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TWO beggars who live in a tent on Bendigo’s outskirts claim finding available housing is nearly impossible even with the support of a number of charitable agencies.
The pair are among about 15 people who regularly take to the city’s streets with cap in hand – and they say local support agencies are stretched to the limits.
Elle Hansford and Jason Broadbent usually spend several hours a day sitting in Lyttleton Terrace to get money for food, which they take back to their tent on public land in Lockwood.
They are then moved on from their location every few months, and have to find a new place to set up camp.
Mr Broadbent said Haven; Home, Safe have been able to provide short-term accommodation, and the Salvation Army donates food, but finding a long-term solution has proved almost impossible.
“Before we were homeless, we both lived in large houses by ourselves before we allowed other homeless people to live with us,” he said.
“They trashed the houses, and we were both put on a real estate blacklist.
“Now there’s no chance of finding accommodation.”
Despite their apparent predicament, Ms Hansford said almost all of their interaction with people on the footpath is positive.
“You’d be surprised how many people come up and support us. A lot of people might give us vouchers or other ways to lend a hand,” she said.
The pair have been homeless since October, and both have lost their jobs. Ms Hansford, who has previously worked as a chef, said they feel “stuck” with no way out.
The two beggars have received one fine from police for begging in the CBD, but it did not end up acting as a deterrent.
Sergeant Matt Hunt, who headed the tasking unit in the Bendigo CBD, said begging appeared to come in waves.
“There was the same core group of people who would beg in Bendigo,” he said.
“They would be moved on and come back, then get moved on and come back again.
“We would say the same thing to people: If you get approached by them, don’t give them money.”
The Salvation Army in Bendigo advises people to refer beggars to their support services.
While some beggars in the CBD directly approach pedestrians for loose change, Ms Hansford said they simply sat on the footpath with a cardboard sign and tried not to interfere with anyone’s day.
Their sign reads: “We are currently homeless, any spare change is greatly appreciated”. Ms Hansford said they did not drink or smoke, but staff at some supermarkets are known to call police when they set up out the front.
“You do get asked to move along every now and then,” she said.
The issue of begging received widespread publicity this week after a large group of homeless people set up in front of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne.
Fairfax Media met with a number of those in the camp, and found some were living with mental and physical disabilities, others could not afford Melbourne’s skyrocketing rents, and many had no family to turn to for support.
In Bendigo, just 1.5 per cent of available rental properties were considered affordable for people reliant on single statutory incomes. Across Victoria, 3.5 per cent of housing is available for social housing agencies and the state government.
There are fewer than 100 residential rental properties available for less than $250 per week in Bendigo – a figure which almost amounts to a standard NewStart Allowance.
The Victorian Greens, along with an alliance of seven welfare agencies, have called for the decriminalisation of begging.