Walking through the streets of Melbourne it’s easy to be caught up in the busy strides of needing to be somewhere. So much so, we become unaware of the desensitisation we have developed to seeing the elderly homeless on the streets. To some they are just another homeless person, but not for Bryan Lipmann.

Options, rights and dignity are three words Bryan Lippmann uses to describe the rights of the elderly homeless in Melbourne.

Originally a Victorian farmer and abattoir worker, Bryan says he’s always had an inner sense of social justice but it wasn’t until he did unemployed youth work in the country when he realised such opportunities to help others existed.

Bryan went on to study social work and after his placement at notorious Melbourne night shelter, Gordon House, he realised the social justice system had failed the elderly homeless. Gordon House shut down in the late 1980s. Notorious for its violence, extreme poverty and horrific hygiene, it left behind an abundance of elderly homeless people with physical and psychiatric illnesses.

To give us an idea of the state Melbourne homeless shelters were in, Bryan recalled being unwell while volunteering at Gordon House, only to find out the illness he caught came from a germ doctors didn’t believe existed in Australia, but rural Africa.

“I had no idea what Gordon House was going to be like. I thought after 13 years in an outback abattoir nothing would shock me but I was amazed at the poverty, violence and degradation that went on there and so close to Parliament house,” he said.

It wasn’t until Bryan’s father got sick and needed to find aged care when he realized the great aged care system Australia has. Bryan started to question why the elderly in the shelters couldn’t access them too.

“People aren’t homeless and elderly, they’re aged and homeless, there’s a difference and therefore they deserve aged care,” he said.

It was 1989 when Bryan with the support from the Commonwealth Government and the Brotherhood of St Laurance, launched his own welfare company to home the elderly homeless. Named in memory of a passionate resident of Gordon House, Wintringham has become highly recognized in its efforts to achieve social justice. With over 700 community care packages and 500 housing units, Wintringham provides care for not only those residential, but is inclusive to the external elderly community in need.

In 2011 Wintringahm won the United Nations Habitat Scroll of Honour for Human Settlements. But despite the prestigious awards, Bryan says the greatest achievements come from addressing the needs and natural rights of people.

“One of the most rewarding outcomes Wintringham has given me over the past 26 years is the proof that you can run a company on social justice principles and be financially viable. The most important thing we can do is assist them in maintaining their independence and dignity,” he said.

From being the only employee of the company for the first two years, over the past 26 years Bryan now has the support of over 600 staff across 6 residencies, all dedicated to the welfare of the elderly homeless.