City of Ballarat will review a recently released document for how local laws officers interact with people experiencing homelessness.
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The Homelessness Protocol, which focuses predominately on responses to people sleeping rough in public places, may be renamed to reflect its targeted scope.
City of Ballarat’s director of people and communities Neville Ivey said the city would get feedback from agencies and review whether it could be “enhanced” over the next six months.
“I wouldn’t back away from that, it could very well be better described as a sleeping rough protocol,” Mr Ivey said. “Homelessness a very complex issue, and there isn’t two individuals who have the exact same circumstances.”
Representatives of the Grampians Homeless Network and Centacare told The Courier last week that the protocol did not address the need for more social affordable housing in Ballarat.
The protocol notes that people experiencing homelessness may be couch-surfing, in transient accommodation or living in hostels.
But the document primarily discusses responses to those sleeping rough. It states council will only respond to people who appear homeless if they ask for or appear to need assistance, are of safety concern to themselves or others, are living in dangerous conditions or are under the age of 16.
Homeless people will be referred to support services including the Uniting Ballarat Street 2 Home program.
Mr Ivey said the protocol had been created in response to community feedback of “behavioural concerns”.
In the five years from 2011 to 2016, homelessness in Australia leapt 13.7 per cent, according to 2016 Census data.
Five hundred children alone experienced homelessness in Ballarat last year, according to SalvoConnect.
A spokesperson for the Council to Homeless Persons said the city’s proactive approach was to be commended, but what the “protocol can’t do is ensure that people have access to safe, secure housing.”
“Too often laws are applied unevenly and selectively against people experiencing homelessness, curbing their use of public space and community facilities, and moving rough sleepers on to less visible, more dangerous spaces,” the spokesperson said.
“With homelessness continuing to grow in Ballarat and surrounds, we need all levels of Government to commit to housing the most vulnerable among us.”