Perth Voice Interactive

MANNA will continue to feed homeless people in Weld Square for at least another year, after attempts failed to find a new home for the service.

Manna has been feeding the homeless and underprivileged in the square for 18 years but complaints from neighbouring residents in the increasingly upscale area resulted in Vincent council trying to find new digs.

Mayor John Carey says Manna isn’t the sole source of anti-social problems as there is trouble in the square even when it isn’t there (and a lot of rubbish strewn around the park can be attributed to the nearby McDonald’s, not Manna).

The council set itself a one-year deadline to find a new home, but nothing suitable popped up. One available building was too small, and the line for a hot meal would have snaked out of the door, leaving most outside anyway.

As concerned residents watched on from the public gallery, the council approved Manna’s operation for another 12 months.

Stirling Street resident Brayden Wardrop wrote to the Voice recently that Manna’s operation is an “ongoing tarnish to this area” that “seems to spiral hopelessly out of control,” and he’d recently seen a man beaten during an attempt to steal his dog.

“While I support the overall intention of Manna Inc’s work, it needs to take more accountability for the direct impact its service is having on the residents of this area,” he said.

by DAVID BELL