New County Durham hubs for homeless people opening
Hubs providing 32 beds for people who have been sleeping rough are to open after getting government funding.A facility in Bishop Auckland has already opened its doors, with two other centres planned in Tow Law and Spennymoor, in County Durham.Durham County Council said it was working with Emmaus North East to help adults over 25 years old and Depaul UK, which is giving support to younger people.Ruth Parker, chief executive of Emmaus, described the project as "a major milestone" to respond to a "national crisis".
In addition to accommodation, dedicated support will also be provided to those wanting to live more independently, the council said.Dan Dumoulin, Depaul UK's director of development and external affairs, said: "We are dedicated to working tirelessly with our partners until every person has a safe place to call home."
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Harvey Coyne is facing triple-heart bypass surgery. His social housing provider wants to evict him
Sitting on his hospital bed, his voice scratchy and strained, Harvey Coyne gives a bleak insight into what will happen if he's evicted from community housing in Perth. 'Without it, I'm pretty well buggered,' Coyne says. The Noongar elder, 66, is suffering from serious ill health. He has severe heart disease, requiring a pending triple bypass surgery, and this week had another heart attack, which left him hospitalised in Perth's Fiona Stanley hospital. Coyne has emphysema, hypertension and is blind in one eye. Earlier this year, he suffered a fall that left him with a broken hip. He was taken from his family as part of the Stolen Generations, leaving him with complex trauma. Coyne has been forced to fight another battle, too. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The provider of his community housing unit in Kenwick, on the south-eastern fringes of Perth, is trying to kick him out. The organisation, Housing Choices Australia, has used a no-fault eviction – something that Western Australia, unlike most other states, still deems lawful – to remove him. Coyne and his advocates say the decision to evict him will force him into homelessness, returning him to the rough sleeping that he endured before moving into the Housing Choices Australia property in 2021. Court documents allege the termination notice was sent while Coyne was both hospitalised and grieving for his nephew, who died while living with him. The documents allege he was subjected to 10 inspections in a single year. Each raised new issues that Coyne said he 'struggled to address … due to my age and health'. The case has led to an intervention by leading health researcher Emeritus Prof Fiona Stanley, a former Australian of the Year and namesake of the hospital where Coyne was being treated this week. Stanley earlier this year wrote to Housing Choices Australia expressing her 'grave' concerns about its treatment of Coyne – particularly given his pending triple-bypass. 'This is an extremely serious operation with a number of risks for Mr Coyne. It is imperative that he has stable and secure accommodation in which to prepare for this procedure and then to recover and rehabilitate afterwards,' Stanley wrote in March. 'Mr Coyne's condition is life-threatening, and it is inconceivable to me that he should face homelessness at this time.' Coyne is now fighting his eviction in the Perth magistrates court, which is due to deliver judgment next week. Housing Choices Australia said it was unable to comment on Coyne's case specifically due to ongoing legal proceedings and privacy concerns. 'Housing Choices Australia is committed to providing safe, secure, and appropriate housing for all our residents and supporting them to sustain their tenancies,' the chief executive officer, David Fisher, said. 'As a not-for-profit community housing provider, we operate under the same standards and regulatory requirements as government housing agencies, and we take that responsibility seriously.' It previously told advocates it was working with the state government to find a 'sustainable housing solution that considers both his immediate and longer-term needs'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Court documents suggest it had previously raised concerns about noise, visitation and the cleanliness of the property, all of which Coyne disputes. Academics and Coyne's housing advocate, Jesse Noakes, say his case is symptomatic of a broader issue. Coyne's home would once have been part of the public housing system. Now, the state government has shifted it to community housing under the management of Housing Choices Australia. Experts say state and federal governments are increasingly relying on organisations like Housing Choices Australia to house low-income and vulnerable citizens. The trend is leading to unnecessary evictions and the erosion of tenant rights, they say. In a briefing paper on Coyne's case, David Kelly, a human geographer with RMIT's Centre for Urban Research, said community housing units had increased by 61.4% in the past decade, helped in part by heavy government subsidies. The stock of public housing units had declined by 7.4% over the same period. Kelly said the shift had 'redefined both the nature of the tenancy and the rights attached to it'. 'Tenants like Harvey, had they remained in public housing, would have been afforded stronger on-paper protections against eviction, and subjected to fewer behavioural interventions disguised as support,' he said. 'These homes have been steadily moved into the portfolios of community housing organisations (CHOs), who operate under different regulatory frameworks and priorities.' Housing Choices Australia receives public funding. Records filed with the ACNC suggest about half of its yearly revenue, or roughly $33m, comes from government funding. It also manages a huge number of dwellings. As of mid-2024, records show it owned 3,099 units and managed a further 4,395 units of housing. Its total assets are worth $1.2bn, according to its latest financial reports. The not-for-profit publicly states that its vision is for 'all people in Australia to have a safe, affordable home and the opportunity to thrive'. WA Greens MLC Tim Clifford said Coyne's case illustrated the dangers of outsourcing public housing. He said it was 'unconscionable' that he should face eviction, given his ill health. 'It is clear from Mr Coyne's case that the choice to outsource public housing to big NGOs means that there is less transparency, less accountability and less access to justice for renters,' Clifford said. Fisher said Housing Choices Australia strongly believed that community housing -operated social housing was an important part of the solution to the 'growing housing crisis in our country'.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
State of emergency as rare cold snap kills seven in South America
Uruguay has declared a state of emergency after an unprecedented cold snap swept across the small South American nation, claiming the lives of at least seven homeless people. The unusual gust of frigid air extending from Antarctica dumped the mass of freezing weather on Monday, shocking a coastal nation with flat terrain accustomed to mild winters in the Southern Hemisphere. Light snow dusted parts of the country for the first time in four years as temperatures hit minus 3 Celsius (26 Fahrenheit) and wind chill readings dipped far below that. But the freeze was breaking on Thursday, with temperatures expected to rise across the country in the coming days. Health officials issued numerous warnings about the dangers of frostbite and hypothermia, with homeless people facing potentially devastating circumstances. Outreach workers fanned out around the city, trying to convince people to come indoors. The seven homeless people who died from exposure to the cold were found in various parts of the country — one man who had been sleeping under a bridge, another in a bus station, another in a tent near the river. The homeless population in the economically stable nation of 3.4 million has steadily climbed in recent years, with the Ministry of Social Development in 2024 reporting over 2,700 homeless people — the vast majority in the capital of Montevideo. President Yamandú Orsi this week invoked rare executive emergency authorities that empowered police and other officials to forcibly remove homeless people from the streets, citing a level of risk for the rough sleepers that Uruguay has seldom seen. "The possibility of mandatory evacuation has been applied for the first time because the scale of the problem really requires other tools,' said Leandro Palomeque, director of Uruguay's National Emergency System. Authorities opened 32 new warming centers and three more sprawling evacuation spots — including by converting public gyms and a police academy — and prepared some 1,000 extra beds. Inside one shelter, social workers distributed blankets and hot meals to scores of people who warmed themselves around the steaming vats of meat stew, their faces flushed from the searing winds. Some said police forcibly removed them from the street. 'I was lying on a small table, and the police came and told me I couldn't be on the street,' said Mauricio Rodríguezs. ' I didn't want to come.' Others, reaching the limit of how much they could withstand, sought out a warm bed. 'The worst time of winter is dusk, when the cold starts to set in and your body can't take it anymore,' said Lucas Bilhere, 19, wrapping himself in a blanket in the Montevideo evacuation center. His puppy, Alaska, pranced around the orderly rows of vinyl mattresses strewn with donated sheets where hundreds of people slept bundled up on the polished gymnasium floor. Rumpled shirts and damp socks hung from the nets of soccer goals. Unlike in normal shelters, the warming centers allowed homeless people to bring pets and personal belongings and remained open during the daytime. As much as Bilhere said he dreaded this wintry weather, he feared just as much what would happen when the cold snap passed and the emergency shelters closed. 'My dream is to have my own home ... and sleep warm,' he said. ' I wish that for everyone.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Oxfordshire homelessness services say next year 'critical'
Organisations involved in tackling rough sleeping have warned of a "critical 12 months ahead", due to funding pressures and changes to support from the Oxfordshire's local councils, as well as members of Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance, say a potential change in funding will increase the challenges they a report to Oxfordshire's Health and Wellbeing Board, the groups also warned of the impact of changes to organisations supporting people at risk of government is currently consulting on changes to the Homeless Prevention Grant - which is distributed to local authorities. Proposals are being made to redistribute more funds to places with higher local benefit claim adopted, the report said the changes would involve "large funding reductions" for all Oxfordshire's city and district councils."The transformation of our approach to rough sleeping is facing a critical 12 months ahead," the report organisations also warned that structural changes to Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) would reduce the resources available and create uncertainty within the response to these challenges, Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance said it would be transforming the way it partnership said it had agreed a new budget in an attempt to mitigate the risks - including "fundamental" changes to its accommodation and support on latest figures for March 2025 show a slight reduction in rough sleeping in Oxfordshire, with 46 people recorded as sleeping on the streets compared to 48 people in the previous quarter.A majority of the county's rough sleepers are based in Oxford - which also accounts for the highest number of long term rough sleepers.A significantly higher number of people are considered as statutory homeless, which includes individuals who are in unsuitable or inconsistent accommodation - although the exact number in Oxfordshire is unknown. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
