Homelessness Week is an annual week coordinated by the national peak body, Homelessness Australia, to raise awareness of people experiencing homelessness, the issues they face and the action need to achieve enduring solutions.
In 2018, Homelessness Week will be held between the 6 - 12 August with the theme ‘Ending homelessness together’.
Homelessness Week is an opportunity to bring the issue of homelessness into the spotlight and, onto the agenda of local, state and national governments.
What is homelessness?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines someone as homeless if their current living arrangement:
- is in a dwelling that is inadequate; or
- has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable; or
- does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations.
Rough sleepers represent just 7% of all homelessness nationally. They are the tip of the iceberg.
Total Number
Number of homeless in Australia to be presented as either ‘more than/over 116,000’ or 116,427, jumped by more than 14,000 or 14 per cent, which means that on any given night in Australia, 1 in 200 people are homeless.
- Male: 58%
- Female: 42%
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander: 22%
- People who were born overseas: 15%
Age Group
- Aged under 35 years:nearly 60%
- Aged under 25 years: approximately 40%
- aged 55 years and above: 29%
Where do the homeless people sleep?
- improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out
- supported accommodation for the homeless
- staying temporarily with other households
- boarding houses
- other temporary lodging
- 'severely' crowded dwellings
Why are Australians seeking help from homelessness services?
Reasons for seeking homelessness assistance (AIHW, 2016-17)
- Housing (including housing affordability stress, overcrowding, eviction): 46%
- Family violence: 27%
- Financial and employment difficulties: 11%
- Family breakdown and interpersonal relationships: 7%
- Gambling, mental illness, drug and/or alcohol addiction: 3%
- Other: 6%
The severity of the problem
- In 2016-2017, over 288,000 Australians sought assistance from Specialist Homelessness Services.
- Currently 189,000 Australians are on social housing waiting lists
- 1in 3 people were turned away from homelessness services last year due to a lack of resources
Department of Human Services General Manager Hank Jongen said the department is committed to maintaining essential outreach services and working closely with community stakeholders to make sure no-one slips through the cracks.
“While it is essential we continue to provide payments and support services for our most vulnerable, it also important we come up with innovative ways to collaborate and address the underlying factors causing homelessness in the first place,” MrJongen said.
Source: ABS Census, 2016/ Homelessness Australia
