Struggle to find homes in the mountains
Sharon and The Salvation Army’s Lt Jon Belmonte. (Photo: Shairon Paterson)
When Lieutenant Jon Belmonte, Corps Officer Upper Blue Mountains, first met Sharon, Corey and their two teenage sons, the family’s rental house had just been condemned because of a mould problem and they were was facing homelessness.
“Whoever rented that house, rented out something that should have been condemned – it was just unbelievable,” Lieutenant Belmonte says. But he knew that the roof over their heads had at least given the family some sense of the stability that they had been fighting so hard for.
Traditionally a tourist holiday area, Katoomba’s population has changed markedly in recent years, with homelessness steadily growing. Rents in the area were traditionally cheap, but an influx of people from nearby Sydney has pushed up demand.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has also identified Katoomba as having double the average number of residents with mental health issues in New South Wales.
“There’s been a shutdown of group houses in Sydney, boarding house prices have gone up, and the Blue Mountains has become the alternative,” Lieutenant Belmonte says.
“Those with mental health problems may have a regime they’re used to – so they stay in the area but lose their accommodation and start couch surfing, or living in caves.”
Lieutenant Jon Belmonte and his wife, Lieutenant Leah Belmonte, are also seeing more and more women struggling after a divorce, separation or losing a partner though death. Many live in cars, unable to afford to re-establish a home and often with no work experience or official training after years of parenting.
In Sharon’s family’s case, she had moved her family to the Blue Mountains to build a more stable life after a long struggle with addiction.
After they were evicted, The Salvation Army helped store some of the family’s belongings, although many were too badly mould-affected to keep. The family then started a journey of temporary accommodation in a number of motels, in their car, and in a backpackers hostel.
“We met them just before they received their eviction notice and we liaised with the Department of Housing for rapid rehousing,” says Lieutenant Jon Belmonte. “We helped them out with welfare assistance through our Corps and spoke to our Federal member and State member and helped rehouse the family.
The family now have a Christian faith and attend church regularly. Sharon who has an Aboriginal heritage, has developed a passion for Indigenous ministry, from which Jon says “has flowed an entire ministry of our Corps” including plans to establish an Indigenous women’s art collective.
Sharon is deeply grateful – not just for a secure roof over her head, but for the support and the ever-growing stability she sees in her sons’ lives.
She says: “I walked in to the Corps … and I just broke down. Jon and Leah were there for me from day one. They opened their arms and their hearts for me and I’m very, very lucky that I’ve had the support from The Salvation Army. You know they’re one of a kind, this mob.”
“I’m very, very thankful.”
Report by Naomi Singlehurst & Lauren Martin
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