by Yvette Brand
Solutions to the current homelessness crisis require a multi-level government approach, according to local Members of Parliament.
Member for Narracan Wayne Farnham said all levels of government needed to work together and look beyond bricks and mortar to find solutions to homelessness; while federal member for Monash Mary Aldred said homelessness had reached a "major crisis point in our community" and needed to be addressed by a three-pronged government approach.
Both are confronted daily with the realities of housing affordability, rental property availability and accommodation for young people and women fleeing family relationship breakdowns or violence.

Mr Farnham was a member of the Legislative Assembly Environment and Planning Committee which travelled around Victoria earlier this year as part of the "Inquiry into the supply of homes in regional Victoria."
He said affordable housing and support was not just a state government issue, but local and federal governments as well.
"They have to look outside the box...while bricks and mortar is the end solution, it doesn't help short term solutions."
Mr Farnham said placing vulnerable, homeless people in hotel accommodation, particularly women and children escaping family violence, wasn't the answer.
He said while Quantum received funding for hotel accommodation, it was a short term solution, sometimes only for days - "where do they go from there?"
Ms Aldred said she was working closely with Mr Farnham who was passionate about finding solutions to homelessness.
She said the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness (NASHH) was a commitment between federal and state governments to not only help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, but setting a goal that everyone deserved a home.
"We have a major crisis with youth homelessness and older women who may have been out of the workforce for a number of years, are not financially independent and need to leave a relationship. Then they find themselves living in a car for six months.
"We need to do more to address that - crisis and short term accommodation as well as longer term solutions at a policy level," she said.
Ms Aldred said anecdotal evidence from Gippsland financial counsellors indicated an increase in people defaulting on their mortgage repayments.
"Once upon a time, a household might have been struggling to buy a home and then renting was an option but that's becoming further and further out of reach," she said, adding that State Government policy had reduced the availability of affordable rental stock.
Before he was elected, Mr Farnham was a driver for a housing program developed at Warragul's Fairview Village.
A partnership between Fairview Village and Quantum Support Services, the community driven initiative saw four units refurbished to address the increased waiting-list for public housing in West Gippsland, particularly the lack of options for single women over 55-years-old.
It is almost two years since the units were unveiled and the program is now available to anyone aged over 55-years-old.
In its first 12 months, eight people - both men and women - were provided with safe and affordable accommodation
The first four women to reside in the units secured public housing within six months, which then opened an opportunity to assist an additional four individuals experiencing homelessness.
Mr Farnham said the Fairview Village project was an example of what could be achieved if all levels of government worked together with the community.
He said the Fairview units provided a transition from homelessness or short term option to permanent accommodation.
"On a personal level I've had family members facing this scenario. What happens when there is a marriage break-up and a woman has nowhere to go.
"When there is a problem we have to find a solution," he said.
While welcoming developments like the State Government's Big Housing Build project in Mason St, Mr Farnham said it did little to address the increasing number of households on waiting lists for housing.
"The government really has failed when it comes to housing. They are spending money in Warragul but they are a long way behind and the lists aren't improving.
"I have lived here my whole life and I've never seen rough sleepers on the streets until the last few years, it was something we didn't see. But it is there and it's more prevalent.
"It is critical. They need to look at every solution not just the bricks and mortar," Mr Farnham said.