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Vulnerable homeowners deal with a fight to find food and someplace dry to sleep when flood waters recede and short-lived shelters shut.
Nearly 800 individuals have sought haven in NSW evacuation but their status as pop-up homes for some will stop to exist after the impact of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.
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Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' regional real estate and homelessness manager for northeast NSW, has been on the front lines supporting people sleeping rough in flooded zones.
Her task was made harder on Monday due to damage to Fred's Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with consistent rains inundating the area.
On any given day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in requirement however showers and laundry facilities run out commission up until the flood damage is repaired.
"It has actually been a horrendous time for the homeless community," Ms Kennedy told AAP.
"It has been truly challenging trying to get them any type of shelter."
She stated the homeless were trying to find any dry locations they could sleep throughout a northern NSW area already dealing with an alarming lack of economical real estate.
"We've been assisting a whole family oversleeping their car," Ms Kennedy stated.
"Seeing them in this horrendous weather condition is truly terrible."
The Byron Shire city government location, south of Tweed Heads, had the most rough sleepers of any council location in the state, according to a 2024 federal government street count.
"We absolutely do have a housing issue in the Northern Rivers and we need solutions," Ms Kennedy stated.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, gyms and clubs might not function as a long-lasting fix to established real estate issues in the area.
"I am fully familiar with the significant challenges for real estate in the Northern Rivers, however evacuation centres are not long-term options ... we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allowance," he stated.
The centres would close in all locations once regional emergency situation orders were lifted, Mr Minns included.
"So I want to apologise beforehand but we need to draw an extremely clear and understood line."
More than 10,000 individuals were under emergency situation warnings in NSW on Monday early morning, while 1800 people were isolated by floodwaters.
About 10,000 homes and businesses were still not linked to power as heavy rain continued to fall in numerous areas.
Major flood warnings were still in location for parts of the Clarence and Richmond rivers, while clean-up operations were under way elsewhere.
In Pottsville, between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, a whale carcass was amongst the particles that cleaned up after big swells damaged the shoreline for days.
Residents from 17 NSW local government locations who had lost earnings due to the storm would be eligible for federal catastrophe relief funds for as much as 13 weeks, it was revealed on Monday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the financial backing would be backed by mental health services for affected locations.
"We have actually got your back, that's my message to communities here," he stated from Lismore on Monday.
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'Horrendous': Shelter Closures Pour On Housing Pain
franklinrhy853 edited this page 2025-07-07 20:00:19 +08:00