For one family, who lived in a caravan with no electricity or water in the dead of winter, a hotel room was a lifeline for survival during lockdown in 2021.
OneLink director of housing and homelessness Lynton Sheehan shared this story to highlight the need for affordable housing. OneLink provided emergency accommodation for homeless people or those in unsafe accommodation from August 2021. Over the lockdown period last year, 185 individuals and groups were housed in hotels with 5600 enquiries for assistance.
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John, his partner and child were some of the lucky recipients of this program. After moving from the South Coast the family had limited options. Despite John's good employment history and strong work ethic his job had been put on hold due to COVID-19.
OneLink was able to place the family in a hotel for seven weeks to weather the storm. They were then placed in transitional housing while homelessness services planned their next steps.
Mr Sheehan said most people had a "stereotypical picture of homelessness" and many of the residents had a source of income but did not have a safe place to call home.
He said there was a gap of around 3000 properties in the social housing space for Canberra, "it is no secret higher rent is difficult for people on a lower income".
Most commonly people in need of housing were couch-surfers, stayed with friends, resided in overcrowded accommodation or lived with a violent partner.
Team leader Mahmoud Hakim runs the Red Cross Roadhouse and provides free nutritious meals for people in need. Located on the ground floor of the Griffin Centre in the city, the service offers a hot meal, groceries and even supplies sleeping bags, clothes and toiletries.
Hakim faces the impacts of homelessness and poverty on a daily basis. He said before lockdown last year 60 to 65 people used the service a day. At the height of COVID-19 restrictions numbers almost halved, now they are creeping up again.
The Roadhouse is a safe space for people in need to receive support. For Hakim the ability to make a difference to people's lives and build a rapport was the most rewarding aspect of the job.
Hakim stressed the majority of people who wandered through the doors were not rough sleepers. He said many had accommodation but could not afford food.
While he praised community services in Canberra, Hakim said more support was needed to get people into housing, access to health services and to find employment.
Minister for homelessness and housing services Rebecca Vassarotti said there had been a "big spike" in people in need of emergency accommodation over lockdown in 2021.
She said a variety of factors played into the increase with an "added risk for family and domestic violence" during this time.
Ms Vassarotti explained homelessness was a "traumatic experience" and the reasons that led people to life on the streets were complex. A combination of factors including mental health, substance abuse and a negative experience with the housing system all contribute to homelessness.
The minister is currently working with homelessness services and people in need across Canberra to provide feedback.
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that for the 2020 to 2021 financial year, one in 107 people in the Territory received homelessness assistance, lower than the national rate of one in 92.
The top three reasons for clients seeking assistance were: financial difficulties, housing crisis and housing affordability stress.
