Why are rough sleepers dying a stone’s throw from luxury waterfront houses in Victoria?

Homeless outreach workers Leonie (left) and Pete, on the Mornington Peninsula’s Rosebud foreshore, are concerned about the homeless cohort in the area after four rough sleepers in the past six weeks have died. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

The Mornington Peninsula is known among Victorians for its cool-climate wineries, natural hot springs, being home to Australia’s richest suburb, a summer playground for Melbourne’s wealthy elite. In just over six weeks, four rough sleepers have died.

Not much is known about the cluster of four. Three were men. They had long connections to the area, some growing up there. The youngest was 36 and the oldest only 65. One took his own life after being discharged from hospital. Another man’s health deteriorated so quickly after he started rough sleeping he was dead within a few months.