By Staff Writer

The City of Melbourne will profile its homeless population in a research program it believes to be a first for Victorian local government.

Over a three month period, the City of Melbourne’s homeless people will be interviewed to gather detailed information as to why people are homeless, how long they have been homeless and whether the services they receive are adequate.

“This project seeks to identify any gaps that may exist in the provision of services for homeless people living in the City of Melbourne,” said City of Melbourne Community Services Committee chair, David Wilson.

He said once the data is analysed, “Council will look at developing a plan to see if we need to change the way we address the needs of this group”.

Set to be completed by the end of June, the research project is one of the actions included in Council’s first Homelessness Framework 2007-2009, which was adopted at a Council meeting held last night.

The framework also aims to
• Create a projection of the number of homeless people expected to be in the City of Melbourne by 2009.
• Develop social enterprise programs to support initiatives run by homeless people to provide income and skills development, for example a nursery or café.
• Implement a food collection program in the city for distribution to homeless people. 
• Develop an annual awards program to recognise excellence in addressing homelessness.
• Explore establishment of a small grants program to support access for homeless and vulnerable people to Council’s recreation facilities and activities.