Construction is well under way on social housing for some of Shepparton’s most vulnerable, but it is only the beginning of measures to ease the region’s housing crisis.
In partnership with the Victorian Government and housing support service Wintringham, the Wyndham St social housing site is set to provide 28 beds for people aged over 55 along with 20 residential aged care homes.
The facility is set for completion in October, and Housing Minister Danny Pearson visited the site on Wednesday, July 20 to view its progress.
“We are serious about creating more social housing for those most in need,” he said.
The affordable housing is the result of a $37.5 million investment from the government to create more than 130 homes, including a 16-bed dwelling in Mooroopna.
Part of the funding of the Wintringham block came from the government’s Big Housing Build investment of $5.3 billion, with $1.2 billion going to regional areas.
A $45 million investment was allocated to Shepparton, to “make sure the regions get their fair share”.
Greater Shepparton has the highest rate of homelessness in regional Victoria.
Not too long ago Tiani Hombsch was a part of these statistics before finding her home at Wintringham.
For almost six years she was homeless, living wherever she could find safety.
“I’ve come a long way since I’ve got a home after five or six years with no home,” she said.
“Rents are extreme and a lot of people are just getting knocked back — I didn’t even get a phone call when I was applying for houses.
“There's a lot of people living out on the streets, you see them in the bus shelters. It is really hard.”
It took almost seven months for Ms Hombsch to be approved for her social housing, but she isn’t alone.
More than 2000 households are on the waiting list for social and affordable housing in the Shepparton district.
“It's about working with council, with the local community, with Homes Victoria to identify how we tackle this and address this,” Mr Pearson said.
“For really complicated problems like homelessness, you need to try and develop a number of different tactics and strategies and working together in partnerships.”