Community representative for City of Launceston's homeless committee calls for care

Kate Ross is a social worker from The Benevolent Society who will be a community representative on the City of Launceston's council newly formed Homelessness Action Committee.

Ms Ross herself has lived experience of homelessness bringing not only her professional experience but her practical experience.

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She said she applied because she wanted to help raise awareness of The Benevolent Society and their work.

"Our agency didn't get selected, which might have been partly because we were an unknown entity," Ms Ross said.

"I am the first and only social worker they have had so I am helping the society come into this field."

Ms Ross also has a background working with the state government with health services, as well as experience in the way Commonwealth policies work.

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Ms Ross said when she experienced homelessness as a teenager in the 1980's people often saw her at fault.

"It was the stereotype that you were homeless because you were an alcoholic or drug dependent, which wasn't my case," she said.

"I learned at a really early age how peoples judgment and perception of things affect the way people get support or not and that's why I wanted to come on deck."

Ms Ross said she wanted to bring all those experiences together and make changes not only to policy but attitude and how society deals with society.

"We really need to start to thinking about each other more," she said.

"We learnt during COVID-19 taught us we don't enjoy being isolated, we don't enjoy being locked up and not being able to talk to someone but for some unknown reason that doesn't translate into common life."

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Ms Ross wants to change the perception that the homeless community is separate from the community.

"We need to understand the homeless community transit in and out of participation in work and normal lifestyles," she said.

While it has been decades since Ms Ross was homeless in Queensland as a teenager, she still looks around town and thinks where she might sleep if she was homeless again.

"I was homeless where it was warm, I have no idea how I could live in a homeless situation here," she said.

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In this role, Ms Ross said she wants to help make the area more accommodating for people living homeless.

"I want to look at solutions the pathways into homelessness and the pathways out as well," she said.

With National Homeless Week behind, Ms Ross said it's important to remain open to these issues and hold businesses and organisations accountable.

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