'Horrendous': Shelter Closures Pour On Housing Pain > 자유게시판

Vulnerable residents face a battle to find food and someplace dry to sleep when flood waters recede and short-term shelters shut.

Nearly 800 individuals have actually sought haven in NSW evacuation centres however their status as pop-up homes for some will cease to exist after the impact of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' local real estate and homelessness supervisor for northeast NSW, has actually been on the front lines supporting people sleeping rough in flooded zones.

Her task was made harder on Monday due to damage to Fred's Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with constant rains flooding the space.

On any provided day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in need but showers and laundry centers are out of commission up until the flood damage is repaired.

"It has been a horrendous time for the homeless neighborhood," Ms Kennedy told AAP.

"It has actually been actually tough attempting to get them any type of shelter."

She said the homeless were searching for any dry locations they could sleep across a northern NSW region currently handling an alarming shortage of cost effective real estate.

"We've been assisting an entire household oversleeping their vehicle," Ms Kennedy said.

"Seeing them in this horrendous weather is actually dreadful."

The Byron Shire regional government area, south of Tweed Heads, had the most rough sleepers of any council location in the state, according to a 2024 government street count.

"We definitely do have a real estate issue in the Northern Rivers and we need solutions," Ms Kennedy stated.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, fitness centers and clubs might not act as a long-lasting repair to established housing problems in the region.

"I am fully knowledgeable about the substantial obstacles for housing in the Northern Rivers, but evacuation centres are not permanent options ... we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allocation," he said.

The centres would close in all locations once regional emergency orders were lifted, Mr Minns added.

"So I desire to apologise beforehand but we need to draw a really clear and understood line."

More than 10,000 people were under emergency cautions in NSW on Monday morning, while 1800 individuals were separated by .

About 10,000 homes and businesses were still not linked to power as heavy rain continued to fall in numerous areas.

Major flood cautions were still in place for parts of the Clarence and Richmond rivers, while clean-up operations were under way elsewhere.

In Pottsville, between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, a whale carcass was amongst the debris that cleaned up after substantial swells damaged the shoreline for days.

Residents from 17 NSW regional government areas who had lost earnings due to the storm would be qualified for federal disaster relief funds for up to 13 weeks, it was revealed on Monday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated the financial support would be backed by mental health services for affected locations.

"We've got your back, that's my message to communities here," he stated from Lismore on Monday.

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