Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about Coast Shelter, an organisation on the Central Coast that is dedicated to providing assistance to the most vulnerable people in our community. Coast Shelter has been operating since 2002, supporting homeless or at-risk, financially disadvantaged, socially isolated and drug- and or alcohol-addicted community members. The organisation has grown since 2002 to include nine refuges, a community hub, and over 60 outreach properties across the Central Coast. They have three women and children's refuges, five youth refuges, and a men's accommodation program. Each night, Coast Shelter accommodates 150 people who are in dire need of a bed for the night. They not only provide for immediate needs, such as a bed for the night, a hot shower, laundry facilities and a meal, but their incredible network of volunteers and support workers link people with services to assist with legal advice, housing and accommodation, and assessments and referrals to agencies. Coast Shelter is committed to tackling homelessness and to campaigning for the social inclusion of the disadvantaged in our community. They believe in empowering individuals, through support and advocacy, to remedy the circumstances that led to their homeless situation in the first place.

In 2013-14, Coast Shelter provided 53,367 overnight beds for clients who were in a situation of homelessness. They arranged housing for 565 people—yet another 1,524 were unable to be housed due to there being no vacancies. A large proportion of those who sought the assistance of Coast Shelter—23 per cent—found themselves in a homeless situation due to financial stress, housing stress, or housing crisis. Another 17 per cent sought help due to family breakdown, relationship issues, or needing time out from family. Other reasons included mental health issues, problematic substance abuse, inappropriate dwellings, lack of family support, and transitional accommodation issues.

However, there is one predominant area that is an ongoing concern and that is the rising number of women and children in homeless situations due to domestic and family violence. Coast Shelter is responding to the increased numbers of women and children escaping domestic violence. They have established a comprehensive program to support other Central Coast services, in an attempt to stem the high levels of family and domestic violence. At the moment, Coast Shelter is only able to accommodate one in five of the homeless women and children who approach them for assistance. More than half of them are victims of domestic violence. I applaud Coast Shelter for their front-line approach in tackling domestic violence, and I also commend Laurie Maher, the executive officer, his team at Coast Shelter, and all of the volunteers for their compassion, genuine care and dedication in reaching out and helping those who are desperately in need. I look forward to continuing to work with Coast Shelter to support their great efforts in our community.