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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2022-02-08 Daily Xml
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Homelessness

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:30): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding children of homelessness. Can the minister please inform the council how the Marshall Liberal government is supporting vulnerable South Australians into housing through a very unique, state-first partnership?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:30): I thank the honourable member for her question. This unique partnership between the southern homelessness alliance, known as Toward Home, and Harcourts Packham is very exciting, and I mean that in all sincerity.

When I went to visit there quite recently, I was bowled over by the amenity of the standard of accommodation that we are providing through this done-up site, which is a former backpackers' hostel in the heart of the CBD. All credit goes to the Toward Home alliance and Harcourts Packham for coming together to do this site up. The advantage that Harcourts Packham have is that they can clearly leverage things: they are able to dress the rooms so that they are much more presentable than a lot of the other accommodation that we have provided for people who are experiencing homelessness.

They have installed wi-fi, they have installed security and people who are resident there have their own wristband, which means that they have exclusive access to certain areas. They can also have their pets with them. It is very pleasing to be able to visit there and see a site which has had so much thought put into it and is providing the sort of accommodation that I think we should aspire to be providing in this sector.

The new Terra Firma beds form part of the 96 crisis beds in southern Adelaide. From Harcourts' point of view, this is part of their social corporate responsibility and it is to be commended. This particular site has 11 individual rooms as well as common areas that one would expect with a former backpacker site and provides support to singles and couples—couples and pets being a cohort that we have sometimes struggled to accommodate through some of our previous built form that has been used. I am very hopeful that this is the sort of model that we will see more of in the future.

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