St Kilda businesses say homelessness is getting worse following the Gatwick’s closure

St Kilda shop owners are blaming the closure of the Gatwick Hotel for the area’s spiralling homeless problem.

St Kilda shop owners are blaming the closure of the Gatwick for the area’s spiralling homeless problem.

Francis Zhang of Bargain Link said he copped abuse when vagrants entered his store and he often saw them arguing in the street.

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Drug users shot up outside his backdoor, leaving needles and other paraphernalia littering the ground as well as urine and human faeces, and he said the Gatwick rooming house’s closure in 2017 was partly to blame.

Jess, a cafe worker who didn’t want her full name published, said she’d lived in St Kilda all her life and homelessness had gotten worse.

Some of the people were harmless, she said, but others she was too scared to approach if they harassed customers.

“We’re having a lot more trouble with people under the influence … we’re calling police a lot more,” she said.

Xia Xiang, who manages a newsagency on Carlisle St, said the rough sleepers needed employment assistance and a place to stay.

Assaf Stizki of nearby business Ziggy’s Eatery agreed saying the homeless needed to be helped not blamed for their behaviour.

Port Phillip Inspector Jason Kelly told the Leader police were working with the council to connect people with support, and said extra services were made available when the Gatwick closed.

“Homelessness statewide is clearly an issue, but whether the numbers are going up or down in areas is difficult to tell,” he said.

Port Phillip Mayor Dick Gross said all former residents of the Gatwick who wanted help finding new accommodation were provided with assistance by the State Government, and council officers patrolled Carlisle St with police to address rubbish issues and footpath obstructions.

A trial two-year street ban on alcohol had resulted in fewer complaints from Carlisle St businesses about anti-social behaviour, he said. The council budgeted $236,000 a year for homelessness services.

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