A bank has come under fire over a sign placed in the window of its Footscray branch criticising an “inconsiderate person” using the area as a place to sleep.
The Bank of Melbourne went into damage control on Monday after Footscray resident Gemma Cafarella posted a photo of the typed sign on the bank’s Facebook page, along with statistics about homelessness and its link with family violence.
“To think that the biggest victim in the scenario described in the sign is the bank demonstrates a fairly startling disconnect between your bank and the struggles of people who are experiencing disadvantage,” her post stated.
‘Nathan’ from the Bank of Melbourne posted a reply apologising “for any offence taken”.
“We will be addressing this directly with the branch manager, and will have this removed as soon as possible. Lastly we do want to ensure that we are delivering to our community the level of service you expect.”
Ms Cafarella, who works in tenancy law, told Star Weekly she was appalled by the sign and the bank’s inadequate response.
“It reflects that they are not really engaging with the issue and the attitude behind the sign.”
Ms Cafarella said the Bank of Melbourne is a subsidiary of Westpac, which last year posted a record profit of $7.8 billion.
“It’s a window into a larger issue. Walking around Footscray in the last year it seems this issue of rough sleeping is on the rise,” she said.
“There is not a lot of awareness around homelessness, it’s very easy for us to ‘other’ the homeless.”
Some Facebook users defended the bank, arguing it was acting within its rights.
“Are you really criticising a bank for not allowing their banks to be used as homeless shelters?” one user posted.
“I mean my house isn’t a homeless shelter either, and if a homeless person decided to start camping out in my living room I’d have to insist they not do that.”
But a customer commenting on Ms Caferalla’s post said the bank’s response will affect whether she remains with the bank.
“How you resolve this situation and more importantly, how you rectify your treatment of this homeless person WILL directly impact my decision to stay with you or not. I know banks aren’t compassionate institutions, but this is too much.”
Another user pointed out finding shelter in winter can be “a matter of life and death.”
The Victorian Council of Social Service called the sign “pretty awful” but commended the bank for promising to address the situation.
“Looking for a dry place to sleep isn’t ‘inconsiderate’. People facing homelessness need our compassion and our help – not our judgement and condemnation.”
A Bank of Melbourne spokeswoman did not say who had placed the sign or when it was taken down but said the bank apologises.
“This zone is an unrestricted access area that’s open 24 hours, which means that sometimes it’s used as a place of shelter.
“The express zone re-opened at 9.30am this morning, along with the rest of the branch.”
The spokeswoman said Bank of Melbourne has supported Victorians in need through Melbourne City Mission’s Sleep at the ‘G fundraising event, as well as organisations like Good Cycles, Fitted for Work, and Bendigo Foodshare, St.Kilda Gatehouse and Women’s Property Initiatives through its charitable foundation.
