In the outpouring of community grief that followed Guardian Australia’s story about Bikram Lama, a comment by a colleague really hit home:

double quotation markThe reality is that, even if I met Bikram right now, I still couldn’t guarantee him a way off the street.

double quotation markThe reality is that, even if I met Bikram right now, I still couldn’t guarantee him a way off the street.

Despite the genuine sadness and goodwill behind the thousands of social media comments, likes and shares – the urge to help that symbolises so much of what is great and good about the Australian character – most aspects of our crisis support system remain closed off to people like Bikram who are non-residents.

If Bikram had a pathway out of homelessness, he might still be alive.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

At the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020, people who were sleeping rough were identified as being some of the most vulnerable to the virus.

In Sydney, as in most capital cities, there was a highly successful coordinated response between governments, policymakers and service providers to support people sleeping rough. They were offered accommodation and wrap-around health and other services to keep them safe, along with a rapid pathway into long-term housing.

But almost as soon as we’d managed to........

© The Guardian