HAWKESBURY Council has urged more support for homeless people, while reiterating its determination to make grandstands in public parks ‘‘accessible and safe’’ for the community.
Councillor Christine Paine and community leaders recently cited problems arising from homeless people staying in the grandstand at Windsor’s McQuade Park (Hawkesbury Gazette, August 5).
Councillor Paine originally flagged a notice of motion calling for ‘‘appropriate fencing or barriers [to] be installed to secure the grandstand in McQuade Park to regulate access’’, to be moved at Council’s August 11 meeting.
It also called for a further report on the feasibility of fencing the grandstand in Richmond Park.
Chris Cleary, founder of StreetMed, which provides medical help for homeless people in Hawkesbury, Nepean and the Blue Mountains, launched an online petition opposing it.
‘‘Homeless people are trying to survive; where are they supposed to go?’’ Mrs Cleary said.
‘‘We don’t have definite proof that homeless people are making the mess in the grandstand.
‘‘I think it’s the teenagers who come out at night to harass the homeless.’’
She said she believed an ice addict whose aggressive behaviour at McQuade Park was reported, was not himself a homeless person, and that blaming his actions on rough sleepers was unfair.
Mrs Cleary said in her experience the great majority of homeless people were not anti-social and she believed they could shelter in public places without interfering with people’s rights to use such facilities. Her petition attracted 8556 supporters.
On the night of the Council meeting, councillors Paine and Tiffany Tree moved a different motion. It called on Council to acknowledge the seriousness of how few support services there were for ‘‘vulnerable people in the Hawkesbury’’.
It also urged Council to ‘‘ensure the grandstands at Windsor and Richmond are accessible to the community ... clean, hygienic and safe at all times’’ and to ‘‘seek advice on the steps it could take to address the level of homelessness in the Hawkesbury’’.
This motion also called on the state government to improve those services so ‘‘local community members in need are not forced to travel long distances’’.
Councillor Paine said she was as concerned about homeless people as she was about the community’s right to use public facilities.
She said she often served meals to homeless people and was hurt by some comments on social media criticising her.
‘‘Homeless people don’t vandalise things, but people with addictions, particularly ice, have been known to,’’ Councillor Paine said.
‘‘I visit the McQuade Park grandstand five days a week; how often do others go there? I don’t think it’s safe for anyone to stay there.’’
