An emergency accommodation provider fears dozens of families will face the prospect of homelesness in the coming months.
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SalvoConnect Wimmera South West manager Lindsay Stow said the state government had provided funds to place people in emergency accommodation following the coronavirus outbreak.
The organisation has been able to place people in motels across the south-west.
However, this may no longer be an option at many motels in the coming months, with visitors once again booking the rooms.
"Initially when the coronavirus hit we had quite a big influx of people seeking assistance," Mr Stow said.
"We received additional funding from the government to be able to help people affected by the coronavirus pandemic and were able to put a number of those people into motels for temporary accommodation."
However, Mr Stow said he was concerned that dozens of families and other people would soon be homeless.
"The issue is going to be what happens when the coronavirus pandemic eases and those people can no longer stay in those motels," Mr Stow said.
"I presume the people staying in those places will have to return back to sleeping rough or couch surfing of whatever they were doing."
Mr Stow said there was a desperate need for more affordable public housing in the south-west.
"We have between 40 and 50 households in emergency accommodation at the moment in and around the south-west," he said.
"We're going to have a situation where all of those people - at some stage - are going to have to leave thos accommodation facilities and the question is where do they go."
A state government spokesman said all Victorians deserved safe and secure accommodation.
"To date our efforts and those of the broader Victorian community have been successful in preventing the spread of coronavirus amongst people experiencing homelessness," he said.
"We've invested nearly $15 million to protect people experiencing homelessness during coronavirus and we're working closely with the housing and homelessness sectors to ensure that people in temporary hotel accommodation do not exit into homelessness.
"A range of exit pathways and options are being explored, including support to access private rental accommodation through the Private Rental Assistance Program, social and public housing and other support options," he said.
There are more than 2000 social housing properties in the Wimmera South West area, which includes greater Warrnambool.
None of these are vacant.
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