City of Perth initiative to help pregnant women like Erika Polak out of Tent City and into accommodation

Erika Polak is hoping the birth of her fourth child will mark the beginning of a new chapter in her life. Unlike most other expecting mums, she is not resting in the comfort of her home — she is living rough on the streets of Perth. But a new City of Perth initiative to combat homelessness could help Ms Polak and women like her to get off the street and into secure accommodation. The recently elected council has announced it will invest $575,000 in a “safe night space” for women, giving them a place to rest, access basic facilities, seek support and connect to much-needed services. A spokesman for the City confirmed that the facility would have a low threshold, meaning any female sleeping rough could access it. “Pending an appropriate service provider, it is anticipated the safe night space for women will be open in early 2021,” a statement said. Ms Polak’s life has been tough. She is a domestic violence abuse survivor, rape victim and has mental health and anger issues that have led her to spend time in and out of jail. She was the third generation of her family to be placed in foster care and was determined her children would not be taken away, too. Sadly, she did not succeed. Six months pregnant for the fourth time, she hopes it will be different. “I can’t think of them coming into the hospital and taking my baby again ... I need to get off the street and get a house so I can get my kids back and get myself on the straight and narrow,” Ms Polak said. The sad reality is she is just one of half-a-dozen homeless women who have been recently or are currently pregnant on the streets of Perth. Homeless advocate Betsy Buchanan said more needed to be done to provide services to those who so desperately needed them. “People are just left in extreme situations and it’s causing a lot of extra injury and trauma” she said. A spokesman for House the Homeless WA warned that the City of Perth plan was not enough. “Without stable, secure accommodation and a supported transition into housing, this proposal is a band-aid that fails to address the immediate crisis,” he said. “Assaults, abuse and violence from predators are increasing.” Opposition Leader Liza Harvey recently visited Perth’s infamous Tent City near McIver station. “The reality is we have a homeless crisis in our State and Labor have contributed to it by secretly selling off more than 1000 public houses — houses that could have provided a home for Erika,” she said. A Department of Communities spokesman said it had assisted 30 people from Tent City into short-term accommodation and provided millions in funding to a number of different services supporting the homeless.

City of Perth initiative to help pregnant women like Erika Polak out of Tent City and into accommodation

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