The number of people accessing emergency accommodation or living on the streets or in cars has surged, a report into homelessness across Australia shows. Source: Yahoo News.
A Safe Place to Call Home, Mission Australia’s Homelessness and Stable Housing Impact Report 2023, was released today, finding a 26 per cent increase in demand for homelessness services over the past three years.
Soaring rents, a shortage of affordable housing and a slowing construction sector have resulted in demand for help to find somewhere to live jump to levels never seen before.
The report used information gathered from 63 of the charity’s homelessness and housing support services over three years.
Mission Australia’s chief executive, Sharon Callister, said there’s been a 50 per cent jump in people seeking help after they have become homeless, instead of when they are at risk.
The charity is calling on state and federal government to act in the face of the worst housing crisis the country has seen.
There was a 103 per cent increase in the number of people sleeping rough, in tents or in improvised homes from 2020 to 2022.
On average, 300 requests for help were turned away every day.
Ms Callister said frontline staff were reporting an “influx” of requests, and band-aid solutions won’t end the crisis.
“They’re telling us the housing situation is the worst they’ve ever seen it. Australia needs to be doing so much more to be on the front foot to prevent and end homelessness in our country.”
The highest number of people impacted by homelessness are women, at 57 per cent, while 27 per cent are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
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Homelessness rising, numbers of rough sleepers soaring (By Kathryn Magann, AAP via Yahoo News)
