2015: The Year of Ending Homelessness

To solve any problem 

• measure it to know what you're dealing with.
• ask "what does a solution look like?" It should include ending the problem.
• identify the method resources and timeline to arrive at that zero problem solution. This would include benchmarks along the timeline showing a progressive reduction of the problem- and cost.

 Isn't it bizarre that government departments don't use this methodology? Hold that concept and apply it to the Federal Government's "The Road Home" Homelessness Program which spends $600million plus a year in the name of homeless people -your money which largely funds government and NGOs- while the housing affordability bar rises way beyond the reach of those on minimum wages and homeless numbers inevitably rise with no solution in sight.  

 Consider the problems.

For homeless people the problem is lack of access to affordable housing. 

 For the taxpayer there is the huge amount of public funding of a decades long round robin of failed expensive offshore modelled programs run by the same organisations and government departments which ran the last failures. 

 For society the problem is a rising tide of spiralling housing costs coupled to a heavily regulated income regime which sees more people daily sink beneath the plimsoll line into homelessness.

 The problem for NGOs, Government departments bureaucrats and politicians is that the Homelessness "problem" might be solved-and with that their reason to exist might just evaporate along with their revenue streams jobs and power base -and THAT is a very big problem for those hapless homeless ,taxpayers and concerned members of society.

 Or put another way, perhaps homelessness is a revenue and power solution for the Poverty sector?

 There IS a solution to homelessness. Some societal settings need to be checked and reset.

1. Sufficient housing already exists for all. It is inaccessible to those who need it by virtue of price and definition. Sydney Homeless and Occupy Sydney's Occupy4Homeless unit call for immediate legislation requisitioning 1 unit or room per 50 available in every hotel motel or Serviced apartment complex AND every Meriton style complex to be given over to housing homeless people. 
2. Sydney Homeless and Occupy4Homeless call on the accommodation service providers mentioned at 1/ to voluntarily donate 1 room per complex to the Occupy4Homeless Housing Project ( contact sydneyhomeless@gmail.com ). Your donation will be deductibe.
3. Mobile Social Housing: Sydney Homeless and Occupy4Homeless call for an immediate evaluation by government community minded groups and businesses of the opportunity to provide mobile homes as social housing units to itinerant workers and pensioners as a cost effective alternative to conventional social housing-preferably on a lease-to-buy arrangement. They do not have to be new units. Occupy4Homeless is evolving a discussion to this end. Please join via the email above.
4. Occupy Sydney call for a Local Minimum wage for each Local body area-based on actual local cost-of-living affordability. The lowest paid in society should not have to travel hours each way to the economic bantustans while the privileged few-or those living on credit cards-afford to live in Sydney-or other expensive metropolitan hubs.
5. Sydney Homeless call for Councils Australia wide to be responsible for ensuring that affordable accommodation is available in the localities where people need to live. Using the development application process to achieve this affordable housing balance should see sufficient affordable housing everywhere in Australia within fifteen years.

  Theres much more...

  If you join us in believing this is a desirable objective and achievable then help us make it reality and homelessness history by the end of 2015 ( email sydneyhomeless@gmail.com ) 
  Of course willing legislators could expedite all of this immediately but at what cost in lost bureaucratic opportunity and ministerial power?