I need everyone who reads this to understand how broken the system is.
We should be protesting about what's happening out here. I'm getting so many calls each day about people who are being failed by the people we are entrusting to take care of our most vulnerable.
Today I received a call from a lady who was helping a family who have been in a hotel provided by Micah Projects - their case worker had told them they had to move out of the hotel on Sunday, but then today told them they had to leave today, as they needed the room for someone else. They gave them a different hotel to go to.
When they got to the hotel, it was just a single room, with not enough space for their stuff (they don't own a lot, but they have 2 children (under 5), so they have a bit of stuff). The hotel was not suitable for children for a variety of reasons. When the hotel owner saw how much stuff they had, and heard them raise their concerns, they just asked for the keys back and told them to go.
The lady who was helping called Micah, and they said they had nothing else. She called them back begging, and they said they would try one other hotel. When I got involved, it was 4pm, and they still hadn't heard anything back. The lady was just driving around the city with this family in the car, kids crying, waiting to hear where to drop these people off to.
I called a friend and staffer at Amy MacMahon - Greens MP for South Brisbane's office for help. She started calling all her contacts and tried to get something sorted. After about 2 hours, Micah finally booked in another hotel for them, but it's only booked until Tuesday. Then the cycle will start again.
The stress of being homeless is hard enough, without having to these insanely short term hotel stays hanging over your head, where you might have to walk the streets for hours waiting to hear if you can get another room organised.
When I first met Karyn Walsh, CEO of Micah, I sat in her office as she told me that she doesn't like the tent cities that I made, and that she thinks people in tents live there because they don't want to pay rent. I sat there in amazement that the CEO of Brisbane's largest homeless organisation would have that opinion of the people she is supposed to be helping. I didn't say anything publicly, because I didn't want to burn my bridges, but I'm at a stage now where I need to say everything I see and hear, and heads need to roll.
Karyn was quite public in her opinion that the facility in Pinkenba was not a suitable solution, but now their answer is to throw these people with complex mental health and addition issues into some of the most disgusting and unsanitary hotels you would ever see. Some of these facilities I'm sure would not pass health inspection. The aircons are not regularly cleaned, so the air that goes through those rooms are just gross.
They claim to be providing wrap around services, but the feedback I receive (and yes, I receive a lot, and I speak to a lot of people in these places) is that they rarely see anyone, and that no one is supporting them.
But this isn't all Micah's fault. They are left trying to scramble to find hotel accommodation for all the homeless people in Brisbane because the Department of Housing don't have any answers for homelessness. I've been doing this for 12 months, and I still haven't heard any word of any new supported living facilities being built for the complex needs of our friends out there. WE NEED EMERGENCY ACCOMODATION BUILT NOW - DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING
The department will tell you they support housing first (which I absolutely believe in) - but the reality is that people who have drug or mental health issues are left languishing in emergency accommodation, while people who are not using drugs are getting put into long term accommodation much faster. I know this because I see some people move through the system much faster than others, and that is the common denominator.
I received a call today from a friend who does a fair bit of volunteering in Brisbane. He received a call from a guy who was just released from prison into homelessness, and has nothing. Literally nothing. We set these people up to fail time and time again, then society blames them when they do. The real criminals are the ones who do this to people.
Let's talk about the hospital system for a bit. Our mental health care in Brisbane is embarrassing. Unless someone is threatening to self harm, they very rarely will admit someone. Constantly I am seeing people with serious mental health problems who need to be on their meds, and provided with high levels of care. I was speaking to a lady today who's brother was released from prison earlier this week. He is on bail for a serious crime. I have been supporting him, and it is clear to me that he has serious mental health issues, and he shouldn't be on the streets. I've raised my concerns with his support workers, and coordinators. His sister has tried everything, they have taken him to hospital multiple times, but they just release him every time - she has reached out to ACA, the news, everywhere. We are both concerned that someone is going to be hurt, but there is nothing we can do.
I know some of you out there think I am too harsh on other orgs, and perhaps don't like when I'm overly negative. You are free to unfollow me and keep scrolling if you don't like hearing the truth. I started doing this because I was sick of seeing the way the world was going, and I wanted to be the change I want to see. I take our mission of being the voice for our marginalised seriously, so I will continue to scream and shout until we see real change, and dignity for our friends.
Steven Miles Meaghan Scanlon MP Homes for Queenslanders
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