Melbourne’s renowned ‘liveability’ status is drawing workers, families and students alike – including Australia’s homeless.
Melbourne’s topped The Economist’s list of the world’s most liveable cities for the sixth consecutive year.
Victoria’s capital scored 97.5 out of 100 on the index, overtaking Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. Melbourne’s score hasn’t fallen since 2011.
The city was rated on culture, healthcare, infrastructure, education, stability and environment. Melbourne lost points in the categories of stability, culture and environment but achieved a perfect score in education, healthcare and infrastructure.
The number and quality of these services have drawn rough sleepers from New South Wales, Adelaide and Brisbane to the city, making Melbourne one of the most liveable locations for the nation’s homeless.
Melbourne struggles with a record number of rough sleepers.
Nick, former road train driver, has been living on the streets of Melbourne for 18 months and says there are so many services provided for rough sleepers that many actually choose to stay homeless.
Various organisations offer free food several times a day and there are shower facilities. Toiletries, underwear and socks are also supplied regularly.
Melbourne’s homeless have access to doctors, dentists, psychologists and legal advice for free. They are provided with phones, computers and iPads.
Such organisations as The Living Room offer rough sleepers a number of courses to take in preparation for a future work. Currently, Nick is undertaking a course and applying for a job.
Homeless people in Melbourne CBD. Source: Herald Sun
Glenys Stevens has volunteered for Open Hands for the last five years, a Carnegie charity organisation supporting rough sleepers.
“We do whatever we can to help people. There are so many great stories,” she said.
She said a married couple had recently come in asking for help. The wife was anorexic and taking drugs and her husband was a cook, but couldn’t get work.
“We were at that time short of a cook, so the next week he came in to work. And she came to help out too.”
A couple of months later the husband got a job. The wife eventually got off drugs, became pregnant and together they moved to Queensland.
Hank selling the Big Issue’s No 518 on the corner of Lonsdale and Swanston Streets.
Alcoholic and homeless, Hank moved from his Aboriginal Yorta Yorta community to Melbourne’s CBD in the late 1990s.
“You can’t starve in Melbourne”, said Hank. “You get your breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday.”
He said basic daily meals fuelled his motivation to give up alcohol. Last week he celebrated his ninth anniversary of sobriety.
“It changed my life. Without that help, I’d still be that angry person, blowing up pubs and smashing into bottle shops.”
Today, he spends his days selling Big Issue magazines, at night, he enjoys the comfort of his own bed under the roof of an apartment organized through Launch Housing.
