Work begins on new Redfern aged homeless facility

The first sod has been turned at the site of Mission Australia’s new $16 million facility in Sydney’s Redfern, which aims to address the increasing need for permanent accommodation for the city’s aged homeless.

The Minister for Mental Health, Mark Butler, as well as the Minister for Human Services and Social Inclusion, Tanya Plibersek, officially launched the construction of the Redfern facility on Friday afternoon.

Based on Charles Chambers Court (CCC) in Surry Hills – our existing award-winning service for Sydney’s aged homeless – the Redfern facility will offer permanent accommodation for 72 residents alongside 24-hour nursing and medical assistance, psychiatric support, good nutrition, allied health intervention, social interaction and community participation.

At the launch, Mr Butler said that although homelessness was generally considered to be something primarily affecting younger Australians, the reality was that more elderly people – and increasingly women - were finding it hard to secure safe and affordable accommodation.

“This is an extremely important project, because we know from the last Census that it’s a fast-growing group,” Mr Butler said. “It’s also a high-needs group, and it’s important to recognise that those people who access aged homeless services have quite different needs to others in aged care.”

Ms Plibersek said the new Redfern site was a “symbol of what’s been happening with the debate in homelessness in Australia and service provision.”

“This will be an investment for decades to come,” she added. “It will take the hardest to help people off the streets and give them a home for the first time in years, or even decades – and hope and security for the future.”

According to Mission Australia’s Aged Care Operations Manager, Jill Bicknell, the majority of residents accessing the new facility will have a mental illness or acquired brain injury and are likely to experience much higher levels of illness due to a lifetime of chronic homelessness, unsanitary living conditions and malnutrition.

“Each resident will have their own room and en suite,” Ms Bicknell said. “Each floor of 12 residents will have a separate dining room, lounge area, recreational space and clinics. There will also be a roof-top garden.

“We know from existing services that most elderly homeless people have no contact with family and limited social networks, so building that sense of community is really important to their wellbeing and mental health.”

The new service is funded by the Federal Department of Health and Ageing under the Aged Care Funding Instrument and, unlike mainstream aged care services, will not require residents to make bond payments. As is the case at most other aged care facilities, residents will contribute 85 per cent of their aged pension in rent.