Homelessness Australia is not a provider of accommodation. If you are seeking emergency accommodation, click here for more information.
Homelessness Australia is not a provider of accommodation. If you are seeking emergency accommodation, click here for more information.
August 5, 2024
A new report reveals the harsh reality of the homelessness crisis hitting Aussie families, with more than a third of the 88,696 family members who sought support still homeless during their last contact with homelessness support services.
The disturbing family homelessness figures are compounded by a new report released today by Homelessness Australia which shows more than 76,000 children under the age of 18 sought help from homelessness support services across the nation annually.
Almost 16,000 of these children were alone—unaccompanied by a parent or caregiver—and many were fleeing domestic violence, abuse or neglect at home.
The 2024 Child Homelessness Snapshot, released to coincide with Homelessness Week (5-11 August), also reveals more than 25,000 children remained homeless even after seeking help from specialist support agencies in 2022-23, a nationwide 3.2 per cent increase over the previous year.
A further 19,833 children were turned away from support services without being provided any assistance at all, a result of the severe lack of resources and overwhelming demand faced by the sector.
Other findings include:
“Family and child homelessness is a blight on Australia,” said Kate Colvin, CEO of Homelessness Australia. “How can a parent settle a child to sleep, keep them safe and have them ready for school if they are sleeping in their car or a tent in the middle of winter?
“These figures should ring alarm bells among politicians and policymakers that action to tackle child and family homelessness is urgently needed.”
Homelessness Australia has called for a suite of measures to address the crisis as part of the forthcoming National Housing and Homelessness Plan.
Key among these is setting ambitious targets and timelines for action on the major drivers of homelessness; rental stress, domestic and family violence, and access to the support families need to thrive.
The Plan also needs to drive investment into the frontline of the homelessness and domestic violence response, so that when families and children seek help to avoid or escape homelessness, there is a worker and the housing and accommodation needed to get them into a stable home.
Other recommendations include a Homelessness Action Plan to end homelessness for Australian children and young people. Such a plan would unite child-centred services to respond to children at risk of homelessness, and address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of homeless children, ensuring they receive necessary care, support, and housing.
A dedicated First Nations Housing and Homelessness Plan is also needed to address the particular issues driving overrepresentation of First Nations children and families.
“It’s a national shame that in a wealthy, developed country like Australia, we have tens of thousands of families and young people—many of whom are grappling with domestic violence—without a safe place to call home,” said Kate Colvin.
“We urgently need a comprehensive national strategy to ensure that no Australian child ever experiences the trauma of homelessness. Our nation has the resources to solve this crisis. What we need now is the ambition to make it happen.”
Contact: Nick Lucchinelli 0422 229 032
NOTES TO EDITORS
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