Why both sides of federal government must recommit to halving homelessness by 2020

Behind each statistic about homelessness in Australia is a personal story of isolation and desperation. Michael Perusco, CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW urges all politicians to commit to the target of halving homelessness by 2020.

It is a shocking reality that in Australia today over 105,000 people are experiencing homelessness. These figures demonstrate that there is still a lot of work to be done to address homelessness and that far too many Australians are being pushed to the margins of society, struggling to find a way out and rebuild their lives.

In New South Wales 28,190 people are either sleeping rough or living in unsafe or insecure housing such as boarding houses, tents or caravan parks, with a significant and growing number living in overcrowded housing.

When considering these figures it is important to remember that behind each number is the story of a fellow Australian who has experienced the extreme isolation and desperation of homelessness. Each night in New South Wales, thousands of people stay in crisis accommodation facilities run by community organisations like the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Like the family of seven who have been staying in one of our crisis facilities after the house they had been renting for the last seven years was sold. They had been lucky that the landlord had kept the rent at an affordable level; however, once the property was sold, they found they could not get back into the market. The family were willing to rent a small house, but real estate agents were reluctant to rent a two bedroom house to a family of seven. As the family struggled to find somewhere to stay, things spiralled out of control. The father lost his job, the children left school and the mother’s mental health condition got worse. This family are yet to find a home and the strain of the experience means they will need support for some time.

In 2008, the Federal Government issued the first White Paper in Australia on homelessness, “The Road Home”. It provides a national framework to effectively address homelessness and most significantly committed to the goal of halving homelessness by 2020.

The White Paper was important for two reasons. Firstly it put the spotlight on homelessness, and for the first time the Commonwealth outlined its strategy and its role in reducing homelessness. It also increased funding by $800m over a five year period in partnership with the states and territories. Secondly, it set targets to reduce homelessness by half until 2020.

In practical terms, these targets have created a situation where the Federal Government and all States and Territories, regardless of politics, are working towards reducing homelessness. Since the release of the White Paper about four years ago State and Territory Governments have been trialling new approaches to see what works best in reducing homelessness.

This is why the St Vincent de Paul Society is calling on both sides of federal government to make an unwavering commitment to the Road to Home White Paper targets to halve homelessness by 2020.

It is important to note that reducing homelessness was never going to happen quickly.

It’s a complex issue that takes time, and over the last four years the foundations have been established to get some really good results. An enormous amount of work has been done, and it will be lost if the incoming Government in September– Labor or the Coalition – walks away from the targets.

0 Comments

1. 

   ccollin6

   September 22, 2013 at 1:45 pm

   Homelessness

   What a heroic and humanitarian effort!!! I am saddened by the experiences behind the individual cases of homelessness. In sharing their stories you gave them a name and a face and they are not just statistics.