‘Embarrassed’: Homeless mum shares pain after year of sleeping rough in Geelong

A Norlane mother has revealed the emotional toll of being homeless for more than a year, as new data lays the extent of Geelong’s homelessness crisis bare.

Mum of four Donna has been homeless for more than a year, as the number of people sleeping rough in Geelong is revealed. Picture: Mark Wilson

A Norlane mother has revealed the emotional toll of being homeless, as new data shows the number of people sleeping rough in the Geelong region has almost doubled in just five years.

Donna Mcroberts says she and her young children have lived without a permanent home for more than 12 months.

The 43-year-old said she has been forced to couch surf between friends’ places while trying to get secure housing.

The mum of four is not alone in her struggle.

New Australian Bureau of Statistics data found 1609 people in the Geelong region were homeless on Census night in 2021.

Ms Mcroberts said she feels bad for her kids, who haven’t had a stable home in more than a year. Picture: Mark Wilson

This was a 97 per cent increase from Census night 2016, when 815 people in the region were reported as homeless.

Ms Mcroberts said she had approached support services in the region, tried private rentals, and widened her search area for public housing to include Geelong and Melbourne, but hadn’t been successful.

“I don’t know what else to do, where else to go,” she said.

“I’m embarrassed.

“I feel bad for the kids.
“Places are trying to help but there’s still nothing.

“It’s so frustrating.”

Ms Mcroberts said she and her kids had to leave a Norlane public housing property last year because of a family violence situation.

She said she was accepted for a priority transfer with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) about eight months ago.

Ms Mcroberts said she was yet to receive a placed and had called multiple times to try and get updates, with no success.

“You see so many (public) housing places that are just sitting there, no one in them … and they’re saying there’s a big crisis with housing shortages for families,” she said.

“How can Australia be this bad with housing?

“I don’t know what to do.”

A Homes Victoria spokesperson said wait times depended on factors including the number and types of properties available, the demand in the areas an applicant wants to live and how many people have been approved under the priority access.

“Victoria’s specialist homelessness services are responding to the needs of more than 100,000 people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, through over 70 access points across the state, every year,” they said.

Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Deborah Di Natale said the organisation was worried that without more government investment the number of homeless people could climb even higher.

Ms Di Natale said the organisation urged the government to continue to invest and expand programs like From Homelessness to a Home which supported 131 households in Geelong.

“We’re really concerned that it is due to have its funding cut on June 30,” she said.

Give Where You Live Foundation head of impact Kerry Farrance said having access to stable accommodation was a fundamental human right.

“We know that when people don’t have access to safe and secure housing it can significantly impact their ability to find work as well as affect their overall health and wellbeing,” she said.

Originally published as ‘Embarrassed’: Homeless mum shares pain after year of sleeping rough in Geelong