Here we are just days away from the start of winter and the people who try to manage the Sydney homeless population estimate that the numbers have increased by twenty-three percent in the past nine months. Sydney has 453 beds available in shelters, but on an average night more than 370 people are turned away and forced to "sleep rough "somewhere in the city.
The old hands who man the soup kitchens and work with the homeless blame this sharp increase in the numbers seeking shelter on one thing - Ice ! More than any other drug of addiction, Ice has the most dramatic effect on personal relationships and is the cause of violent mood changes, and one of the problems is that is is both cheap and readily available.
Long suffering parents are being forced to close their homes to children who go on violent rampages. Usually, their first port of call is to sleep on a mate's sofa, but the ravages of Ice soon break even these bonds and they become denizens of back alleys, shop doorways and the city parks and gardens. The police usually turn a blind eye - unless they are causing damage and attacking people - because they are unwanted in police cells and simply waste police time and resources by being processed within the court system.
One charity is seeking public donations to buy what it calls a "swag " to be given free to the homeless. This takes the form of what is virtually a sleeping bag with a rain cover and a few "survival tools ". It is about the size of a large shoulder pack and the design is cleverly configured to enable the homeless to carry it with them on their day journeys and be able to survive in any weather when night falls.
The Salvation Army and various other charities do a great job of providing meals and giving help to the homeless, but the biggest challenge is access to toilets, a shower and a warm bed. There are not enough beds in shelters - and there never will be. If we were to double the number of beds presently available, such is the "law of the jungle " that demand would quickly again exceed supply and we would have an excess sleeping rough in the city.
The incidence of homeless addicted to Ice is a great concern but the numbers are also being influenced by the surge in Sydney house pricing. As house prices increase they carry rental pricing to greater heights and it is becoming impossible for those on low incomes or dependent on social welfare to afford any form of paid shelter. We are creating a city which is dependent on the services of the lowly paid, but which denies them residency.
Added to this are the "misfits " that occur wherever great numbers of people congregate. There is a lack of hospital beds for those with psychiatric problems and many end up on the streets. Prisoners released from prison are often unwanted and enjoy just a brief period of freedom before necessity drives them back to crime. Many aged become disoriented in this bewildering world and need help to find some sort of aged accommodation - and some people adapt to a street life that make them "characters " both loved and protected within their immediate community.
When the worst ravages of winter hit the charities will swing into overdrive and the government will be pressed to make more funds available. No doubt there will be incidents where low life's inflict cruelty on those sleeping rough. There will be the usual winter appeals for funds - and somehow enough money dribbles in to keep basic services running. Soup kitchens will keep the alcoholics and the drug dependent fed - and all of this will be kept way out of sight of the average citizens of this city.
It would be a sad life for many without the efforts of those who take the trouble to deliver a little time and substance to help those doing it tough !
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