Archive Article: Room For Homeless People 26th Dec 03.
December 23, 2008

At this time of the years we have been thinking of the world’s most famous homeless family, for whom “there was no room at the inn”. Last week, I spent an inspiring evening with over a hundred people, most of whom were also homeless, celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Wesley Mission has been involved in the care of homeless people for over a century. It is now one of the country’s largest providers of such accommodation. The head of the programme, Rev Noreen Towers, is one of this country’s main experts in this subject, including having been a Churchill Fellow a quarter of a century ago. The full range of homeless persons services includes the crisis and medium term accommodation at Edward Eager Lodge in Darlinghurst and more long-term supported housing out in the suburbs. People can go from being homeless and living on the streets, to being fully reintegrated within the community. The overall range of activities can transform a person’s life.

Ironically, all the additional building activity in Sydney has not necessarily reduced the problem of homelessness. Many clients have problems with gambling or alcohol or narcotics (or a combination thereof). Additionally, mental illness is a major cause of homelessness. There has been the closure of large mental health institutions but there is a shortage of community-based services. The government enquiry that recommended the closure of those forbidding Victorian institutions also recommended that more money go into community facilities. The treasury bureaucrats decided to make money by closing the institutions but failed to spend the money in the community. Wesley Mission has been left to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, there has also been the closure of inner city hostels. Building owners reckon they can make more money by converting the buildings to back-packer hostels (and squeezing more people in per room).

At this year’s Christmas Party we heard that during this year, Edward Eager Lodge had accommodated a total of 902 people. In other words, a total of 902 distinct individuals had been at the Lodge for one or more nights during the year. The place was packed out on all occasions. 17,521 lunches were served; 250 birthdays were celebrated and 250 Christmas presents were given out. I speak at Edward Eager Lodge on the final Sunday on each month during the Church of the Homeless service (my segment is called a “Window on the World” – and it is a summary of my Channel 7 “Sunrise” comments). The birthdays get noted during those services. It is obvious that for many people, the birthday present they get at the Lodge will be their only birthday present. The Lodge is their only family.

Another interesting statistic is the fact that there were 3,964 volunteer “hours”. Again, it is inspiring to see the full range of people who volunteer to assist Edward Eager Lodge, including the Double Bay/ Woollahra Uniting Church.

But the bad news is that 1,493 people had had to be turned away during the year because there was no room for them. The demand for homes is outstripping the supply.

2,000 years after the first Christmas we still have “no room at the inn” for some people.

Broadcast Friday 26th December 2003 on Radio 2GB’s “Brian Wilshire Programme” at 9pm.