City of Melbourne’s $2m plan to help CBD homeless
Melbourne’s rough sleepers have not been left behind amid the global pandemic, with the city revealing a whopping $2 million plan to help the homeless — despite taking a massive COVID-19 hit to its bottom line.
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Homeless people in central Melbourne will be helped in the coming year with support services worth almost $2 million which Lord Mayor Sally Capp described as a measure of the city’s caring nature.
Melbourne City Council will announce the funding on Tuesday in its annual budget which is expected to take a massive COVID-19 hit to the bottom line.
Cr Capp said the crisis had prompted action for the homeless including emergency accommodation and a new outreach program to help rough sleepers and beggars avoid the coronavirus.
Four “pop-up accommodation” centres have been established across Melbourne to provide health care and supported accommodation for more than 200 rough sleepers for six months.
“While these are fantastic interim measures we don’t want to lose this moment,’’ Cr Capp said.
“We need to keep working together to find long-term solutions to homelessness.
“Melbourne must remain a caring city throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.’’
The funding initiatives include:
• $330,000 for the council’s support team to connect rough sleepers with accommodation and support;
• $438,000 for the Salvation Army Night Café not only for when it opens after the pandemic but for prepare and deliver meals during the crisis;
• $480,000 for Frontyard Youth Services to support homeless young people.
Isolated senior residents will also be the focus of a new $716,000 program to reduce loneliness, through healthy ageing and social support programs.
People City chairwoman Cr Beverley Pinder existing services would be adapted to meet the community’s needs during the lockdown.
“We’re doing this across a range of areas, including refocusing our Family Services to include telehealth consultations and introducing interactive, online parenting programs,” Cr Pinder said.
The budget will also include a further $1 million to complete the new Lady Huntingfield Early Learning and Family Services Centre, expected to open in early 2021 and increasing the number of child care places from 56 to 106.
The city’s budget will be hit by a multimillion-dollar loss in parking fees and fines as workers, visitors and shoppers avoided central Melbourne.
The COVID-19 impact is expected to push the city’s balance sheet into the red for the first time this century.
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