Life On The Line

Tony has driven the food van every Tuesday night for the past six and a half years. He and the other volunteers set up on the corner of Yurong parkway and St Mary’s road in Sydney’s CBD. A line of 200 people usually await their arrival. But, Tony has noticed something new.

Over the past six months, the food line has grown longer with people that don’t look homeless.

The number of homeless people identified in the national census grew 4.8% from 2001 to 2006. And this was before talk of the global financial crisis. In the December quarter 2008, the ABS reported that unemployment rates rose 0.4%, housing prices rose 0.7%, and food prices rose by 2%.

When Tony began volunteering he was surprised, and at times angry, by the people that came through looking clean and tidy. He has never seen this category of homelessness - known as secondary and tertiary - in large numbers.

‘When I started volunteering it was hard. I didn’t think much of these people. But, then I started chatting to them…’

It’s a thirty minute drive from the kitchen in Callan Park to the city. In that time Tony usually prays. But, tonight he considered all the newly homeless joining the queue.

‘Well, there are influxes of people. I mean, you would say some things are seasonal. But definitely this year, the numbers have been bigger. And, a lot of them look like you or me. Some of them even look like they’ve just been at work as a labourer of some sort.’

Tony pulls up onto the curb and another van carrying the hot food pulls in behind him. They are met by a line of people stretched out about 100 metres. Around the queue, more people are sitting on a low retaining wall, hunched over on the ground, or under some trees. More volunteers are waiting for the vans and help unload when they arrive.

Tony likes to walk up and down the queue handing out muffins, serviettes, and cutlery for their hot food.

‘Some of the usuals like to chat. I guess the longer that you go, the more they know your face and open up. Most new people are closed off. But, then again, some people don’t just come for food. They come for socialising and to talk to somebody.’ Like Chris.

Chris joined the line in October after he lost his job sewing t-shirt hems at a Sydney clothing factory. He was evicted from his home in December, just after his thirty-second birthday, and has been staying with his parents since. Chris fits into the category of secondary homeless. He is temporarily residing within another household because he has no accommodation of his own. In the 2006 census, 44% of Australia’s homeless were recorded as living temporarily with family or friends - just like Chris.

‘There are some people that are just on the poverty line.’ Tony says. ‘You get so many people who look reasonably well dressed. It’s because, possibly, they haven’t really had to live on the street yet, but they’ve lost a job and this is a means of holding on to whatever little they have to pay their rent.’

People live in poverty when they do not have the means to meet their basic needs like food and housing. Homelessness Australia estimated that in 2006 one in every ten Australians was living in poverty. Since the global financial crisis, the numbers appear to be growing. In March of this year, the Sydney council’s homeless information centre reported that callers who were unable to meet rent or loan repayments and had become homeless because of crisis eviction in 2008 rose 52%. Homeless people who were alcoholics or drug addicts dropped by 14% and those with mental illness fell 9%. There was also a 49% increase in people blaming family breakdown for the cause of their homelessness. These breakdowns were brought about by arguments over money.

Tony lives in Sydney’s north-west with his family in a stylish, two-story home. He counts his blessings everyday, especially after seeing the homeless on his volunteer night. But, sometimes he can’t help worrying about the effects of the global financial crisis on his jewelry business at the local shopping centre, and on his mortgage.

Housing stress and poverty can contribute to the reasons people become homeless. Homelessness Australia found that Australia’s poverty rate increases to 15% if they factor housing costs into their estimation of poverty. They have reported that one in three people requests financial assistance or material aid from homeless assistance services. And more than eight out of ten people who use those services are on a government payment. Like David.

Tony noticed David about four months ago. He sits next to the van from eight thirty and waits. By his side are a cane and an empty Peter’s ice cream container for any extra food he can bring home. He can’t make the long walk to the van too often. He left his job in June 2008 when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. But, David considers himself lucky. He still has shelter in a boarding house in Surry Hills and is on the pension. Homelessness Australia reported that 9% of people in homeless assistance services have no source of income at all. David is classified as a person living in tertiary homelessness. It refers to people living in boarding houses on a medium to long term basis.

Tony gets ready to drive back to the kitchen in Callan Park after an hour and a half when the line has disappeared.

Tonight, one man approached Tony when he finished loading the van and asked if there were any blankets.

‘Sorry, not tonight. We usually wait a little bit longer before we give out blankets. When it’s a bit colder.’

Winter is already here. Fortunately the new people on the line still have a roof over their heads – at least for now.

Susie Matthews, manager of social policy and programs for the City of Sydney, has reported to the ABC that there are not enough places in crisis accommodation centres for this influx of newly homeless people. Matthews stated that there is an increasing amount of pressure on homeless accommodation services and that the city will be seeing a more visible presence of homeless people on the streets of Sydney.

On the way home, Tony noticed a lot of people roaming the streets. People walking past shops and bars; people in crumpled suits walking into train stations and apartment buildings.

‘Any one of them could be homeless. They may not look it, but anyone of them could be homeless.’

Tony has met a lot of people throughout the years he’s been volunteering. But, he remembered one encounter with a homeless man that taught him about the complexities of homelessness.

‘He was a guy who came out from Italy. He had a small business over there but came thinking he could start something. But, his English was pretty poor. He was out here on his own, and things didn’t work out. So, he was trying to study, trying to learn a bit more English. He tried getting a little bit of work as a waiter, but still things weren’t working. So, by coming out and getting a plate of food it meant that he didn’t have to go home and cook and that’d save ten dollars. And that ten dollars meant that he could message his mum or pay for emails or phone calls or try to save. I mean, he did want to get back home sooner or later. And it meant that he could also go out and buy some clothes and start looking for work. So, I realised then that homeless didn’t mean they had to be people on the street. Like, there are some that are just on the poverty line. So, then I sort of decided that I couldn’t say ‘Mate, you look clean and tidy and you shouldn’t be here and this is for the homeless’. If they were willing to wait in line and get food then they got food.'

'Whether society’s doing the right thing for them, I’m not sure. Does feeding them solve their problems? No. But, if they can face the next day a lot easier if they’re not hungry, and it makes their day or their night… at least it makes them feel like they’re worthy of something. Or they can feel the next day ‘cause they’re not hungry. Their mind’s not thinking of just of food. They can feel a little positive. Hopefully that’s what it does.’