Karyn Walsh, CEO of Micah Projects
As we draw to the end of Homelessness Prevention Week 2015 the stark reality that nearly 20,000 Queenslanders are homeless on any given night has been given a national focus.
“An adequate supply of decent affordable housing is the key to ending homelessness”, Micah Projects CEO Karyn Walsh said. “Brisbane as a city is growing in prosperity, but poverty excludes many people from the housing market.”
“Some people might need support to stabilize in housing but they can succeed with housing as a foundation getting their lives on track” she said.
“The private housing market alone cannot provide the solutions. Leadership from government is critical to enable housing and support options to be available to all in our community.
One solution is to consider the creation of an Affordable Housing Innovation Fund to build affordable and supportive housing for people on low to moderate incomes who may also require support.
“We need to keep working with government and the private sector to create more affordable and supportive housing in this city and an Affordable Housing Innovation Fund can be the vehicle for this to happen.”
Karyn said “The Brisbane 500 Lives 500 Homes campaign, comprising thirty-four partner agencies demonstrates what can be achieved by the community working together to coordinate housing, support and specialist services for people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk. Since April 2014 161 individuals and seventy families, with 145 children, have been housed through this coordinated effort across Brisbane. We could do more if there were more affordable housing readily available.
