Humanity Continued

I started writing this post in December 2013, I wanted to really get my point across, but I couldn't quite find the words. Ironically, I think I now have them. The irony being the state of our own country's Public Housing. The federal budget that was recently released really challenges the question of "Where is the Humanity?" Add to this post the new wave of Homeless Youth we will now see if they are required to wait 6 months for an income even in extreme circumstances. Think of the burden to charities … just think about all this ...

I wrote this post about humanity, because I had read a news article that proved to motivate me to write.  However, I did not quite make the point I was going for in that post as I had also found this great piece on the evolution of human empathy. 

So, in an attempt to stay on track today, HERE is the article that made me want to write about Humanity, well, at least the lack of it. Mind you, this point may still take some time to make, so bear with me.

The article is a story of a young couple who have moved to "the city" (Wollongong) from Forbes, to try to find work and accommodation. They were staying with a relative, on the couch. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they are now in temporary accommodation while they look for a rental property they can afford.

Youth Homelessness Matters Day

Again, it is not this actual story that made me think about humanity, well, except for the part where the young lady talks about feeling judged because of her homeless status, no, it was the comments that appeared after the story, written by people who had read the story and had made judgements about this young lady, based on 650 words and 1 photo.

There were superficial judgements based on the fact the young lady has a couple of tattoos, they judged her because of her age, they brought into question her family assuming they were negligent, and it went on. Self professed Landlords citing they would not allow anyone with tattoos to rent one of their properties. Thankfully there were a few clear thinking people who left retaliatory comments in defence of the young lady, and people with tattoos.

Would you rent your house to this man?

I have to disclose right here that I have a personal interest in matters of housing and  homelessness. As some of you may know, I too have had a few problems securing long term accommodation for myself and my two sons due to the specific needs around LJ's safety and security associated with his disability.

It is because of my experience and this story about a young couple just trying to get a start in life, not to mention all the other stories I have heard as a bi product of my own journey, that has lead me to feel the need to explain a few things about the world of rental accommodation and social housing to the many who have not had the opportunity to live in that world and experience it first hand.

PUBLIC HOUSING FACTS:
Public Housing and Community Housing Organisations only have so many properties available to rent to their clients. (Which is why the waiting lists are currently so long, they have none available.)
They rely on "natural attrition" for properties to become available.
In NSW, Housing NSW are selling properties that are in prime locations back to the public and not reinvesting that money back into replacement accommodations for their client waiting list, reducing the accommodations available while the number of clients increases.
People on those waiting lists are forced back into the private rental market to compete for properties.

Many people in the general population have never rented a property in their lives having lived at home and saved until they married and bought a home of their own. Some people's experience of renting may only extend to when they went on holiday. Some people may have rented for a short period of time while they saved for a deposit for their own home. Some people choose to rent and not to buy, often being able to find a rental property and be lucky enough to stay for many years in the one place. There are many scenarios here. And I will not take away from these people that have been conscientious and worked very hard to attain their goals.

The one thing all these people have in common, is they obviously all have some sort of consistent income. Now, I am not saying they are privileged or have any better opportunity than others, some would say, this is how most people live.

Well, that is not quite right.

Impacting factors that might not allow other people to make these same choices or have a stable income are their level of education, hence their inability to earn a reasonable wage, or find job security, they may have come from families who are already in crisis because of Domestic Violence, Gambling Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Mental Health Diagnosis, Disability, Cultural Diversity and Language barriers etc etc, therefore, have no support, no back up, they are on their own, or having to care for other family members, often from a very early age.

Sometimes, bad things simply do happen to good people.

Robin McGraw

During the time I have been in what they call "Housing Stress", I have had the opportunity to meet some really inspirational people, none so inspiring as a lady I met because she was volunteering at a charity that had helped her and her family when they were homeless. Mind you, that is a very common response from those who are truly trying to get back on their feet, to give back.

She and her husband had both worked very hard, neither of them were huge income earners, but they had a home and a mortgage, 2 cars and kids and were happy. After three kids, they decided to go for another, and were blessed with twins. They knew then they had completed their family and were content.  I'm not sure exactly when, but sadly, tragedy struck and one of their beautiful twins passed away as a result of cot death.

This loss tore their lives apart. Neither of them were able to recover from their grief.  The Mum had previously given up her job because she needed to look after 5 kids and so Dad was the only wage earner left.  He fell into a deep state of depression and despite their best efforts, he was finally unable to work.  They slowly started to sell what they could to keep on top of things, but eventually, they had nothing else to sell and had to sell their home. Because they had already been struggling to keep it, there was nothing left over once the sale went through and the debt was paid. They were now homeless with 4 children to care for.

They did spend one night in their car, but thankfully were assisted with Emergency accommodation from an organisation which deals in helping families.

That organisation helped them both to seek the medical care they needed and they allowed themselves time to process their grief and slowly, and very carefully, started to seek support in other areas.  They had been too embarrassed to ask for assistance prior to this, and too proud.

Now, they are public housing clients and are getting back on their feet, they believe they will own their own home again one day, all they needed was a little help to get them back on track.

Or as I like to say, and hand up, not a hand out.

Unfortunately, when you mention "Homelessness" to most people, the image they get is usually something like this fairly famous image …

Homelessness as most people understand it

Homeless people don't always live on the streets, they are not always carting their belongings with them, they are not necessarily drug or alcohol addicted, they often have access to showers at a friend's house, at local beaches or school or gyms etc, maybe even work, yes, some homeless people have jobs! They eat because they access charity organisations, they may "rough sleep" (on the streets) some nights and be lucky enough to find an hostel or refuge other nights, they may have friends they can stay with occasionally, usually on a lounge or floor, and, in this day and age, they may even have a mobile phone.

You may say WHY??? Why when you are homeless do you need a mobile phone??? Why would you not is more the question?

How else can you stay in touch with Real Estate Agents, Housing Departments, Centrelink, Charities, Health Services, have access to information about bus and train timetables, keep in touch with Lifeline, make applications for rental properties etc etc.  In this day of technology, where to even be considered to inspect a rental property, some agents require you to "register on line".

The one thing I do know for sure ... The majority of people who are homeless, do NOT choose to be and are trying very hard to find stable accommodation for themselves and often their family.

And herein lies the problem of Humanity that I am writing about.

If you are really in a situation where you are completely unable to afford a rental property in the public market and find yourself having to apply to become a Public Housing Client, the first thing you have to do, is front up to the Office of the Public Housing organisation in your relevant state and start by jumping through hoops.

The situation of Homelessness is so bad in Australia, that even the Public Housing Organisations are not accepting applications from just anyone, you need to prove your case, you must show evidence of need or that you have made a concerted and legitimate attempt at searching for and trying to secure properties independently before they will even consider offering you assistance. You also need to have some sort of income. It is NOT FREE HOUSING. I know some people believe it is.

I believe if you are living with ongoing or severe Mental Illness, or are Disabled or if you are escaping a situation of Domestic Violence things are a bit different.

If you are simply applying because you are starting to feel the pinch and your situation is not critical, you can look forward to going on the end of the, 15 - 20 year long waiting list for Public Housing.

If your situation is extreme, you can apply for Priority Public Housing, that will reduce your waiting list to 2 - 5 years!

If your situation is critical and you are accepted as a Public Housing client, you can still wait 15 years for Public Housing, but they can then offer you other services such as subsidised rental assistance if you have extenuating circumstances such as mental health, disability etc.

So you can now go out into the Private Rental Market and apply for properties.  Mind you, you will be competing against everyone else. People who have two incomes (because there are two parents in the family), people who can offer to pay more rent on a property to secure it (not sure if this is illegal, but it happens), people who may offer 6 months rent in advance to secure a property and finally, and most relevant, people who are NOT Public Housing Clients.

Public Housing Clients are 50% less likely to secure a property they can afford (with subsidised rental assistance) because of the stigma attached to being a Public Housing Client. Many Landlords will simply not accept applications from people who are registered on the Public Housing waiting list. It is part of the application process that you either declare you are receiving assistance to pay for the rent you will pay, or, that the Community Housing Organisation you are represented by will make the application. So a Public Housing client cannot hide this on a Private Rental market application. But a landlord can hide their discrimination, because legally, they are not required to state the reason for not accepting an applicant.

That stigma is not only reflected in dealing with Landlords, it is carried over to many other areas.  How do you think "No fixed address" looks on a job application?
Every form you fill in these days asks for a residential address. Medicare, Centrelink, Drs etc all require an address. 

When I experienced homelessness, I had friends who did not believe me.  They thought I was exaggerating, being a drama queen, stretching the truth!

I can assure you, it is hard enough to have to say those words, to admit it to anyone when it is true, why the hell would anyone PRETEND they were homeless? The stigma it brings with it is soul crushing.

So, I ask you all this very day, be more empathic, have some humility, be more considerate of other people's circumstances, consider they may really be having a hard time and need a short term hand up, not a hand out.

My Happy Ending will be when the Public Housing System is a solutions based service which will help people to recover from life's tragedies, not just keep kicking them when they are down.

Housing Update

For those of you playing along at home, the situation around our housing has worsened.

If you are not sure what I am talking about, the previous post is here

It has been proven now that despite CH organisation stating that they comply with Housing NSW policies, they have not.

I now have to wait 28 days for the appropriate process around my appeal to unfold while they do an "internal" investigation.

If I don't agree with the outcome of their investigation, then I have to make an appeal to another authority.

See, this would have met our needs perfectly!

At the end of the day, I will miss out on a property (that we have now confirmed can be made safe for LJ) because of the time that will lapse while this due process unfolds as a result of them not taking into consideration LJ's needs for housing around his disability and my care situation, which were specified in our original applications to Housing NSW. A complete disregard for their own policy.

In short, someone didn't read a file, or someone doesn't know the policy, or someone has just made an honest mistake. But when those shortcomings mean that a family will potentially be put at risk of homelessness, does one not just put up their hand and say, "It was me, I made the mistake and I'm sorry. We don't need to waste 28 days, lets just move forward and get these people housed appropriately."

My Happy Ending - When I complete my Community Service Certificate IV next year, all this experience will only help me to do a better job than these people have!

My Solution to the Public Housing problem - Well it's a start!

I have written before about my situation in this piece, and I have bravely suggested I had a few ideas about how to fix some systems of Welfare in this wonderful country of ours (Australia for those of you who have no idea where I am), and after watching The Project tonight (with my phone in my hand, which I will NEVER do again), I found myself having spat out three tweets before I could stop myself. On reflection, I decided to cop the fall out.

What I heard on The Project, was a perfect example of the issues of the Public Housing systems in NSW and I would imagine, all of Australia.  What I heard was Heather Holt of HomeGround (Victoria) reiterating her comments already made here where she denies ANY criminal activity by tenants in Public Housing.

Unfortunately Heather is not alone, NO PUBLIC HOUSING OR COMMUNITY HOUSING ORGANISATION  will admit this is a very serious problem, or they would not be able to house people.  These organisations have their hands tied.  They are charged with managing properties that are the "hand me downs" of a system put together many years ago to solve the situations as they were at that time.

In Sydney I am aware of areas where NSW Housing have started to relocate many tenants as the opportunity arises into housing that has been purposely built spattered throughout other communities; communities other than those known as "Housing Commission Areas" of old.

Departments are turning their backs on building whole suburbs of social housing as was the way when it was purpose built to house groups of people close to work etc. They are closing the ghetto style communities such as the well known areas of Villawood, Redfern and Cartwright, although many of those still exist and they DO have high crime rates.  Sadly this is an issue within itself.

There ARE generational inhabitants in Public Housing, simply because of the stigma that comes from having to be housed in such a way as to be treated as a statistic and a "social problem" and in most cases having no access to services or even role models to help these people aspire to a different life.

While crime and other closely associated social issues are high in these areas so are issues of Health, Mental Health, Lack of services for the Disabled, Educational standards are low as children stay home to help care for ailing parents or family members.

People who live in Public or Community Housing are generally low income earners AND, in most cases, if they had a choice, THEY WOULD NOT BE LIVING THERE! Nor caught in a system that does not allow a way out.

This is a system of Welfare that provides a HAND OUT and not what is really required by most, which is a HAND UP!!! We are living in a time where the difference between "We're going OK" and "We are homeless" is often only a month's wages.

I have mentioned before here a wonderful organisation called Habitat For Humanity Australia who help people help themselves. The way they operate their Australian arm of the organisation is, I believe an idea that should be embraced by the Australian Government in their attempts to help reduce this issue of Homelessness, after all, names like "Housing Stress" or "Technical Homelessness" or "Temporarily Housed" don't go far enough to provide the knowledge that many people are actually HOMELESS even though they are housed.  I know, seems like an oxymoron, but it is true! (That will probably have to be a separate post based on how this one is going).

Last time I checked on the finer details of the Habitat program, a person needed to qualify to be a "Habitat Recipient", one of the criteria being around household income, the household should be the recipient of a Centrelink Payment (or partial) and also be working in some way (self employed, part time etc) but must fall into their category of "Low Income" earner. They explain the overall program much better here.

If our Australian Government could subsidise such a program, over time, it would grow, their capacity to GIVE REAL HELP TO THOSE WHO WANT IT would increase exponentially.

This would not do away with the Public Housing that would still be required by those who have no other means of income other than maybe a Carers Payment, Old Age Pension, Disability Pension etc and would hopefully mean an increase in the standard of housing available to that group of people and a decrease in wait times.  Hence, another Happy Ending!

Wait times by the way are currently about 10 - 15 years (depending on where you live) and for Priority Clients, about 2 years wait time ...

Now to get this message to the thinkers of our Political Parties ... or is that just another oxymoron?

You got any ideas?

Jenny Macklin Schmacklin

Once again it seems the point has been sadly missed.

A politician goes on record (or doesn't, more to the point) as having said something stupid and the focus is on the STUPID, not the real point!

We all know the system of Welfare in Australia is broken, we all know that there are those who "take advantage" of the system and its flaws (loopholes), we all may NOT know how hard it is to actually pull yourself out of a deep black hole once you have slipped into it, despite your best efforts not to.

Yes there are those whose expertise in staying on a benefit far outweighs the knowledge of the system that most Centrelink Employees have (as most of them are on contract and don't have permanent jobs either).

There are many scenarios, all different and very individual, but the one thing that single parents have in common, is the obvious, they are single!

Yes, as I said, each situation is different, some people have family to support them, some have good working relationships with the other parent that means the responsibility can be shared (as it should be), some do work and earn a sufficient income to pay for childcare or other types of help (domestic support etc.), but there are many that are simply SINGLE.

The sole parent, the only person who can provide care of any kind to that child or children, they are alone.

I am one of the lucky ones, while I am a single parent who has no hands on support available to me from anywhere else, I have in the past been able to work from home (currently that is not the case), but, as I said, I am luck, because I don't need to be on the Single Parent Payment and, as my youngest child is now 10 years old, I also do not have to be on New Start, because my youngest child has a disability and I am able to be on a different Centrelink payment, until such time as I can re-establish my independence.

Re-establish my independence! That is what the Welfare system is supposed to be there for. To help people get back on their feet, to help those who, usually due to unforeseen circumstances have found themselves in need of some assistance.

We talk about those who cheat the system or "long term unemployed", we talk about fixing the system, but at the core of all this talking is the problem I mentioned at the start of this rant, WE ARE FOCUSING ON THE STUPID!!!

As a Nation, we need to look at why there is a Welfare System in place at all, we need to get back to the basics of helping those who are willing to help themselves and support them in a way that allows them to do that.

I had not intended sharing all of the following, but I think getting some real perspectives on this problem is very important. And so ...

For EIGHT YEARS, (since the collapse of my marriage due to nothing I could have changed, God knows I tried) I have tried many ways of re-establishing my independence.

Up until a year ago, I was self-employed so that I could support my children, I tried to apply for the waiting list for the opportunity to own my own home through a GREAT organisation called Habitat for Humanity Australia (but it was closed due to the length of the list and now I do not qualify as you must be working to be on the waiting list not just receiving a Centrelink payment), I have had to fore go my employment to take care of my kids due to my inability to source any hands on support. Instead they pay me a wage to stay at home with my son a "wage" which is far greater than the cost of the support I required to enable me to do my job as a parent and as a paid full time worker.

If I had been able to received 2 hours a day 5 days a week hands on support, and a respite package to assist in times of crisis through the year, I could have returned to work on a full time basis as I had the capacity to earn a decent living. I could have then paid for my own before and after school care and vacation care, I could have paid substantial taxes, I could have maintained my own private rental accommodation, and possibly through Habitat, eventually owned my own home again, (I am now living in subsidised Community Housing), I could be paying for Speech Therapy for my son as I used to (not sitting on a list waiting for a free service funded by the Government) and I could have retained my dignity, self-esteem and mental health.

As a result of the Full Time Carer status that I now have, I STILL require respite (probably more than I would need if I were working, as work would also provide me with a social outlet which I do not get now).

So there it is, the truth of my situation, I asked the Government for a HAND UP, and they gave me a hand out, which has systematically made my situation worse than I could have ever imagined it to be.

I have also seen on Twitter tonight many other similar conversations that show we are not doing the right thing. We have fully qualified Teachers on New Start simply because they cannot get enough work in the areas they need to work, as they are single parents too.

And let's not mention our Broken Public Housing System, which due to the way it works, only makes people dependant on that service long term.

I hear the cries of, "You can't be doing too badly; you have a computer and the Internet!" I have heard these cries before, a fair call if you have no concept of how the reporting system works with Centrelink.

If you are constantly looking for work or accommodation, in this day and age, the Internet is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity. When I was searching for private rental properties, many of the Real Estate Agents will no longer list you for a viewing of a property unless you register on their website, they will not even take your name over the phone, they will also not notify you by text as it is all put through their on line automated email system! Unless you have access to a computer, you miss out. Using the Library computer is not efficient enough as most notifications of property viewings only go out the night before and many are on a Saturday.

Centrelink is also moving to automation. If you go to their office to report your income or change address or report your "looking for work" status, they will sit you down at one of their public computers, sign you up, get you a password etc. and show you how to do it on line there and then, rather than being served at the counter that you just caught two buses to be served at.

And THAT, is where my rant ends.

I have many ideas of how to fix these systems, but will not go on for now.

The Happy Ending I hope to get from all this, is that my experiences over the last eight years, will eventually lead to improving the systems that are so, so broken and the good news for Jenny Macklin and any other Politician who says they can live on the dole is, they cannot prove anything we do not already know by carrying out such stunts, we know the payment for New Start is actually below the poverty line, nobody can live like that, nor should they have to.

What are your suggestions to fix the system?