Albany grain train death: Anglicare WA condemns lack of crisis accommodation for city’s homeless

After the tragic death of a woman believed to be sleeping rough in Albany, Anglicare WA has condemned the lack of crisis accommodation in the city, which saw a 147 per cent rise in homelessness in 2016-2021. Emergency services swarmed a stationary train on Friday night after blood-curdling screams were heard from the railway line at the bottom of Albany’s main street. One person came to the woman’s aid as she became entangled in the engine of a CBH Group locomotive with rescue crews making a desperate bid to save the woman’s life. The rescue effort ended about an hour later, however, as emergency services determined that the woman was deceased. The woman, who was known to Albany’s community of rough sleepers, is believed to have been familiar with the area around Albany Railway Station and was with a friend at the time of her death. Carol Pearce, Anglicare WA’s service manager for Albany, said the woman’s tragic death on Friday night demonstrates how sleeping rough is “a really dangerous situation to be in” and for women in particular. “I don’t know that it’s really understood how diabolical the health and safety risks are that homeless people face,” she said. “If you’ve got any kind of health condition, can you imagine what it’s like being out in the open, trying to find somewhere that’s warm and where you can relax, be safe, be comfortable. “And then the safety issues, and this was a female as well… a woman out there is probably at greater risk of a sexual assault and they do face potentially being a victim of crime when they’re homeless.” Ms Pearce said the city was facing a “significant housing crisis” with intense competition for rentals and long lists for social housing forcing more and more people onto the streets. “We desperately need a crisis accommodation facility in town,” she said. “If she could have been somewhere where she could have a shower, have a feed, socialise with other people, and have a safe place to sleep, would this have happened?” Despite census data showing a 147 per cent rise in homelessness in 2016-21, the city has limited options for crisis accommodation. Young House provides support for people aged 15 to 25 and Albany Women’s Centre houses women with children, but there are many people experiencing homelessness who fall outside of these categories and have nowhere to go. “Even if you do fall into those two categories, those facilities are at capacity most of the time,” she said. “And the homes just aren’t there; for those that would struggle always to find a rental, there’s no crisis accommodation so it’s a bad situation all around.” She also said that it was difficult to get accurate figures on the number of homeless people in Albany. On the night of the 2021 census, there were 190 people in Albany experiencing homelessness, but local organisations like Anglicare believe the issue has since grown. Ms Pearce said the need was particularly great at this time of year as people experiencing homelessness across the state travel south to escape the scorching summer heat, leading to an influx of people in cooler places like Albany. Albany detectives are investigating and say her death is being treated as non-suspicious. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call Albany police on 9892 9300, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestopperswa.com.au.