Facing homelessness when nothing keeps dry and tents don't hold up

The smaller tents cannot stand the harsh winds and rain of early August.

Her tent tears and water pours in as Sam* watches from the outside, but she won't go to a shelter.

"I have my dignity," she said.

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Jake* while in a gazebo and his bed on wooden palettes to keep it off the ground was struggling to boil his kettle, the wind kept blowing out the flame.

He shrugged off the wind, rain and said "what can we do?"

The community have reinforced their tents where they can before the wet and wind hit but the small tents can't handle the ongoing rain and wind.

Tents ripping even worse due to the ongoing winds. It's cold and wet and that's before it gets dark.

Any warmth will come from fires people light but the wood it wet. Jake said it should still burn.

Tasmania Police are unable to evacuate people living homeless unless an emergency is declared, or there is a severe weather warning.

It is forecast to rain until Saturday, August 6, along with thunderstorms and winds up to 35k/h. On Thursday, August 4, Launceston saw 15mm of rain in the morning and on Wednesday wind gusts reached 70 km/h.

In another location, the tent city in Royal Park has now been abandoned. The people previously living there have left the majority of their set up.

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City Baptist street Chaplin Stephen Avery said most of it damaged or too large to move with the people who have left.

Shekinah House client co-ordinator Louise Cowan said she expected their laundry and shower facilities to be busy once the rain stops.

Ms Cowan said people living homeless would most likely need to throw out a lot of their clothes and bedding after heavy or prolonged rain.

Jake said he would need to throw out his blankets, knowing it wouldn't be worth taking them to be washed.

He would need to walk the heavy, wet and dirty items into town to clean them but even then, Ms Cowan said they probably wouldn't be worth saving.

In the midst of the the rain wind, people were attempting to reinforce their tents. City Mission outreach officer Lawrence Peterson attempted to cover Sam's torn tent with a large tarp but the tent was destroyed overnight.

Sam and Jake said most days people from services visit them. "Without them, we'd have nothing," Sam said.

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Jake said he had what should be the standard for people living homeless. He had a gazebo he could reinforce as well as fit in wooden palettes to keep bedding well off the ground.

The group of about 10 are spread across the riverbank, Jake said they feel safe there away from the CBD and they are on crown land which means they cannot be forced to move on.

The community there protect each other, Jake and another man living there are looking out for each other, the other people living in the area as older women and men.

Ms Cowan said at Shekinah House they had plenty of blankets and rain coats but they need basics like underwear and socks.

"They come here and have a shower or wash their clothes and they only have the one set, they don't have anything to change into," she said.

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City of Launceston cannot provide any frontline or crisis to people living homeless, but are advocating for action through the newly formed Homelessness Advisory Committee.

"We'd encourage anyone experiencing homelessness to contact a service provider directly to explore available assistance options," mayor Albert van Zetten said.

*names have been changed on request

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