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Dozens of people in homelessness accommodation in Ballarat have been told to find somewhere else to live after Uniting announced it would close a facility that's housed thousands of people for more than 20 years.
Uniting Vic.Tas today told 25 people living in Ballarat's Reid's Guest House the facility would be closed, and not replaced, due to the rising costs of upgrading and maintaining the property.
The organisation has operated the 138-year-old heritage-listed building in Ballarat's city centre as crisis accommodation for 21 years, providing a place to stay for thousands of people experiencing homelessness.
The ABC understands Reid's Guest House, which has capacity to house 50 people, is one of the largest single-site homelessness accommodation facilities in western Victoria.
One resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was "gutted".
"It is like a safe haven, somewhere I know I am okay to be," he said.
The resident has lived at Reid's since November 2022.
He said he had previously couch-surfed and slept rough under an unused building in Ballarat, but living at Reid's had provided the stability needed to improve his life.
"I got away from the drugs. I am now back at work which is even better," he said.
The resident said he had taken this week off work to apply for private rentals after hearing Reid's would close.
"I was already trying to find a rental but this has just made it that more urgent and it was enough stress as it was," he said.
"Every place I look at, when I don’t get it it just adds to the disappointment.
"Honestly, I am worried about my recovery from the drugs. The more stress I get under the more likely it is that I head back towards that sort of stuff, so I have really got to manage myself."
Housing challenges
It's unclear where Reid's residents will move to amid the housing crisis, which is driving more people to seek help from homelessness services.
Uniting Vic.Tas acting general manager north and western Victoria Jerry Ham said staff would be working hard over coming months to find every resident alternative accommodation.
He said no one would be evicted to homelessness.
"We're disappointed to be saying goodbye to Reid's," he said.
"However, our commitment to people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity across the Ballarat and Central Highlands remains as strong as ever."
Uniting is aware of more than 70 people sleeping rough in the Ballarat region.
There are more than 230 people on the organisation's waiting list for housing and support in Ballarat.
"A lot of the others won’t be able to afford a rental. I have no idea what a lot of them are going to do," the resident said.
"There is going to be a whole lot of people looking for somewhere and it is going to lead to a lot of rough sleeping."
Financial barriers
Mr Ham said it was no longer financially viable to maintain operations or make necessary upgrades to Reid's.
"Reid's is an iconic building to Ballarat, but sadly it's no longer fit-for-purpose and doesn't meet the standards required of modern rooming houses," he said.
"The building has some major limitations, including inadequate heating and limited accessibility for people with disabilities."
Mr Ham said the building required a major upgrade, which would need to adhere to stringent heritage regulations and the organisation couldn't afford it.
He said funds from the sale of the Reid's building would be invested into Uniting's community housing options across the Ballarat region.
Recent refurbishment
Reid's provided accommodation for 155 people in 2023.
The facility reopened to residents in November 2022 after nine month's closure, due to a fire which damaged the inside of the building.
A refurbishment was completed before it reopened, including a partnership with Federation TAFE which provided new furniture to furnish the rooms.
Reid's Guest House manager Daniel Hemming spoke to the ABC at the time of the re-opening in November 2022.
He said the difficulty in finding accommodation for the 50 residents displaced by the fire showed the dire need for more housing options in the region.
"Without Reid's in the homelessness space, it has had a huge impact on other programs … so many people presenting at Ballarat Uniting, and we just don't have an option for them," he said at the time.
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