by Shane Sody
Your Adelaide Park Lands have been caught up in Australia's housing crisis.
The City Council and organisations providing services to the homeless are struggling to deal with the rapidly increasing number of people sleeping rough in your Park Lands and elsewhere.
These rough camp sites (above) were near the River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari in Bonython Park / Tulya Wardli (Park 27) in late April 2024
City Council by-laws provide that camping on "local government land" is prohibited without a permit. The maximum fine for a breach is $1,250 plus $50 per day for a continuing breach.
The Council also has powers to order people to move on, and even to confiscate possessions left on Park Lands. However the Council is cautious, or reluctant to issue large fines or use potentially heavy-handed legal powers on people with little or no resources.
These rough camp sites (above) were near the River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari in Helen Mayo Park (Park 27) in late April 2024
A spokesperson for the City of Adelaide says the Council :
“…works closely with the State Government, SAPOL and other support services to carefully manage the complex issues that exist regarding homelessness and camping.
“Homelessness and housing are key concerns for Council, with strategies on both issues recently endorsed and available for the members of the public to read. https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/about-council/plans-reporting/strategies-plans-policies/
“There have been no recent changes to Council’s approach in addressing instances of homelessness or camping.
“Council staff engage with anyone experiencing homelessness and found camping within the City of Adelaide by linking and referring them to relevant support services.
“Following these engagement efforts, authorised Council staff can issue formal notices requiring anyone found camping on the Park Lands to vacate the area within a specified timeframe.
“In situations where sites have been vacated and items left in the public realm, Council has a role to ensure items are collected or disposed of appropriately and the area cleaned.
“Attempts are always made to ensure valuable or personal belongings are returned to their owners or handed in to SAPOL.”
These rough camp sites (above) were near South Terrace in Carriageway Park / Tuthangga (Park 17) in late April 2024
There are several organisations that provide temporary accommodation for the homeless within the City of Adelaide, and suburbs. They include:
However these organisations are stretched for resources, and it would seem that demand is spilling out into several different parts of your Park Lands.
The extent of the problem may be worse now, than at any stage for decades.
Shaya Nettle from the “Toward Home Alliance” says affordability and supply are major problems, pushing many life-long renters out of the market.
“With inflation and cost of living pressures at a 30 year high, people are having to spend more of their income to keep a roof over their heads and their basic needs met.
“The housing crisis also means that people experiencing rough sleeping are further disadvantaged, and are likely to spend longer living on the streets, which we know can lead to premature ageing and health issues.”
Ms Nettle says the latest statistics (March 2024) indicate there were 197 people experiencing homelessness in the inner city; and 144 of these individuals were experiencing rough sleeping.
“Over the last four years, demand for homelessness services across this region [the Adelaide CBD, South and Adelaide Hills] has increased approximately 60%. Services are operating well beyond capacity.”
Ms Nettle says you can make a difference:
“Support of organisations providing the coalface services is always welcome and needed. THA [Toward Home Alliance] partners operate multiple sites across the CBD, and rely on community support and involvement do their work.
“How we think about and understand homelessness is changing. As a community we need to respond with kindness, with empathy, and understanding that homelessness is no longer something that only happens to ‘others’ – it’s occurring within our own schools, networks and communities.
“The majority of people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, have become homeless due to a range of circumstances beyond their control, and experience feelings of shame and discomfort with their situation.”
These rough camp sites (above) were between the West Terrace Cemetery and Sir Donald Bradman Drive in G.S. Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi (Park 23) in late April 2024
If you see someone sleeping rough, you can:
advise the State Government's "Street Connect" by dropping a pin on a map, here: The Toward Home Alliance outreach teams check these pins twice a day, and follow them up within 12 hours. The website also allows you to provide additional information about the situation or person you are concerned about.
notify "Toward Home" https://towardhome.org.au/contact/ or phone them on 1800 809 273 (9am-5pm, Monday - Friday)
contact “Homeless Connect SA” https://www.homelessconnectsa.org/ or phone them on 1800 003 308 (24 hours per day, 7 days per week)
Read more about the issue of homelesness in Australia:
