Civic's rough sleepers are humans, too

Mr Willson relocated his marketing agency into the heart of the city two years ago. A born and bred Canberran, he was disappointed to see the ACT's once vibrant commercial and cultural epicentre was a shadow of its former self.

He wasn't alone. Almost every other day this publication receives correspondence from residents and visitors saying how seedy the heart of the national capital has become.

One of the things Mr Willson, who wants to see new energy and life in the precinct, is concerned about is the concentration of homeless rough sleepers. As somebody who spends a large amount of time in Civic he said it was impossible not to be aware of the problem.

"We see it every single day," he said. "Up until just recently we had a bloke literally camped outside the back door of our office for days, sleeping rough on the ground. In the depths of winter people who are doing it tough are going into the Canberra Centre to find warmth and shelter."

The difference between Mr Willson and many others, including the powers-that-be in the Barr government, is he empathises with those who have nowhere else to go.

"I'm a firm believer that there's little point in just whingeing about problems; you have to be engaged in the solution," he said. "I think since the pandemic there's a cohort of people who have been left out and left behind. They need supporting and, as a community, that's our role."

The only point on which Mr Willson, who is working with other stakeholders to develop solutions, could be corrected is that rough sleeping in Civic pre-dates COVID-19 by decades.

The Barr-Rattenbury government, which has been in office in one form or another for well over 20 years, has an abysmal record on addressing homelessness and providing social housing.

There is less public housing today than a decade ago. Investment in new accommodation has not kept pace with population growth.

The government has $1.5 million to "rebrand" Canberra Health Services, more than $8 million for "systems thinking" at CIT, millions more for a failed public service HR program and billions for a tram but four fifths of not much at all for homeless people sleeping on the streets in the middle of winter.

It's ironic that less than a month after the St Vinnies CEO Sleepout the Chief Minister, the Chief Police Officer, and the Police Minister launched a so-called "City Safe" campaign which a cynic might note was announced ahead of October's election. It is being touted as a response to a "marked and recent increase in public order offences such as abuse, fighting, and drinking in public places".

While the government's commitment to the safety and well-being of the fortunate many who have somewhere to call home is commendable, it also has an obligation to the unfortunate - and growing - few who spend their nights huddled in doorways and under awnings to escape the cold and the rain.

Or, as Mr Willson put it: "We have to get the care piece right too".

During COVID, when the rough sleepers were seen as a threat to the broader community, the ACT government came up with millions of dollars to put them in emergency accommodation. Now the pandemic is no longer front of mind they are on their own.

A society is judged on the way it treats its most vulnerable and downtrodden, not the giddy heights the great and the good can attain. Jesus would weep.