He sat cross-legged on the cold concrete footpath, leaning against the wall of a shop in central Shepparton. His hair hadn’t seen a comb for a long time, his weathered face told of a hard life, and yet this homeless fellow had within him some thoughtful philosophical ideas.
“We don’t regret what we have done, rather what we haven’t,” he said.
Tony (not his real name) lives in a shed, with the owner’s knowledge and approval, not far from the city’s central business district, at an address that would be the envy of many.
He’s my friend — I’ll call him that, as we pass each other on the street frequently, exchange pleasantries, discuss the weather, and sometimes lament the challenges, difficulties and complications of being homeless.
Frequently, I think of him, and the many others in Shepparton, on nights when it is raining, bitterly cold or searingly hot. Although he has a shed for shelter now, not long ago, Tony was living in a small tent.
Sipping a coffee — yes, he is homeless, but because of a small government allowance, he can afford a coffee — Tony reflected on what had gone wrong in his life, leading him to become something of an outsider in our community.
I’m far from sure what he does with himself all day — if you engage with the status quo and the prevailing economic system, your days are planned out by “the man” — but when we pass in the mornings, Tony is busy picking up rubbish in what he says is his small way of paying something back to our community.
According to the Council to Homeless Persons, there are nearly 400 people without a home in Shepparton. Homelessness affects 54 people per 10,000, compared to the Victorian average of 42 per 10,000 — ranking Shepparton 21st in Victoria out of 88 electoral districts.
According to the statistics, 47 were sleeping rough, 110 were in supported accommodation, 64 were couch surfing, 11 lived in boarding houses and 136 lived in overcrowded dwellings.
It’s rough sleepers who worry me the most, and I often wonder where I would retreat to on a cold and wet night if, for whatever reason, I was too forced to sleep rough. Tony tells me that it is not the cold weather that troubles him the most, but rather the hot nights, as it’s impossible to escape the heat.
This is an interesting dilemma and one that’s understood to be on council’s radar, not only for homeless people but even for those unable to provide themselves with cool spaces in their own homes.
Council staff are in the early stages of creating a list of public and private spaces to which people could retreat on exceedingly hot days, an increasing occurrence as the world warms.
But the dilemma has even greater potential complications, for as the world warms, days nearing or even exceeding 50°C will become more common, the power system could collapse, and even those with air-conditioning would be looking for a cool space.
Innovative ideas are arising, and in some jurisdictions, efforts are being made to ensure all people, particularly those from the low socio-economic group, have at least one cool space in their homes to help them cope on blisteringly hot days.
The idea is that rather than trying to cool the whole house, people focus their attention and resources on just one space; that cool space would be an oasis, a place to go when the temperature soars.
Some are discussing this idea in Shepparton, but I’m unsure how it would benefit my shed-dwelling friend.
Robert McLean is a former editor of The News