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THERE is a shortage of supported accommodation in Bendigo and the issue needs attention, says Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards.
Ms Edwards' statement comes in the wake of a Marong woman's decision to speak out about a situation in which her disabled adult son was forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor of Bendigo Police Station.
Christine from Marong had to call the police last Saturday when her 30-year-old son became too aggressive. He was taken into custody temporarily while police made phone calls to find emergency accommodation, but they found none.
Christine and her husband are at risk so have had to take out an intervention order against their son in court, which prevents him from living with them for a year.
She wrote to Ms Edwards about her family's ordeal in an effort to draw attention to what she believes is an appalling lack of funding for people in her son's situation.
Ms Edwards said the experience of having to find accommodation for her son from one day to the next would have been extremely distressing for Christine, her husband and her son.
"For Christine, she's found herself in a very difficult situation and I hope the Department (of Health and Human Services) is working to find a resolution for her son," Ms Edwards said.
Ms Edwards said the shortage of supported accommodation was a result of the previous state government's cuts, but couldn't detail how her government would address the funding problem because of the proximity of the first budget.
Christine, whose last name the Bendigo Advertiser has chosen not to reveal to conceal her son's identity, spent the week speaking with disability service providers who told her they did not have the funds to help her son.
Bendigo housing organisation Haven; Home, Safe came to her son's aid with a few nights in a Golden Square motel and then the Department of Health and Human Services arranged short term supported accommodation for him in Kyneton.
Christine said it was frustrating that governments spent money on expensive projects, such as the $30,000 park bench in central Bendigo, when services for vulnerable people were under funded.