A HOMELESS couple living on up to $226 a day have one of Melbourne’s best addresses — and it doesn’t cost them a cent.

Shane Snowden, 36, and girlfriend Bianca Priest, 22, live in a Yarra River-fronted property just a stone’s throw from Crown casino.

An apartment at nearby Freshwater Place currently rents for about $850 per week.

But their triangular Southbank “studio” beneath the Sandridge Bridge costs nothing.

It boasts a double bed on bread crates, a camp cooktop and curtains, and taps power from a nearby mains box for a bedside lamp and a $50 laptop to play DVDs.

A bicycle padlock on the gate offers some sense of security at night.

The main drawback is flooding caused by heavy rains.

Rats are also a menace but their dog, Boof, keeps rodent numbers in check.

Public urination is another irritation.

“I’ve never been to a state where people are so unhygienic,” Mr Snowden complained.

“There’s a toilet 500m down there, McDonald’s is just over there, and people just pee outside our home.

“We’ve come from Brisbane and we’ve never, ever seen people just let go in the street and get away with it.

“You do that in Brisbane and you’re straight into the watch-house, no questions asked.”

The couple, who have been living rough in Melbourne for seven months, say they are now desperate for permanent accommodation.

Mr Snowden receives about $50 a day in Centrelink benefits, Ms Priest $26.

And the couple can earn up to $150 a day begging, “on a good day”.

“We sit down and beg a lot,” he said.

“If people are nice we can make $100, sometimes $150 a day between us.

“That pays for our food, smokes and showers.

“We shower at Travellers Aid and they charge $10 a shower.

“Before, it used to be free for homeless people.

“I told them ‘That’s a bit unfair. We’re homeless — where are we going to get $10 from? You think we can just walk up to some random person and say: Excuse me, can you give me $10 for a shower?”

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said today that homeless people sleeping rough needed help, but homelessness shouldn’t be entrenched.

“I don’t think the answer (for this couple) is to set up a quasi home underneath the bridge,” he said.

Cr Doyle took a swipe at people who ring whitegoods and other creature comforts for those sleeping rough at nearby Enterprize Park.

“You don’t go down and set up generators so the homeless can watch TV, you don’t go down and set up portable showers...all that does is entrench people’s homelessness,” he said.

Cr Doyle said the homeless were best supported by charities like Melbourne City Mission and the Salvation Army.

He praised the media for drawing attention to the plight of the homeless and said the council could always do more to help the situation.

Ms Priest said they came to Melbourne on friends’ advice.

“They said if you go to Melbourne, or South Australia, or Sydney, you will get good accommodation or housing straight away, and find a job straight away,” Ms Priest said.

“The Housing Department came to see us yesterday and they said they have found us a room at a boarding house at Frankston. But it will cost $540 a fortnight.”

“Another option was a room at a boarding house at Broadmeadows at $370 a week.

“We can afford accommodation up to $400 a fortnight, but above that we can’t.”

Mr Snowden said the pair have had enough of living rough.

They previously lived in an electricity substation at Fitzroy Gardens before they were chased off, losing three-quarters of their belongings.

“I’ve been on and off the streets since I was six,” Mr Snowden said.

“I had a pretty rough childhood.

“We’re two genuine homeless people who can’t find accommodation which is cheap enough for us to live in and own a dog.

“All we would be paying for at Broadmeadows is a double bed, the room, chest of drawers and a shared shower.”

Mr Snowden said Melbourne City Council was happy to turn a blind eye to their living arrangements, if they abided by certain “rules”.

“They basically said we can stay as long as we aren’t rowdy, don’t run amok, don’t do any drugs, don’t chuck our rubbish out, and don’t abuse people.

“I used to use $1500 worth of smack (heroin) a month but I’m clean now,” he said.

“Bianca’s never touched the stuff.”

Mr Snowden has one other headache: “The only problem is the steel rafters — I’ve knocked myself out four times since I’ve been here, banging my head against them.”

andrew.jefferson@news.com.au

Twitter: @AndyJeffo

AUSSIES’ LAZY VIEW OF THE HOMELESS

THE homeless are lazy, freeloaders, stupid, failures, or not working hard enough.

That’s the view of more than four in 10 Australians, new research finds.

And one in five thinks being homeless is a choice, a Salvation Army survey found.

But Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said Victorians didn’t understand the range of reasons for a problem that was far from a lifestyle decision.

“I don’t think anybody would choose to be homeless,’’ he said.

“These are some of the most vulnerable people.

“They may have a history of substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness — some of the most tragic stories you will ever hear,’’ he said.

More than half of homeless women who seek the Salvos’ help have fled family violence or have suffered a family breakdown.

Despite this, only one in 10 people thinks domestic abuse is a driving factor.

Nearly half of the homeless are women, but the popular belief remains that the homeless are typically adult men.

The Salvos say more than one in five of those without permanent accommodation have also been diagnosed with a mental health problem.

The Salvation Army’s Attitudes on Homelessness survey found only 7 per cent rated homelessness as the most important social issue when compared with healthcare (29 per cent) unemployment (25 per cent) education (17 per cent) and pension levels (9 per cent).

A third of Australians said they would give food, money or a drink to a homeless person they saw on the street.

The Salvos’ Dr Bruce Redman said while only 30 per cent admitted ignoring the homeless, he believed the true figure was much higher.

But he said that overall, Victorians were more kind-hearted in treating the homeless than people in other states.

“Melbourne is really good overall when it comes to the plight of homeless people, especially after the death of (stabbed rough sleeper) Wayne ‘Mousey’ (Perry).

“People woke up a bit and thought ‘hold on, this is not something we can ignore’,” he said.

He urged people to buy beggars food or direct them to services rather than give money.

But it was disappointing the problem was still regarded as of such low importance.

“From the Salvos’ point of view, society is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable people. There’s no one more vulnerable than the homeless or disabled,” he said.

The poll found Australians perceive financial hardship, drug abuse, mental illness and alcohol abuse as being the main causes of homelessness.

- ELISSA DOHERTY