WHILE we shivered through the cold front that blew through in recent days – and marvelled at the oddity of snow being dumped at Sassafras – a group of wretched souls were camped out at the Nowra showground, with nothing but tents and swags for shelter.
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Meanwhile, across town at South Nowra, a 40-bed facility on the perimeter of the South Coast Correctional Centre remained closed – as it has been since the jail opened for business almost five years ago.
If it’s hard enough for the rest of us to comprehend why a building that could offer shelter to the homeless during extreme weather has sat idle for half a decade, imagine how it must seem to the homeless themselves.
Imagine, too, how it must feel to the recently released inmate, exactly the sort of person for whom the centre was designed before being cast into bureaucratic limbo. His experience of emergency housing at The Bounty was so grim – he says he was bashed and robbed on the first night – he felt sleeping rough was a better option.
What’s really disturbing is that when we interviewed him, he could even see the benefits of staying in jail, where at least there was some warmth and food.
When we have approached local politicians about the Community Offenders Support Program (COSP) we have been repeatedly told that it is unsuitable for homeless people. We can’t help wondering, however, how suitable freezing temperatures, howling wind and absolutely no security are any better – especially when the weather turns ugly.
We therefore implore our politicians to revisit this issue and see what can be done to make at least some use out of a facility for which the rest of us paid via our taxes. And we ask this be done soon, so people who have fallen through the cracks no longer have to fend for themselves out in the open.