Homelessness service faces funding shortfall

Paul Bibby

A vital homelessness service in the heart of Byron Bay could be forced to cut services without additional donations from the community.

Fletcher Street Cottage has provided thousands of breakfasts, showers and support appointments to the Shire’s ballooning homeless population since it opened in April last year.

But without any on-going government funding, and with community support dwindling, the service is struggling to keep up the flow of support.

‘Having any of the services cut at Fletcher Street Cottage would be a devastating loss,’ said Mathew Broster, who was sleeping rough on the streets of Byron before receiving help from the staff and volunteers at Fletcher Street.

‘I’m one of the lucky ones… going from being a rough sleeper to finding emergency accommodation.’

With Byron’s population of rough sleepers growing to become the largest of any local government area in NSW, including the City of Sydney, the demand for the services at Fletcher Street has increased significantly.

Operating costs at $1m

As a result, the service’s annual operating costs have increased to $1 million.

Louise O’Connell, the General Manager of the Byron Community Centre, which runs the cottage, said so far community contributions had made up around 20 per cent of what was required.

‘We’ve already been forced to cut services and may have to cut more,’ Ms O’Connell said.

‘We urgently need sustained and increased support.’

With no ongoing government funding, the Byron Community Centre is calling on the community last Friday to make the announcement of tranche 2, yet tranche 1 is yet to be completed, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) website.

There are just three small projects listed for Byron Shire across both tranches, considerably fewer projects than on surrounding floodaffected shires.

They are: ‘SGB Flood Pump Generator to provide protection from power failures’ (tranche 1); and from tranche 2, ‘Investigate Options for South Golden Beach Flood Gate Upgrades; Upgrade Coogera Circuit Detention, Preferred Byron Drainage Strategy Construction’.

The Echo asked the NEMA, who administrate the programs with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSRIO), whether any of the tranche 1 projects have been completed for Byron Shire.

A NEMA spokesperson replied, ‘A significant amount of work has been completed over the last few months to finalise funding agreements and due diligence works for more than 30 tranche 1 and 2 projects’.

‘Successful project applicants have now received letters from the NSW government allowing them to begin works across the region in accordance with the

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