Cade Lucas
It’s a grim irony that a man who has dedicated himself to helping the homeless is now at risk of being without a home of his own.
Phillip McDonald runs Feeding Families, a charity that collects and distributes food, clothing and other essential goods to homeless and disadvantaged people in Wyndham and beyond.
With the help of others, Mr McDonald does this while juggling a full-time job, being a single father to two children and for the past two months, searching for a new home.
“They’re gonna renovate it,” said Mr McDonald of the reason his landlord is evicting him from the Werribee South home where he, his son, and every second week, his daughter live.
Mr McDonald estimated he applied for at least 200 rentals in Wyndham since being informer of his impending eviction in May, and been knocked back each time.
“The problem is people want more than one income,” he speculated as to why he’s been so unsuccessful.
Given his work with the homeless, the lack of rentals in Wyndham is hardly a surprise to Mr McDonald, who said he doesn’t want any sympathy and nor does he blame his landlord.
“I’ve got no ill will towards them whatsoever. It’s a hard time for everyone,” he said.
“It just demonstrates the scale of the problem.”
Originally from Moree in New South Wales, Mr McDonald still has family there and said if the situation continues he will relocate. He’s not worried about becoming homeless like those who rely on Feeding Families, rather he’s concerned about what will happen to them if he’s forced to leave.
“We help close to 1500 families or people a week,” he said.
“It would take a long while to pick up what I do. We help not just with food, but home care, mental health, we do laundry and maintenance on their homes. The only thing I can’t do is pay their bills,” said Mr McDonald, who has recently received a 60-day extension, giving him until September to find a new home in a community he doesn’t want to leave.
“I’ve grown to like the area and I wanna continue to help the community.”
