Jim is urging the City of Mandurah to act on the issue of homeless people occupying this neglected building.
Camera IconJim is urging the City of Mandurah to act on the issue of homeless people occupying this neglected building. Credit: Supplied/Jon Hewson

No help on homelessness

Rachel Fenner, Mandurah Coastal TimesMandurah Coastal Times

For 17 months, Jim has been emailing and calling the City of Mandurah.

He wants them to do something about the derelict building accommodating a group of homeless people next door.

It’s not that Jim has anything against them; he has given out water and lunch.

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It is the faeces and urine on his building, the graffiti on the fence and the fact that his employees are afraid to work late.

‘I just don’t know what else to do,’ he said.

‘I’ve got emails going back 17 months; we have had one email back from the City of Mandurah and one meeting in that time. I’m frustrated and don’t know what to do. City of Mandurah said they went there but there were no homeless people.’

Jim said his frustration was directed at the owners of the building,who let it degenerate into a state of disrepair and neglect.

‘The bushes and trees are overgrown. Just metres away, City of Mandurah spent a million dollars to upgrade,’ he said.

‘If this building was near them, I’m sure they’d want to clean it.

Jim is worried that as the weather grows cooler, more problems will arise.

‘Winter is coming and the homeless people are camping out,’ he said.

‘What if they start a fire? The building doesn’t comply with building codes. They don’t have electricity. We are afraid of our cars being damaged and our security lights have been damaged.’