Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home Features Hot Topics

Homeless Aussies in the spotlight

byMark Bowling
3 August 2021 - Updated on 4 August 2021
Reading Time: 3 mins read
AA

Homeless help: While people sleeping rough are most visible, tens of thousands more are couch surfing, in refuges or transitional houses or in severely overcrowded housing.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

WHEN a state premier declares a pandemic lockdown and mandates people to stay at home, what does that mean for our homeless?

As we mark National Homeless Week 2021 (August 1-7) there are 116,000 Australians classified as homeless, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

For every rough sleeper on the street, on park benches, in public toilets, tents and under bridges, there are 13 others sleeping in a car, couch surfing, in refuges or transitional houses or in severely overcrowded housing.

Homelessness affects our young and old and is closely linked to other key social issues that plague our community.

Family violence is the leading reason women and children seek help for homelessness. 

Social scourge: Domestic violence can lead to a cycle of homelessness for the most vulnerable.

A recently released Equity Economics report ‘Nowhere To Go’ analysed the benefits of providing long term social housing to victims of family violence, and found it is the leading reason women and children seek specialist homelessness services. 

Alarmingly, only 3.2 per cent are receiving the long-term housing solutions they need.  

Equity Economics estimates that the lack of long term social housing is leading to 7690 women a year returning to violent partners and 9120 women a year becoming homeless.

It’s a vicious cycle.

So too is the cycle for others who are battling to keep their jobs during a pandemic and witnessing soaring housing prices, or simply struggling to pay the rent.

Related Stories

Financial stress and the prospect of poverty continues to burden many Australians

The Plenary Council confronts Church abuse

Women’s safety summit hears there should be ‘no excuse’ for feeling unsafe

“In the past year we have seen a phenomenal increase in rents … The simple fact is, when people can’t find a place to rent that they can afford, they end up without a home,” Homelessness Australia chair Jenny Smith told a forum today.

The St Vincent de Paul Society National Council has called on the Federal Government to quickly intervene.  

“At least 650,000 social and affordable homes are needed right now,” national president Claire Victory said.

“The Society has repeatedly called for the Federal Government to establish a social housing fund of $10 billion to augment the efforts of the states and territories to address the chronic and growing shortage.”

Leaders: Brisbane business and community leaders came together to help stop the cycle of homelessness at last night’s Vinnies CEO Sleepout. Participants were encouraged to add their thoughts to the Reflection Wall.
Leaders: Brisbane business and community leaders came together to help stop the cycle of homelessness during Vinnies CEO Sleepout, held in June.

Ms Victory said homelessness was no longer the stereotypical person sleeping rough.

“It’s people like you and me, just one life event away from a devastating change in circumstances – illness including mental ill health, relationship breakdown, loss of a spouse, domestic violence, or the loss of a job,” she said.

Ms Victory said the Government must “drive the implementation of a 30-year national housing strategy”.

‘Every day charities like St Vincent de Paul provide support to people who have nowhere to call home,” she said. 

“It’s easy to blame people who haven’t got anywhere to live, but if we continue to neglect the deteriorating supply of affordable housing, a rising tide of homeless families will be forced to seek help from our charities just to survive.” 

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Australia urged to support West Papua at Pacific Islands Forum

Next Post

Filmmaker seeks backing to shoot a modern-day parable

Mark Bowling

Mark is the joint winner of the Australian Variety Club 2000 Heart Award for his radio news reporting in East Timor, and has also won a Walkley award, Australia’s most-respected journalism award. Mark is the author of ‘Running Amok’ that chronicles his time as a foreign correspondent juggling news deadlines and the demands of being a husband and father. Mark is married with four children.

Related Posts

Australia

Financial stress and the prospect of poverty continues to burden many Australians

20 October 2021
Francis Sullivan at the Royal Commission
Australia

The Plenary Council confronts Church abuse

8 October 2021
Women’s safety summit hears there should be ‘no excuse’ for feeling unsafe
Australia

Women’s safety summit hears there should be ‘no excuse’ for feeling unsafe

7 September 2021
Next Post
Filmmaker seeks backing to shoot a modern-day parable

Filmmaker seeks backing to shoot a modern-day parable

Renowned artist produces World Meeting of Families image

Renowned artist produces World Meeting of Families image

Australian of the Year Grace Tame switches online for safeguarding talk

Australian of the Year Grace Tame switches online for safeguarding talk

Popular News

  • Mass with signs of indigenous respect launch historic Plenary Council assembly

    Mass with signs of indigenous respect launch historic Plenary Council assembly

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Fr Mike Schmitz’s next podcast Catechism in a Year starts New Year’s Day

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Called to share the message of Jesus at mission school

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Cathedral green packed with families for festival day

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Future First Nations teachers honoured with Rome scholarship

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy
News

Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

by Mark Bowling
5 July 2022
0

Part of the Australian Catholic Church’s reconciliation and healing will be to introduce indigenous culture into the...

Spirit of Mission: A group of young people including university students, seminarians and ministry workers present at the Xavier School of Mission held June 20 to 24. The mission school hosted guest speakers and workshops to encourage people to go out and proclaim the Word. Photo: Joe Higgins

Called to share the message of Jesus at mission school

4 July 2022
Cathedral green packed with families for festival day

Cathedral green packed with families for festival day

4 July 2022
Fr Mike Schmitz’s next podcast Catechism in a Year starts New Year’s Day

Fr Mike Schmitz’s next podcast Catechism in a Year starts New Year’s Day

4 July 2022
Mass with signs of indigenous respect launch historic Plenary Council assembly

Mass with signs of indigenous respect launch historic Plenary Council assembly

3 July 2022 - Updated on 4 July 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping