Renewed calls for change to emergency shelter rules after homeless woman dies

A woman died while sleeping rough in Adelaide last month – now her death has prompted more calls for how emergency homeless support is handled.

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Homelessness advocates are renewing their calls for a change in the way the State Government mobilises emergency shelter after it emerged a woman died while sleeping rough in Adelaide.

It is understood the homeless woman, who was suffering from influenza, died in the South Parklands on Monday, May 20.

Her death has sparked outrage and fears more may perish if “rigid” rules surrounding when a Code Blue can be called aren’t changed.

Greens MLC Tammy Franks urged the Government to take action to prevent more deaths.

“People die because of the cold overnight, particularly if they’re carrying illness and they’re unable to access shelter,” she said.

“The government needs to make sure that the criteria (for Code Blues) has the flexibility that we need to save lives.”

As The Advertiser reported on Saturday, Shelter SA, Ms Franks and Opposition human services spokeswoman Nat Cook called on the Government to change the criteria for calling a Code Blue, saying it was too rigid and was leaving people out in the cold at times when they need shelter the most.

A homeless man finds shelter from the rain in the city. Picture: Tait Schmaal

A Code Blue is a Government-funded emergency response whereby service providers make extra accommodation available and extend their operating hours to provide shelter for people sleeping rough during bouts of extremely cold temperatures.

Under the current policy, a Code Blue can be called by the Government when any two of the following circumstances have been forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology to occur for at least three days in a row:

– A minimum overnight temperature of less than 6C.

– Significant rainfall.

– Damaging winds.

It can also be triggered if the overnight temperature is predicted to be 5C or less for five consecutive days or for “any other factors related to extreme winter weather which require a Code Blue response”.

Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink called the state’s first Code Blue for winter on Wednesday, meaning extra services for homeless people will be in place across the state during the night.

The Code Blue will also apply in Adelaide on Thursday night.

However, Ms Franks said Code Blues should have been called during last week’s cold snap and also on Tuesday night, when Adelaide recorded its wettest day in more than two years.

“We cannot pretend (Tuesday) night’s storm was neither unexpected nor insignificant,” she said.

“While radio announcers were telling people in housing to get their washing done and off the line by nightfall we hear nothing about preparations for people sleeping rough to survive the night.

“The fact that a Code Blue wasn’t called at that time should show our Government that the current criteria is currently too restrictive and rigid to function as it should.”

Shelter SA executive director Alice Clark agreed, saying the criteria needed to be altered to allow it to be called when temperature was extremely cold, regardless of rain or wind.

“There is a time when it is just not humane to leave people outside when it’s very, very cold and it could cause them to lose their life or become very sick,” she said.

Dunstan Foundation executive director David Pearson said more needed to be done to help people sleeping rough move into accommodation.

“People do die on the streets when the system fails,” he said.

“It happens all the time, way too often.”

Mr Pearson said the Federal Government should play a bigger role in helping to tackle the issue of homelessness, the health system needed to better connect with the homeless community and more affordable housing should be made available.

Opposition human services spokeswoman Nat Cook said the woman’s death was a tragedy and it highlighted the perils of sleeping rough.

“Things like this really remind us just how dangerous it is to live without shelter,” she said.

“There needs to be agility and sometimes the policies that are set need to be reviewed and the Minister needs to lead that call.”

Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said homelessness services reconfirmed last week that the current criteria and parameters for activating a Code Blue were sufficient.

“People sleeping rough are vulnerable, which is why I encourage people to connect with homelessness service providers,” she said.

Homelessness service providers:
Shelter SA: 8223 4077, 44/81 Carrington St

Hutt St Centre: 8418 2500, 258 Hutt St

St Vincent De Paul Society: 8231 2250, 28 Whitmore Square

Centacare: 8215 6700, 45 Wakefield St

Uniting Communities: 1800 615 677, 10 Pitt St