the survey busts some myths about homelessness. She says the tiny number of people needing no support shows it’s not easy to just get a job and get a house—especially when you have nowhere to go home and wash after a day’s shift.

And while some people had criticised the survey arguing homeless people wouldn’t want to be woken up and queried, Ruah found a huge majority were happy to be heard and most even allowed a photo to be taken (for identification at service providers).

“It’s an expensive way to get healthcare.”

The idea that homelessness is a choice was also blown out of the water: When asked what they needed most, a “home” was the most common response.

About 42 per cent of adult homeless are Aboriginal—far in excess of the proportion of Aboriginal people in the general community—with Ruah chief executive Francis Lynch noting Perth has the highest percentage in Australia save Townsville.

He says medical care is provided in the most expensive way: instead of having people access GPs for cheaper preventative care, many homeless end up in dire health requiring an ambulance ($872 a trip) to the hospital, costing $6245 per day they stay.

“It’s an expensive way to get healthcare,” he says.

Ms Mulley says what’s needed now is coordination between agencies. Currently there’s a “silo” approach, where each agency does its stuff without knowing what else is going on. “Sometimes there’s no proper record of what’s happening to people either, what the outcomes are for them. We’re hoping that if we can pool everyone together, we can undertake one of these collective impact approaches.”

by DAVID BELL