OPPOSITION Senator Gina Spence Farmer is calling on churches to do more for the homeless.Sen. Spence Farmer said that religious organisations had vast resources at their disposal which could be harnessed to help those most desperately in need.

And she added that, even if church leaders were unable to provide practical help, they had a moral obligation to speak out in support of the poor.

Sen. Spence Farmer also took another swipe at Government for failing to tackle the longstanding issue.

She said the fact that squatters at the abandoned Club Med resort still faced an uncertain future, showed that Government had no plan to deal with the “crisis situation”.

Last month Housing Minister David Burch announced the occupants would be moved to temporary accommodation after Sen. Spence Farmer highlighted the deplorable and dangerous conditions squatters were living in.

However, the emergency move has since been delayed and the squatters now say they are living “in limbo”.

Sen. Spence Farmer said: “I think that, not negating the fact that they do a lot behind the scenes, I would like to see more of the churches coming together on the issue of housing as they do on other issues.

“I go back to the mission statement of most churches — it’s not only to provide for the spiritual needs of the community — it’s also the mission of the church to feed the hungry and provide food and clothing for the poor. Many churches have property and other resources and a collective effort could go a long way.

“I have talked to my own pastor and I know that the churches need to take a closer look at their own membership because I know that some church members are struggling.”

Sen. Spence Farmer suggested that religious groups could open up their facilities to provide day-care centres for single parents working multiple jobs.

“We had a meeting of single parents last week and their biggest concern was housing,” she said.

“But if you have to work three jobs in order to afford rent, then that leads to other problems, such as who is going to be a caregiver for a child. That’s something that churches might be able to provide.”

The Senator also suggested that churches had become less active in providing physical support.

“I think the dynamics have changed a great deal,” she said.

“Churches used to play a very active role in helping the poor through things like soup kitchens. I think there should be a lot more of that type of thing coming forward because we’re are in crisis mode now.

“We need to go beyond praying for people and providing spiritual guidance. I think if all the churches came together in a collective effort I believe we could do something really positive.”

Sen. Spence Farmer said news that a developer had finally agreed to restore the Club Med resort was good for the country “but does nothing for the residents who are wondering what is going to happen to them”.

“I think it is so sad that we continue to find solutions to everything else and yet do nothing for the homeless,” she said.

“This Government continues to fail —- it shows no compassion. The residents thought they were moving on but now have no sense of where they’re going. There’s no plan.

“The reason the Premier said he wanted to close down the Medical Clinic is because he said the patients deserved some dignity. Well, don’t the people at Club Med deserve some dignity too? How can the Medical Clinic become a priority over housing?