housing heartbreak - robert bishop story

NEWSFriday January 22, 2016 ILLAWARRA MERCURY 5illawarramercury.com.au

Housing heartbreak

“I’m feeling helpless,I’ve done everything Ican to better myself andstay away from drugs

… it’s to a point I’d rather bein jail.”

That was the sentimentsof a brokenman just over aweek ago, trying to get a fairgo.

Increasing demand onAustralia’s welfare systemhasmeant those who are indesperate need of assistanceare often being left in thecold.

For Robert Bishop, 30,his struggle highlights thedifficulties people face whentrying change their lives forthe better.

He has experiencedhomelessness many timesbefore. He’s camped in themiddle of the city, slept ontrains and on park benches.

This time is different be-cause he’s clean and wantsto stay that way.

Six months agoMr Bishopwas released on bail for acrime involving drugs, butit was the final wake up callhe needed to set himselfstraight.

He was released on courtorders to live with a relative,who received permanentdisability benefits and resid-ed in community housing.

Mr Bishops’s motherChristine Cunningham hadalso just moved in to supporttheir loved one who was alsobattling to stay clean.

Unfortunately theyreturned to the dark clutches

of crystal meth in Decemberand Robert Bishop wasforced out onto the street toconserve his sanity and hiswill.

“I turned up toWollon-gong police station at twoin themorning because Icouldn’t stay there, therewas toomuch going on andI didn’t want to breach bail,”he said.

He spent the night in thecells, not for wrongdoing,but to stay clear of thesubstance that took hold ofhis life for nearly a decade.

Mr Bishop, also on adisability pension, first pre-sented to the Department ofHousing towards the end of2014 with an application forpermanent residence - he isstill on that waiting list.

Theminimumwait timefor housing in the Illawarraregion is at least two to fiveyears.The sad reality is manypeople including families,could be waiting for a homefor more than 10 years.

In the interim specialisthomelessness services workwith the Department to findtemporary accommoda-tion in low cost motels orcaravan parks for clients intheir search for somethingpermanent.

Over December andJanuaryMr Bishop andhis mother desperatelysearched but it wasn’t aseasy as staying at a refugebecause it would breachMrBishop’s bail conditions.

Government assistanceprovided short termaccommodation in Bowralbeforemoving the pair tothe Piccadilly Motor Inn,Wollongong.

“I know it’s terrible butat least it’s a place out ofthe pouring rain,” saidcaseworker for the IllawarraHomelessness CoordinationServices Liz Stumbles.

“This is the dilemma.We’ve always got peoplewho will actually be OK upat the Piccadilly becausethat’s what they’re comfort-able with, they’re lifestylelends to being very comfort-able in that environment.

“Then you get people likeRobert and his mother andothers that aremaybe forcedto go there and it’s just rude,it’s rude to every part ofthem.”

Mr Bishop was on theverge of breakdown andtried to plead with staff atFamily and Community Ser-vices as to why he couldn’tbe placed there.

He presented themwithletters fromCorrectiveServices and his doctoroutlining their concerns fora relapse, and how unset-

tling it was to be constantlygreeted by people and habitsfrom the past he was tryingto rid himself from.

Amagistrate deemed theaccommodation inappropri-ate and in breach of bail, asit posed a risk of Mr Bishoprelapsing and thereforebecome “a serious risk tosociety”.

“It’s a revolving doorsituation because needs arenot appropriately assessedin the first place,” saidMsCunningham.

In the past financial year897 visits for help weremade to St Vincent De Paul’shomelessness services inthe Illawarra region, 40.7per cent male, 59.3 per centfemale.The highest categoryof people accessing theirservices were aged 30 to 39.

This is just one of manyorganisations who offerhomelessness services in theregion.

In December 2015Homelessness Australia

released their annual reportrevealingmore Australiansthan previous years hadreceived assistance fromhomelessness services.

It also showed housingwas still problematic.Despite the number ofpeople who needed accom-modation being similar to2014, the proportion whowere able to be providedwith accommodation haddecreased to 60 per cent.

“A lack of affordablehousing is a double edgedsword. It drives peopleinto homelessness and isamajor barrier to exitinghomelessness,” said CEOof Homelessness Australia,Glenda Stevens.

Ms Stumbles works close-ly with FACS employees andsaid they were frustratedtoo because of the lack ofproperties available tomeetdemand and the protocolsthey have to go through.

She said cases likeMrBishop’s were not un-common and blamed theincrease in people seekinghelp on rising house pricesand rents in disproportion toincomes.

“For people on a fixedincome like disabilitysupports, it’s really difficult,”she said.

Ms Stumbles agreed itwas a vicious cycle for someand put intense pressureon people trying to betterthemselves.

“Sometimes the environ-ment is very unhelpful andit’s just a shame that thereisn’t a lot of other options,”she said.

A call byMs Stumbles tothe owner of amotel was the“breakthrough” needed tohelpMr Bishop.

While the room “wasn’tanything fancy” it was a roofover his head and the pieceof mind Robert yearned forto help keep his life headingin the right direction.

HARD TIMES: There is light at the end of the tunnel for Robert Bishop, 30, who has struggled to rid himself of a lifeembroiled in drugs that held him ransom for 10 long years. Picture: Sylvia Liber

'It’s to apoint I’drather bein jail'BY DESIRÉE SAVAGE

■ Wollongong 5 - 10 years■ Shellharbour 10+ years■ Kiama 10+ years■ Helensburgh 5 - 10 years

Wait times for a 2 bed-room home

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