Well, is it?

Linda Nabben made this assertion in an article in the South Western Times (31 July 2008) entitled Men's refuge a "disgrace". She is quoted as having said:

"It is a hole, you shouldn't have to live somewhere with excrement on the walls, how is that supposed to improve your mental health?"

The article hints that this allegation is based on "hearsay", and BHA can confirm that Ms Nabben did not seek to verify it by contacting us and requesting an inspection of the premises prior to publication.

Anyway, BHA finds this statement totally objectionable and completely untrue. It creates an extremely negative impression that completely undermines the role that Yanget plays in the housing of homeless single men. Indeed, a number of Yanget residents have been personally hurt by this statement as they feel that it demeans them in the eyes of the public - that the place a lot of them regard as their home appears to have been so cavalierly misrepresented and trashed in the media.

On the afternoon the article was published, the ABC rang BHA to arrange an interview to discuss the claims made in the article, so BHA requested that the ABC inspect the premises first. The ABC agreed.

The inspection included the communal areas of the facility including the kitchen, dining room, lounge room, toilets, showers, passage ways and back courtyard. A couple of tenants also made their personal rooms available for inspection. The ABC person expressed the personal opinion that it was difficult to agree with the Ms Nabben's views on the living conditions, the facilities appeared to be clean, hygenic and certainly livable. Of course, the ABC staffer is probably not a qualified hygiene inspector, but they at least turned up for a squizzy !! The ABC then interviewed Paul, from BHA, and a Yanget tenant about the role of Yanget in accommodating homeless single men in Bunbury. The interview can be heard here

Ms Nabben is also reported as saying....

"You pay far too much, for $100 a week you could get a two-bedroom unit,"

If Ms Nabben had done her homework properly, she would have realised that it is not possible to get even a single bedroom unit for $100 let alone a double bedroom unit for this price.

Currently single bedroom units are being rented for about $160 per week but they are rarer than hens teeth and 2 beddies are going for $200 upwards. Maybe Ms Nabben is not aware that there is a rental crisis raging in Bunbury at the moment, so she is obviously out of touch on this matter, as well. (You can check current Bunbury rental prices here)

Anyway, the $100 charged to the tenants living at Yanget includes the free use of electricity, gas, washing machine, water use, the use of kitchen facilities, a regular weekly clean bedlinen laundry service and receational amenities like a TV room, table tennis and other games. I doubt whether these perks would be included in the rental of one of Ms Nabben's affordable units!

BHA takes its responsibilities to the tenants of Yanget Guest House very seriously and employs a caretaker to ensure that the communal areas of the establishment are cleaned daily and are compliant to the Bunbury City Council's health regulations, this compliance is monitored by the frequent "without notice" inspections conducted by the Council's health personnel. It is true that Yanget is housed in a building that is over 70 years old and it obviously has maintenance issues that can only be expected of a building that age, but it is far from being the "hole" that Ms Nabben asserts, and is certainly better than sleeping under a bush trying to keep dry in the rain!