A WAGGA resident has expressed her dismay at Wagga City Council's decision to issue eviction notices to the homeless population living at Wilks Park.
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Karen Prowse wants to organise a camp out at Wilks Park to support residents living rough and pressure the council to retract the move-on orders handed out this week.
"[The council is] going to have to stand up and listen if the community fuses together to help these people," Ms Prowse said.
Having been homeless with her children previously in her life and now with a homeless daughter and granddaughter, Ms Prowse knows the struggle well.
"You don't know unless you've been through it," she said. "A couple of people have said 'they're all blokes down there', or they say 'oh well they smoke cigarettes or they could go and get a job', they don't know these people's stories.
"We have people who are on disability payments who can't work because they're on those payments, we've got mental health patients. They're just chucking eviction notices at them instead of trying to help them."
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The eviction notice stated that the people living at the park in tents and non-compliant vehicles have until July 28 to relocate, leaving them yet again without a place to sleep.
In a statement released on Thursday, the council said it had received complaints about the campers exceeding the site's 72-hour stay limit.
A spokesperson for NSW's Department of Communities and Justice said "in response to the council's decision" to order the evictions, the department is working with local service providers to assist people sleeping rough find alternative accommodation.
"DCJ has been providing outreach services in Wagga, including Wilks Park, as part of its regular outreach schedule to support people into stable accommodation prior to the council intervention," the spokesperson said.
"The government has increased mobile outreach services to ensure people experiencing homelessness get the support they need to live in safe and stable accommodation. This includes the provision of wrap-around support services tailored to those in need."
Through the help of the community Ms Prowse is hoping faster action can be taken.
"I'm hoping we can do something to help," she said.
"I don't have money to help them, I don't have a house to offer them, this is the only way I can get the word out to make people see that there is a housing crisis, not just in Wagga but all over Australia and the government and councils have to do something about it, not just tell them to move along."
Ms Prowse will post updates on the camp out idea on her personal Facebook page.
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