Wyndham council’s decision to slash welfare-sector funding has
left vulnerable residents at greater risk of losing their homes,
according to Anglicare.
Several community groups have reported that funding from the council’s identified needs program had been cut by as much as 50 per cent in the 2013-14 budget.
Financial counselling manager Trish Reck said cuts meant Anglicare
could not continue its Foundations 3029 program, which provided
outreach counselling to residents in Tarneit, Hoppers Crossing and
Truganina who were falling behind on mortgage repayments.
She said one reason that “resource-strapped” Anglicare wanted to join a new housing stress working group was to fill the gap left by the program’s termination.
The council’s community development director, Kelly Grigsby, said the latest round of funding was extremely competitive.
“For many years, Wyndham City has been plugging financial holes in
services which are the responsibility of state and federal
governments,” she said.
“This approach is unsustainable in a rapidly growing municipality.”
