Desperate call out for swift housing action

Despite "unprecedented increases in demand" for more homes, Central Highlands Homelessness Alliance (CHHA) coordinator Michelle Twigger said there are fewer and fewer housing options.

Ms Twigger spoke at the Commonwealth Games inquiry in Ballarat last week.

"We need the rapid provision of adequate and appropriate new homes now, not in a couple of years," she said.

She told the inquiry short term and crisis accommodation is full, because people in those accommodations do not have another option.

The agencies do not ask people to leave accommodation if this would mean they become homeless again.

Agencies like Uniting in the Central Highlands and Wimmera are having to hand out tents, swags, blow up mattresses and sleeping bags to people, including teenagers and families with young children, because they do not have housing options, Ms Twigger said.

"We place some people including children in unsuitable hotels, motels and lodging house accommodation - this exacerbates the trauma and depletes limited emergency relief funding," she said.

"These are not solutions nor are they safe or acceptable forms of accommodation."

When responding to a question in parliament, housing minister Harriet Shing said the state government has completed 134 homes and is in the middle of construction of 200 homes as part of the Big Housing Build in the Ballarat council area.

Other programs have funded another 21 homes in Ballarat.

The government has also committed to building more than 1300 homes in regional Victoria to make up for the homes lost now there is no need for Commonwealth Games athletes villages.

Ms Twigger said these 1300 homes would not be enough to cover the Central Highlands region's needs, let alone in regional Victoria.

There are 1459 people on the priority waiting list for homes in the Central Highlands region.

In the 2021 census there were 638 people identified as homeless in the Ballarat area and Ms Twigger said they knew this number had grown over the past two years.

"We are concerned about the timeline, progress and budget of the Victorian government's regional infrastructure and housing build," she said.

Ms Twigger said more homes are needed in the short term.

She said a variety is needed including two to three bedroom furnished houses for families in crisis or escaping violence.

Three or four bedroom long term homes for families and single bedroom homes for young people and older people close to transport links so they can access support services are also needed

Early intervention is critical, Ms Twigger said.

"If we could ... help people before they become homeless, their trauma and need for our services and multiple other health and financial supports would be minimised, as would the cost to the community," she said.

Looking longer term, Ms Twigger said they would like to see a plan to meet the future housing needs.

This would need to include how other support services like outreach programs are funded, she said.

The state government was contacted for further comment but did not respond in time for the deadline.