Daydawn Advocacy Centre, the Catholic agency that advocates in the area of indigenous housing, usually sees some 3500 visitors walk through the doors each year, many of whom with dependent children and facing homelessness.
CATHOLIC CHARITY COMBATS CORONAVIRUS WO R D S Eric Martin
T
24
hat number increased dramatically
accommodation – even though the WA Housing
in 2020, the year of COVID-19, as
Department put a hold on eviction notices being
attested by Daydawn Director Mark
issued during the current crisis.
Reidy.
“There were a lot of people living on the street
“We have three paid staff members
who started to panic about the virus, they heard
and we’ve been working extra hours rather than
about the plan to place homeless people in hotels
less,” Mr Reidy said.
and with a grant that we received during this
“Our volunteers were all working from home
time, we used some of that money to help house
and we kept them busy, feeding out letters and
people,” Mr Reidy added.
contact numbers to them to chase down on behalf
“During the pandemic we had as many as 20 to 30
of the people we assist.
phone calls a day for assistance: there was a bit of
“That awareness that our clients were most
a panic because we can only house so many.”
vulnerable to COVID-19, most likely to be
Daydawn started working with the Departmental
impacted and on the front line, was what
Taskforce and other organisations, such as Shelter
motivated us to implement our own immediate
WA, Uniting Care West, Anglicare and other
crisis response: there were a few gaps and we
communities, to accommodate some 80 people
were able to address those gaps.”
during WA’s lockdown.
Homelessness became a far more apparent issue
“We had 40 people at one point in a hotel in
during COVID-19; the virus amplified existing
Fremantle and to take that as a case study: there
issues and vulnerabilities – Daydawn reported that
were families, single people and couples; the
the pandemic resulted in an upsurge in demand for
youngest were children within those families and
their services, especially in the area of temporary
the oldest were in their 60s,” Mr Reidy shared.
THE RECORD MAGAZINE
