A YOUNG family has been forced to sleep in a car as the housing crisis in Mandurah hits an all-time low.
According to councillor Dave Schumacher, more than 100 people are currently on a housing waiting list at WestAus Crisis and Welfare Services, with many more on separate lists across the region.
The 21-year-old mother, who did not want to be named, had been forced to spend the last of her money on a car to live in after being kicked out of the family’s rented home.
With an 18-month-old and a seven-week-old to care for, the young mother said her family were doing it tough.
“We used the last pay to pay for the car for accommodation,” she said.
“I am not meant to be lifting boxes after my emergency caesarean but I don’t have a choice.”
She said her 30-year-old partner felt guilty for the family’s struggle but said it was not his fault.
“If it weren’t for my partner and what’s he has done for us we could not get through this,” she said.
The young mother, whose children have been in and out of Peel Health Campus, said if it wasn’t for the help of others, she would have struggled further.
She said she had been going to the Reach Out, Drop In Centre since it opened in January after meeting Nikki Wise through the soup kitchen.
Since then, the young mother said Ms Wise had helped her with home-cooked meals and formula for her young children.
But with the drop-in centre only open Monday to Wednesday from 4-6pm and Saturday from 11-2pm, the family is often left hungry as they struggle to get by.
“There are people here who want help,” councillor Schumacher said.
“And people just need the chance.”
“It takes a lot of guts to come through the door,” Ms Wise said.
Ms Wise said in nine hours 112 people came through the doors in need of food and a safe place to go.
“When will we start to think about people?” Cr Schumacher said.
The young mother said she was praying for something better to come along with meals hard to come by on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
With her partner recently completing the Naltrexone program for his past alcohol issues, the young mother said it was his goal to help others in his situation.
Since coming to Mandurah the young mother said she had been to Pat Thomas House and other places looking for help.
Now, with the family without a home, she said they spend a lot of time passing time as they wait for a home to become available.
But according to Councillor Schumacher, there are hundreds more like the young family doing it tough without a place to live.
“How bad does it have to get before people do something?”
