$20m homeless centre being built in Darlinghurst
The site of an old car wash on Darlinghurst Rd will become a permanent home for more than 10 per cent of city’s homeless community.
The site of an old car wash on Darlinghurst Rd will become a permanent home for more than 10 per cent of city’s homeless community.
HammondCare Darlinghurst, a $20 million facility under construction next to St John’s Anglican Church, will be an aged care home providing 42 beds for elderly people experiencing homelessness, dementia and Alzheimer’s or other “complex needs”.
It was a vision of the church’s senior minister Ed Vaughan, who sought out a partnership with aged care not-for-profit HammondCare to develop the land into a facility that fit “with who we are as a church”.
“There’s nothing else like this in Sydney,” he said.
“We have a lot of expertise working with homeless people through our Rough Edges drop-in program, which has run for 23 years. And HammondCare have a lot of expertise working in the aged care space.”
The centre is set to open in October 2019.
Homelessness in Sydney exploded by 48 per cent between 2011 and 2016, according to Census data. One in six homeless people are aged 55 or over, a figure which has grown by 49 per cent in the past decade.
A street count from City of Sydney Council in August 2018 found 373 rough sleepers in the CBD, meaning the new centre could deliver a bed for more than 10 per cent of city’s homeless community.
Rector Vaughan said the five-storey centre would be a permanent home for elderly people who are not only sleeping rough, but who require specialised care for physical, behavioural and mental health disorders.
“This will be their home until they are no more,” he said.
The Sydney Anglican Diocese has owned the land for decades, which has in the past been used as a petrol station, car rental store and finally a car wash before that was bulldozed for the centre.
HammondCare will pay the church a lease fee and will foot the construction bill, while operation of the facility will be funded by the Federal Government. Residents will not have to pay, but will only be accepted if they meet strict criteria.
Angela Raguz, HammondCare’s head of residential services, said the centre would be “another piece of the puzzle” of homelessness services located in the Darlinghurst area.
Ms Raguz said it would provide a service for older people with “complex needs”, and expected many referrals to come from nearby St Vincent’s Hospital.
“It’s a concept that is going to meet a need in that area that’s not been filled in the past,” she said.
“It’s a growing problem, particularly for older women. This isn’t going to solve the problem, but it might be a concept that can be replicated across Sydney and the country.”
The Ian Potter Foundation and City of Sydney Council have supported the development.
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