Salt Safe Shelter is lobbying for funding after its closure. So what do the politicians say?

Since the closure of the shelter on Monday morning (October 17), Salt's Chief Executive Officer Peter Dover has been speaking to every politician he can, in the hopes of securing funding to reopen the service.

Mr Dover said he can only hope Salt has made enough noise to be noticed. "It's been a lot happening over the last three days," Mr Dover said. "I've got a meeting scheduled with [Minister for Families and Communities] Natasha Maclaren-Jones next Wednesday.

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"I'm hoping we can keep the pressure up to them, so they come to the table with something."

Currently, the Salt team is 'working overtime', in the words of Mr Dover, to try and reopen the Safe Shelter.

The team is looking for funding to keep the doors open for at least another 12 months.

This could keep things running until it can bid for a Specialised Housing Service contract - a state government program which would provide consistent and sustainable funding.

Until that happens, Mr Dover said Salt was most interested in partnering with the state government to get on with the job.

"We've got a housing crisis here - more people are becoming homeless and if the shelter goes, that means there's just more people on the streets," he said.

"We're not saying we want the minister to do all the work.

"We've got a team of amazing support workers who want to continue doing this, so we call on her to partner with us.

"What's happened over the past five years shows what the community can do on their own. If the government partners with community, there's nothing we can't do."

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Gilmore MP Fiona Phillips said any funding for Salt was a matter for state government.

"The NSW state government is responsible for homelessness services and programs, so the first step is the state government actually stepping in and providing funding," she said.

"The federal government gets involved in the budget coming up, we have got a lot of commitments around affordable and social housing - so around infrastructure."

Kiama MP Gareth Ward called on both levels of government to chip in.

The former homelessness minister said he didn't think "people really mind where the funding comes from, and the suggestion that this is just a state issue or just a federal issue is myopic."

"The reality is that both levels of government fund homelessness services, and both can make a decision to support Salt to continue their great work."

Following the closure, Mayor Amanda Findley called on NSW Greens parliamentarians for advocacy, and they have taken the issue to question time this week.

On Tuesday (October 18), Greens MP Cate Faerhmann put a question on notice to Ms Maclaren-Jones.

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On Wednesday (October 19), another question in the same vein was directed to Treasurer Matt Kean from Greens MP Jenny Leong.

Mayor Findley said her aim was to help find longer term funding for the Salt's Safe Shelter Shoalhaven from the state government.

In question time, the Greens asked for one month's worth of funding, which Mayor Findley believed would give some breathing space to find a more permanent solution.

"The current model is not sustainable because it relies on short term funding and small cash injections," she said.

"What the shelter actually needs is a real commitment from government, and Shoalhaven Council will be advocating for that real commitment.

"Council wants the state government to finally put some money into this project after five years of relying on community goodwill."

Mayor Findley confirmed the council-owned building used for the shelter would remain in the hands of Salt, with the hope of getting the shelter up and running again.

"There's no intention from council to remove the shelter; council has been supportive of this from the get go and wants to see the shelter remain open," she said.

The Register contacted South Coast MP Shelley Hancock about the Salt Safe Shelter closure.

Ms Hancock's office confirmed she had 'made representation to the Minister for Families and Communities and discussed the issues at length with the minister'.

It is understood she will meet again with the minister this week.

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