World leading facility for homeless veterans now planned
LOS ANGELES: A world-class facility providing special services for homeless veterans has been proposed.
But the V Centre project, by veterans’ housing outfit Vasey RSL Care, needs nearly $13m of federal Government funding to go ahead.
More than 300 veterans who leave the Australian Defence Force each year experience homelessness – a rate 280 per cent higher than the general population.
Vasey RSL Care general manager of veterans services Chris Gray said that mainstream services were not the right fit for some veterans.
“We’ve had some younger veterans coming through who were well supported in the early stages of ex-servicemen accommodation, or in independent living, but at some point those supports would drop off for whatever reason, as would their health and well-being,” he said.
Mr Gray said that a global search for a tailored support program found examples like the UK’s Belvedere House, on which V Centre is partly based.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel, what we’re doing is bringing 24/7 wraparound support to the accommodation or taking it to veterans from the accommodation,” he said. ”We’ve got a roof over their heads, so let’s wrap that support around those guys while we can and give them the confidence, the tools and the ability to re-enter the community where they want to and live independently.”
Vasey RSL Care wants to create the V Centre on a former aged care site it owns at Ivanhoe. It needs $12.7m in funding over three years.
Vietnam veteran Alan Murphy, who lives in a Vasey unit at Cheltenham, said the organisation had provided him with accommodation when he desperately needed it after he was seriously ill in hospital.
Mr Murphy is now voluntarily helping other veterans with donated goods such as beds, fridges, furniture and blankets.
“When somebody comes in off the street and there’s a unit available, we furnish their place as best we can,” he said.
Another veteran, Stephen Wilde, was just three days from being homeless when Vasey came to the rescue.
“I’ve got everything I need here, the units are amazing, and any problems I’ve got I get hold of Vasey staff and they sort out the issue,” he said.
Vasey RSL Care CEO Janna Voloshin said V Centre would be the first step in “a broader national engagement”.
“The Australian Defence Force excels in integrating civilians into military life, and it is crucial for the same level of care to be provided for a smooth transition out of the military into civilian life,” she said.