“Where the Heart is: Homelessness in Bankstown”
Since the release of the federal governments White Paper : “The Road Home: A National Approach to Reducing Homelessness”, there has been an increased focus on the ever increasing number of individuals, families and children experiencing homelessness across Australia.
In response to this issue, government agencies and community services in the Bankstown local government area, including Creating Links Cooperative Ltd., formed an interagency forum to discuss concerns at a localized level.
In recent years Creating Links has identified an increase in the number of homeless individuals and families, and those at risk of becoming homeless, being referred to our Family Support, Emergency Relief and Financial Counselling services.
As a result of this, Creating Links, with support from Bankstown City Council, undertook a six month long research project into homelessness in the local government area, which was undertaken by Natasha Williams.
July 21st 2011 saw the launch of “Where the Heart Is: Homelessness in Bankstown” – a research paper which identifies issues, statistics and recommendations in relation to the increasing homelessness in Bankstown.
Present at the launch were the Honourable Jason Clare Mp, Minister for Defence Materiel, and member for Blaxland, and the Mayor of Bankstown , Clr Khal Asfour, who commented on the alarming and unacceptable statistics the report revealed, stating, “Homelessness is a complex issue and Bankstown Council is committed to working in partnership with local agencies to prevent homelessness in Bankstown”
A full copy of the report is available on Creating Links website. (click here to download the report)
Creating Links would like to thank Natasha Williams, Bankstown City Council, Centrelink, Housing NSW, our community partners, and most of all the residents of Bankstown who have experienced homelessness for generously contributing towards this research paper.