THREE nights in the cold and rain have convinced Anthony Jucha that Adelaide’s homeless community is doing it too tough.
Mr Jucha, a lawyer, went to the city’s west parklands on Friday night to spend the long weekend with people sleeping rough. He wanted to see how people coped under such trying conditions. What he found at his campsite near the West Tce cemetery was dozens of people who had too little to eat and few opportunities to improve their lives.
He was also angry at what he saw as the heavy-handed tactics of police and council workers.
“I was warmly accepted and the people were very decent to me,” Mr Jucha said yesterday. “But it’s left me feeling quite freaked out; it’s unusual to be back in my suit and at my desk today.”
Mr Jucha spent his first night under a tarpaulin in the rain, but used a tent on Saturday and Sunday nights.
He spent the days talking to homeless people at day centres such as Westcare in Wright St, where meals are provided.
Many people had health problems related to poor nutrition.
Mr Jucha said he met a 17-year-old girl who had been on the streets since she was 11, when her parents lost their home because of drug use.
There was at least one 11-year-old who appeared to be alone.
He said some people had told him their blankets and other possessions had been taken by council workers.
He believed police had used unnecessary force in at least one arrest outside a day centre.
“People who are thin, frail and sick . . . don’t need handcuffs to be restrained,” he said.
He said people told him they were often searched by police and fined for offensive behaviour or littering.
“The system makes it harder and harder for them to get up,” Mr Jucha said. “Only three days and I feel sick and cold.
“I met some people who’ve been on the streets for three decades.”
Lord Mayor Michael Harbison denied council workers were unfair, saying they removed “abandoned goods from the parklands”.
“The parklands are for common recreation and not for private appropriation,” he said.
Mr Harbison criticised the State Government for its inadequate funding of its emergency after-hours service that forced the service to redirect males on to church and other welfare agencies.
He said limited funds meant Crisis Care gave priority to women and children in desperate need.
“If you’re male and 30 and Crisis Care turns you down, then you need to go to another centre – but people are not in a position to do that on a cold evening,” he said.
Mr Harbison said he would raise the matter with his council colleagues and see whether more could be done through its partnership with the State Government.
Teen Challenge director Pastor Morrie Thompson said many welfare agencies focused on feeding people but were doing little to change the circumstances which had caused their homelessness.
“There is not enough going into getting these people work or housing or helping them mentally,” Pastor Thompson said.
He said it was unlikely the Government would reach its target of halving the number of homeless in its term in office.
Social Justice Minister Stephanie Key said while things were “very tight” in the crisis accommodation area, a bed could always be found.
By MELISSA KING and LEANNE CRAIG
(The Adelaide Advertiser – 12 June 2003)