The Western Australian Council of Social Service welcomes the State Government’s announcement today of $47.6 million in new funding to continue the operation of various critical homelessness services across the state.
The funding package, as announced by Homelessness Minister the Honourable John Carey, will allow for the continuation of 15 services including:
- Culturally appropriate responses to homelessness in the Perth metropolitan area, including low-barrier accommodation at Boorloo Bidee Mia delivered by the Wungening Aboriginal Corporation, and Koort Boodja delivered by Uniting WA;
- The Homelessness Engagement Assessment Response Team (HEART) and its Perth metropolitan coordinated outreach response services, including extensions of the service to Joondalup and Midland; and
- The Safe Perth City Initiative and the provision of dedicated rapid and flexible assertive outreach support services in the Perth CBD and surrounds including Return to Country functions.
WACOSS Acting Chief Executive Officer Rachel Siewert said the funds would provide much needed assistance to the community service providers that have been stretched thin in the midst of the cost of living crisis.
“We thank the Cook Government for its continued commitment to helping those experiencing hardship in our community.
“We know that service providers have been struggling to adequately cater for everyone that’s reached out for help in these times of crisis, so this additional funding will enable services to better care for those who are doing it the toughest.
“This welcome relief came on the same day that new Corelogic data revealed that the median rent in Perth has climbed to a staggering $630 a week.
“We are grateful for the State Government’s $24.4 million rent relief package announced late last year, but this data shows that more needs to be done at both a state and federal level to combat the rental crisis – and the cost of living crisis.”
In December, WACOSS released its annual Cost of Living Report, which highlighted that households are struggling to cover the cost of groceries, interest rates that have risen to heights not seen in more than a decade, and rental prices that continue to skyrocket, making it harder for people to keep a roof over their heads.
View the full report here.
