‘Horrendous’: Shelter Closures Pour On Housing Pain

Vulnerable residents deal with a fight to find food and someplace dry to sleep when flood waters recede and short-term shelters shut.

Nearly 800 people have actually sought sanctuary in NSW evacuation centres however their status as pop-up homes for some will disappear after the impact of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies’ regional housing and homelessness manager for northeast NSW, has been on the front lines supporting people sleeping rough in flooded zones.

Her job was made harder on Monday due to damage to Fred’s Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with constant rains inundating the space.

On any given day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in need however showers and laundry facilities are out of commission until the flood damage is repaired.

“It has actually been a horrendous time for the homeless neighborhood,” Ms Kennedy informed AAP.

“It has actually been truly tough attempting to get them any kind of shelter.”

She stated the homeless were trying to discover any dry places they might sleep across a northern NSW area already dealing with a dire lack of budget friendly real estate.

“We’ve been assisting out an entire household sleeping in their cars and truck,” Ms Kennedy said.

“Seeing them in this horrendous weather is truly dreadful.”

The Byron Shire local area, south of Tweed Heads, had the most rough sleepers of any council area in the state, according to a 2024 federal government street count.

“We absolutely do have a housing problem in the Northern Rivers and we need solutions,” Ms Kennedy stated.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, fitness centers and clubs could not function as a long-lasting fix to established housing issues in the area.

“I am completely familiar with the substantial challenges for real estate in the Northern Rivers, but evacuation centres are not long-term solutions … we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allowance,” he stated.

The centres would close in all locations once local emergency orders were lifted, Mr Minns added.

“So I wish to apologise beforehand however we need to draw a really clear and understood line.”

More than 10,000 individuals were under emergency situation cautions in NSW on Monday early morning, while 1800 people were isolated by floodwaters.

About 10,000 homes and services were still not connected to power as heavy rain continued to fall in many areas.

Major flood warnings were still in location for parts of the Clarence and Richmond rivers, while clean-up operations were under way somewhere else.

In Pottsville, in between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, a whale carcass was among the debris that cleaned up after substantial swells damaged the coastline for days.

Residents from 17 NSW local federal government areas who had actually lost earnings due to the storm would be eligible for federal catastrophe relief funds for as much as 13 weeks, it was revealed on Monday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated the financial assistance would be backed by mental health services for impacted locations.

“We’ve got your back, that’s my message to communities here,” he said from Lismore on Monday.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636