Homelessness Assistance Card To Help Those In Need

Published on 11 November 2019

Burwood Council is trying to help a growing number of people who are homeless and has created a card they can use to access support.

The Homelessness Assistance Card provides information and contact details for eight support services, including the Exodus Foundation, Lifeline and Youth Off The Streets.

The card will be offered with pre-paid payphone cards ($5 credit) and Opal cards ($10 credit), which would help people call and travel to support services.

Frontline Council workers such as parks staff may offer the cards only when it is necessary to approach a person who is homeless, such as when they ask for help or appear distressed.

Staff will be trained in communicating with people who are homeless. The initiative is one of a number of measures Council is taking in its recently-endorsed Discussion Paper and Action Plan.

Burwood Mayor John Faker said while the state and federal governments were primarily responsible for homelessness, Council was committed to assisting vulnerable people.

"This is a complex issue which can affect not only the people themselves, but also the community around them," he said.

"We will continue working with social services agencies to offer help where it's needed."

Council has renewed its efforts following observations of an increasing number of people in need.

The number of people reported homeless in the Burwood, Strathfield and former Ashfield council areas climbed to 2,067 in the 2016 Census.

This is not the first time Council has devised initiatives to address homelessness.

In 2017, Council convened homelessness meetings with welfare agencies to better coordinate resources and improve advocacy.

These meetings prompted the forming of a homeless hub at St Pauls Anglican Church, Burwood.