HOMELESSNESS in Australia has become such a broad social problem that the responsibility for tackling it needs to be embraced by everyone, a conference was told in Brisbane.
Dr Anne Coleman, who studied the homelessness problem for her PhD from the University of Queensland, said Australia had moved past the point where it was the responsibility of a particular group, a particular level of government or a particular society.
“I think homelessness in Australia has become such a broad social problem that to claim that it’s anything but the responsibility of us all, is a lie,” she said.
Dr Coleman was speaking at a June 1 conference on “Homelessness in the New Millennium”, sponsored by the St Vincent de Paul Society in Queensland and the Homelessness Taskforce.
The community based conference was attended by 170 delegates from welfare groups, charities, the St Vincent de Paul Society, local, state and federal government departments, Queensland Police, indigenous groups and the public.
Queensland Minister for Families, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, Judy Spence officially opened the conference.
