The remaining occupants of a homeless encampment on Memorial Drive in the City of Rockingham have been given a final warning to vacate.
asserted
occupants → remain → warning
Dozens of police and department officers attended the encampment on Wednesday morning to deliver final notices to about 50 people remaining on the street that they have 24 hours to remove or face a forced eviction.
asserted
they → attend → eviction
Memorial Drive has become a flashpoint for Perth’s housing crisis, with hundreds of people at one point setting up along its grassy verges complaining they had nowhere else to go.
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions officers last week alerted the encampment it had until September 22 to pack up, which resulted in dozens of people leaving.
asserted
dozens → become → people
The state government has previously said it had been pouring resources into helping residents find more suitable accommodation.
asserted
residents → say → accommodation
Homelessness Minister Matthew Swinbourn said as of Tuesday night between 45 and 50 people still at the camp with around half telling authorities they would move on.
asserted
they → say → authorities
He said about 16 people had flatly refused to engage with services or declined offers of accommodation and support.
asserted
people → say → accommodation
Gemma Jones has been at the encampment for up to nine months and described the show of force with police on Wednesday as intimidating.
“It’s pretty disgusting.
asserted
It → describe → Wednesday
They have so much force to move homeless people out, but when it comes down to criminal activities, they can’t work that hard,” she told 9News Perth.
asserted
she → have → Perth
They were very polite, but it’s still intimidating, and it
asserted
it → ’ → ?
They’re meant to push us out.”
asserted
They → mean → us
Jones said she didn’t know what the next 24 hours held because she had nowhere to go.
asserted
she → say → nowhere
Sarah Allum questioned the level of support offered to Memorial Drive residents.
“Why don’t they help instead of just shoving us on?” she said.
asserted
she → question → us
It doesn’t matter.”
asserted
It → matter → ?
DBCA officers methodically worked through the remaining campsite delivering notices to residents, which included offers to store belongings if they had nowhere to take them.
asserted
they → work → them
On the ground there was no aggression, but frustrated campers were reiterating with DBCA officers they had nowhere else to go.
asserted
they → be → nowhere
Swinbourn said residents had been given a week’s notice of the state’s intention to shut the site, and there had been huge levels of outreach.
asserted
residents → say → outreach
“Since then, outreach workers have increased their engagement with the people there, offering accommodation, support and connections to services daily,” he said.
asserted
he → increase → services
“This is in addition to the increased outreach and homelessness services directed to Memorial Drive and the surrounding area over the past several months.
asserted
This → increase → months
“Outreach services have engaged with individuals on more than 1000 occasions during this time, supporting more than 30 people into accommodation, on to the housing waitlist or to return to country.”
asserted
services → engage → country
Swinbourn said the government’s approach had been guided by compassion, but the site could not continue to operate because of anti-social behaviour.
“Police have had to respond to a number of incidences in the area and with the approach of the fire season, those risks were only going to become greater, so the situation is no longer tenable or sustainable,” he said.
uncertain
he → say → season
“That is why we have made the decision that we’ve made to decamp the area and I’ll make it clear that this was not a decision that we took lightly.”
asserted
we → make → that
“The encampment at Memorial Drive cannot continue due to concerns for the safety of those staying there and the broader community, with increasing reports of antisocial behaviour.
asserted
encampment → continue → behaviour
“Outreach remains available to help those people who are willing to engage – no one is being abandoned.”
asserted
one → remain → people
Swinbourn said ongoing support would be provided through the Salvos Centre of Hope and The Crew, which would soon expand to provide daytime case management services.
asserted
which → say → services
WA Counsel of Social Services chief executive Louise Giolitto said Memorial Drive was a very visible and distressing example of the broader homelessness issue across WA.
asserted
Drive → say → WA
She was not critical of how the dismantling of the encampment has been handled but said the state needed to do more or more encampments will pop up.
asserted
encampments → handle → encampment
“We always think that safety’s first, and encampments are not necessarily the safest place for people.
asserted
encampments → think → people
What people need is safe, affordable homes that they can live, and that’s what we’re really pushing for,” she said.
asserted
she → need → what
“What we really need to see is some solutions to scale, and we are really inviting government to look at a coordinated, scaled plan to be able to end rough sleeping across Western Australia as soon as possible.”
asserted
government → need → Australia
The Aporia
